About

This project, led by the industry, will work closely with producers to evaluate the benefits, risks and trade-offs of new opportunities that aim to create a more sustainable and resilient agricultural sector. These opportunities are expected to help farmers diversify their income and mitigate the risks associated with climate change by accessing markets that reward them for increasing carbon sequestration through vegetation and soil, as well as other environmental credit options.

Project approach

This research develops innovative property management solutions that allow producers to dedicate areas of land, which may be less profitable and subject to higher agricultural drought risk, to generate revenue from carbon sequestration and environmental/biodiversity credits. The project will focus on marginal agricultural areas (e.g., areas that are opportunistically cropped) and assess how best such marginal land might be transformed to more drought resilient productive uses (e.g., perennial grazing, planting of shelter belts), while also creating environmentally beneficial revenue-raising options for farmers. Revenue generated through the conversion of marginal land could in turn support drought risk adaptation (e.g., through the provision of ecosystem services by shelter belts, which may lower local area temperatures and help conserve water) to protect against financial losses due to climate extremes. This approach minimises conflict between agricultural and environmental outcomes and creates synergies that benefit farmers’ incomes.