Agritech’s projects have social, economic and environmental benefits. The projects produce green energy and fuels, produce food and enhances soil fertility and sequesters carbon dioxide in both soils as well as above ground biomass.

Clean Energy

Agritech developes CDM offsets through the generation of renewable energy.
First, through the production of electricity from Jatropha oil cakes and it’s other agricultural waste streams. The production of this electricity using green fuel as opposed to fossil fuels results in carbon credits equivalent to the reduction of CO2 that would have been produced using traditional fossil fuels. Agritech has currently taken the initiative to become the first company in Burkina Faso develop carbon credits through the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) method.
The cogeneration plant in Boni will produce 5 MW of green energy and prevent the emission of over 250.000 tonnes CO2e per year and thus producing around 250,000 CERs, the CDM carbon credit

Carbon sequestration

Through its farms Agritech also improves soils and sequesters vast amount of Carbon dioxide in biomass. Increasing sequestration in biomass is currently the only way to reduce the concentration of CO2 in the air. Through the CDM (CDM-AR) and voluntary carbon offset (for example the Verified Carbon Standard -VCS) creating mechanism it is possible to quantify the Green House gas benefit of projects like Agritech develops.

(photo by Queensland Government)

Agritech is currently developing the carbon sequestration projects and looking at both above and below ground biomass benefits of its projects. By determining the baseline carbon content of the soil and present above ground biomass the current and expected amount of carbon stored on the land scape is determined. Throughout the plantations development carbon content of soil and above ground biomass is measured. The difference represents CO2 stored in the soil and biomass and eligible for carbon credits. With nearly 12 million trees in its portfolio, the amount of Co2 permanently captured is enormous. These “sink” projects differ from the clean energy projects as a sink is not as permanent as a reduction as trees and burn and soil carbon erode. Clear project guidelines and discounts to ensure permanence of the emission offset have been developed to ensure quality of offsets is guaranteed. Under the CDM the credits have a temporary validity while in other markets discounts and buffers ensure permanence.