Minister of Natural Resources, Patricia Wiskes, has said Government of Malawi intends to renegotiate carbon trading agreements involving investors and farmers to ensure that both parties benefit fairly.
Wiskes made the remarks on Sunday at Jenda in Mzimba during a tour of woodlots established by farmers under a tree-planting project being implemented by Ripple Africa.
She said there is a need to review existing carbon trading arrangements so that farmers who invest their land, labour and time in planting and conserving trees also benefit from the sale of carbon credits.
According to UNDP, carbon credits are generated by activities that reduce or remove greenhouse gas emissions such as protecting forests, restoring wetlands, planting trees, switching to renewable energy or improving energy efficiency in buildings and industries.
The carbon credits are traded at carbon markets where governments, companies and even individuals can buy the credits to offset their emissions.
Under the Ripple Africa project, farmers plant trees on their own land using seedlings provided by the organisation according to the size of their landholdings.
Farmers participating in the project are expected to benefit after 20 years through harvesting of trees only while investors will enjoy proceeds of carbon credits generated from the plantations after five years.
“We need to ensure better deals for the farmers. Farmers are using their own resources to take care of the tree woodlots, and saying they should only start benefiting after 20 years is not acceptable. They should also benefit from the carbon credit deals,” Wiskes said.
She said her ministry will engage Ripple Africa in round-table discussions to review the contractual issues surrounding carbon trading agreements between farmers and investors.
Wiskes also advised Ripple Africa to consider providing insurance cover for the community woodlots to protect farmers against possible losses caused by disasters such as fires and extreme weather conditions.
She commended Ripple Africa for its continued efforts in restoring degraded landscapes through tree planting, saying government alone cannot manage the task.
One of the farmers participating in the project, Chiza Tembo from Jenda, said he had invested about K15 million in his eight-hectare woodlot, where he has planted over 14,000 trees.
“We are spending a lot of money taking care of the woodlot, and to be told that we will only start benefiting after 20 years is unfair. We also deserve to benefit from carbon trading, not just from harvesting the trees,” Tembo said.
Ripple Africa’s Country Director, Force Ngwira, said the organisation engages about 2,500 farmers annually under the project and has so far facilitated the planting of more than 30 million trees.
“Our objective is to work with the government to restore degraded land through tree planting. On the issue of carbon trading, we will continue engaging the government so that together we create a better arrangement that benefits both farmers and investors,” Ngwira said.