The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the official start of the implementation phase for projects funded through the $3.1 billion Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities effort.
Project partners will begin working to implement climate-smart production practices, marketing and quantification, monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas benefits funded through the effort, according to an April 27 news release. The Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Learning Network collaboration generates key lessons learned as projects are implemented.
“Farmers, ranchers and forest landowners are on the front lines of climate change. At the same time, they are uniquely positioned to deliver climate solutions through climate-smart production that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and sequesters carbon,” Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said in the release. “Through these projects, our partners are working to create new markets for climate-smart commodities, while developing the tools needed to quantify impacts and help producers implement climate-smart practices on their land.”
During the next few weeks and months, partners will open up signups for their projects to invite producer participation, the release reported. Producers interested in a particular project should visit the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Active Projects Dashboard to find projects in their areas.
“We’re excited these projects are getting underway and look forward to achieving meaningful results for producers, agriculture and forestry economies and our climate,” Vilsack addded, according to the release.
The USDA kicked off the collaboration with a virtual event presented to the public, producers and stakeholders with USDA leaders and project partners, the release said. The agency plans to add new active projects and links to their project websites in periodic updates to the dashboard.
The selected projects – spanning up to five years – will provide financial and technical assistance to producers to implement climate-smart production practices on working lands on a voluntary basis; pilot cost-effective and innovative methods for verification, quantification, reporting and monitoring of greenhouse gas benefits; and develop markets and promote the climate-smart commodities that are produced, according to the release.
