NOC Urges USDA to Prioritize Organic in New Climate Initiative
USDA has announced a new initiative, called the Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry Partnership Initiative, to finance the adoption of climate-smart farming. USDA will be supporting pilot projects that provide incentives to farmers and ranchers who implement climate-smart practices on their land.
NOC responded to the USDA’s request for input regarding the design of this initiative. In our comments to USDA, we emphasized the following points:
Organic agriculture has led innovations in farming for decades, particularly in the development of climate-friendly, soil-building techniques and farm inputs.
Healthy soil is the cornerstone of organic agriculture and a critical solution for addressing climate challenges.
Projects should also reward farmers, such as organic farmers, who are already using climate smart practices because of the soil health and pasture requirements embedded in USDA organic standards.
Because of the overlap between certified organic farming practices and climate-smart farming practices, certified organic products should be considered climate-smart commodities.
Not only are organic farmers already utilizing climate-smart farming practices, but the organic certification model of third-party oversight lends itself well as a compliance mechanism for setting and enforcing climate change goals on farms.
Top priority should be given to partnership projects that promote systems-based farming approaches, like organic, where the entire farming system works together synergistically to build soil health, reduce use of greenhouse gas emitting chemicals, and build resilience to extreme weather events.
It is critical that environmental justice goals be imbedded in this initiative and that Black, Indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC)-led organizations be intentionally included in the program, including through funding set asides to ensure BIPOC organization participation.
Through this initiative, USDA should make grants to organic organizations so they can provide resources and support to existing organic farmers and to farmers transitioning to organic, including through mentorship programs.
Using existing USDA conservation programs, such as the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP), the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), and the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI) as the vehicle for incentivizing farmers to use climate-smart farming practices should be a focus of this initiative.