Reducing carbon footprint by at least 3.5 tons of CO₂e per hectare per year
Orbia Advance Corporation’s S.A.B. de C.V. Precision Agriculture business Netafim, the global leader in precision irrigation technology, announced a new carbon credit program in Turkey in partnership with Virridy, a pioneer in environmental technology and a leader in water-focused carbon credit generation.
The program will begin with more than 1,000 hectares of farmland in Turkey, focusing on alfalfa, corn and sugar beet crops, and has already been shown to reduce at least 3.5 CO₂e tons per hectare per year.
The program incentivizes farmers to adopt sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices, such as precision irrigation along with digital farming and automation solutions, that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance carbon sequestration. This method of utilizing carbon finance to deliver proven water and environmental benefits is a mechanism that is likely viable in other global irrigated regions as well.
This partnership builds on the success of Orbia Netafim’s existing carbon credit programs, including the first-ever for drip-irrigated rice that was launched in 2022—which decreased methane emissions to nearly zero while significantly conserving water, energy and fertilizers. With this partnership, Orbia Netafim is expanding its carbon programs by implementing precision irrigation on alfalfa, sugar beet and corn farms in Turkey. The carbon credits generated through precision irrigation adoption will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve water efficiency and increase crop productivity.
Virridy’s expertise in water-focused carbon finance, combined with Orbia Netafim’s leadership in precision irrigation, ensures a powerful partnership for scaling sustainable agriculture. Virridy will lead carbon credit generation efforts by leveraging its Digital Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (DMRV) capabilities to quantify water and climate benefit with a scalable and sustainable finance model for partners. Orbia Netafim’s agronomic expertise and proven precision irrigation technology will enable farmers to maximize yields while minimizing environmental impact. The program in Turkey builds on Orbia Netafim’s past success, where farmers achieved at least a 25% increase in yield, along with improved water efficiency and decreased fertilizer use.
In the next few years, the program will expand significantly within Turkey and potentially into other countries as well.
