The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a new initiative to finance the deployment of climate-smart agriculture and forestry practices.
USDA’s Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry Partnership Initiative will “create new market opportunities for commodities produced using climate-smart practices and position U.S. farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners as leaders in addressing climate change,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
“Guided by science, USDA will support a set of pilot projects that provide incentives to implement climate smart conservation practices on working lands and to quantify and monitor the carbon and greenhouse gas benefits associated with those practices. The pilots could rely on the Commodity Credit Corporation’s (CCC) specific power to aid in expansion or development of new and additional markets.”
Concurrently, USDA announced a $3 billion investment in agriculture, animal health, and nutrition.
USDA is asking for public input on the initiative, with comments due by November 1, 2021. The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) will solicit feedback from members to craft a response.
