The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) is ramping up its agricultural climate ambitions.
On October 16, MFRA announced a set of targets to reach by 2030 as part of efforts to advance low-carbon farming.
This includes the goal to have 30,000 farms certified for low-carbon production and an annual distribution of 50,000 tonnes of low-carbon agricultural and livestock products.
In line with this, the ministry also announced that it has raised the agricultural sector’s greenhouse gas reduction target to 3% of the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
Strengthening certification
To meet these goals, MAFRA is working to expand its low-carbon agricultural and livestock production certification framework, which recognises farms that use carbon-reducing techniques.
It outlined plans to increase the number of certification agencies, improve training and consulting for certifying officers, and broaden the range of eligible products using research from the Rural Development Administration (RDA) and other public R&D bodies.
Additionally, farms that high greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction performance will be able to renew their certifications through a simplified procedure.
Furthermore, these farms will be given priority in the selection for related central and local government projects.
These efforts aim is to strengthen the foundation for the certification system as it expects demand for low-carbon certification to rise, said MAFRA.
Boosting demand
In line with this, MAFRA is aiming to create a market and demand for low-carbon agricultural and livestock products.
This would ensure stability for certified farms by creating reliable baseline demand.
Firstly, public agencies will be required to buy low-carbon certified products will be enforced through a proposed amendment to the Act to Promote the Purchase of Environmentally-Friendly Products.
Additionally, it will facilitate supply agreements with major retail chains to help farms reach consumers.
To promote stakeholder collaboration, MAFRA said it will establish a consultative body with representatives from producers, distributors, and consumers.
This group will support information sharing between stakeholders, producer-buyer matchmaking, and joint marketing efforts to promote certified products
However, current consumer awareness and demand remain low, which could limit its effectiveness.
As such, MAFRA will run national campaigns to boost awareness and promote ethical purchasing.
Plans include adding carbon-reduction labels and storytelling to packaging, farm visits and after-school education programmes, and the promotion of certified products through exhibitions, local festivals, and private online platforms.
The ministry aims to raise consumer awareness of low-carbon products to 95% or higher.
MAFRA said rising climate pressures and global regulatory shifts are driving the push for stronger low-carbon farming measures.
“As agriculture and livestock farms have recently been suffering greater damage from extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and torrential rains, the demand for stronger response to the climate crisis and associated conflicts are intensifying. The international community is also strengthening regulations to curb greenhouse gas emissions by introducing various carbon taxes and certification systems.”
