OPINION: Data is the integrity lever for delivering soil carbon sequestration at scale in agriculture

Quantum Commodity Intelligence - Simon Haldrup is chief executive of soil carbon developer Agreena

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) suggests that global soils could store around 100 to 200 billion tonnes of carbon over the next century if agricultural soils are managed in a way that increases carbon storage.

Beyond climate mitigation, the co-benefits of agricultural soil carbon sequestration will lend to improved soil health for farm resiliency and more nutritious food, increased crop productivity, water conservation and protecting biodiversity.

Given the promising potential for regenerative agriculture practices to serve as a holistic solution for climate, nature, and community - we need uptake in carbon finance for widespread adoption: today. Robust and reliable data is essential for corporates to unlock the nascent soil carbon market with integrity.

Getting the next decade right in agriculture is essential to address climate change, compounding biodiversity loss, and to safeguard food security. Without sounding the alarm bells on the verge of extremity, our continued existence on Earth as we know it depends on a climate-smart and resilient agrifood system.

Unsustainable farming practices within the world's second-largest emitting sector, currently responsible for roughly one-third of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, have contributed to a situation where 33% of our agricultural land is already degraded and once-productive land is desertified.

In a more positive outlook for agrifood systems and the planet, soil serves as the world's largest terrestrial carbon reservoir and farmers' adoption of regenerative agriculture practices could position them as heroes within the climate crisis.

Soil carbon sequestration through sustainable land management practices is one of the most promising solutions of our time to combat climate change, with the potential to contribute up to 25% of the global effort necessary to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius.

With regenerative agriculture benefits extending far beyond soil carbon storage, the long-term gains for nature and society-at-large are significant. Yet so is the ask: a fundamental behavioural change from more than 500 million individual decision-makers - our farmers. Regenerative agriculture is only in its infancy stage of global adoption.

Embracing new farming methods is challenging, particularly for a traditionally conservative industry with thin profit margins. The regenerative transition demands investment to cover new equipment costs and initial productivity losses. While we have a powerful solution just beneath our feet, we urgently need to steer finance to our farmers and land managers to accelerate mobilised action.

On the path to net zero, the voluntary carbon market can be applauded for pioneering advancement in agricultural soil carbon sequestration.

With internationally recognised standards bringing forth top-tier scientific methodologies aligned to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPPC's) guidelines, the agricultural frontier of nature-based soil carbon removal credits is upon us, enabling corporate compensation and contribution claims.

Developing a nascent market, the private sector has begun channelling vital carbon finance to farmers and easing economic barriers to regenerative farming. Beyond offsets, some agrifood corporates are supporting regenerative farmers delivering Scope 3 reductions in their supply chain.

Regardless of whether the investment is being directed within or beyond the value chain, delivering high-quality soil carbon finance to farmers for their GHG reductions and removals supports corporates to meet their net zero targets while contributing to environmental and social impact beyond mitigation.

Soil carbon projects can deliver outcomes that contribute meaningfully to companies' climate and sustainability goals for credible reporting and claims - so long as backed by robust, high-quality, verified data.

Data: the integrity lever for soil carbon finance

In the delivery of credible soil carbon outcomes, reliable data serves as the critical linchpin that underpins the entire value chain. Data ensures that what we measure aligns with what is happening literally 'on the ground', enabling carbon financiers to trust that the impacts they pay for are real, verifiable, and lasting. As the soil carbon market continues to gain momentum, ensuring data integrity becomes not just a technical exercise, but a strategic imperative.

Accounting for soil carbon is complex

Agriculture, unlike more linear carbon projects, such as afforestation, is multi-variant and heterogeneous. Further, agricultural production is dynamic - a field is typically managed differently from year to year - and over the course of the year.

Supporting the measurement of complex biology, such as soil, requires multiple data points, environmental factors such as weather, knowledge of historic practices and soil type. With this in mind, broad regional assumptions fall short, and agricultural soil carbon projects call for meticulous data-driven measurement, reporting, and verification with continuous monitoring to deliver at scale with integrity.

Data collection and soil carbon measurement

Effective data collection for soil carbon projects can be grouped into several key categories. Primary data provided directly by farmers is the first link in the chain and grounds the actual farm management decisions shaping each field.

Primary data, secondary and national data contribute to the impact assessment of farm practices such as tillage, cover cropping, input use, and crop rotations occurring within the farm gate. This field-level data is measured, mapped, and verified to confirm that farmers meet the criteria for generating carbon credits, while ensuring that metrics reflect the realities of regenerative transitions on the farm.

Although conducting soil sampling at scale is resource-intensive, it remains an indispensable practice for tracking changes in soil organic carbon over time. Soil sampling data, scientific research, and climate data contribute to the calibration and validation of models to measure carbon in agricultural soils.

Soil samples following best practices and independent protocols are stratified by soil texture and local factors that represent the project area accurately. Paired with modelling, soil sampling bridges the gap between scientific calculations and on-the-ground evidence to measure carbon at the field level.

To scale soil carbon projects beyond a handful of demonstration farms, this measure-and-model approach supported by advanced analytics is critical.

Accurate modelling informed by soil sampling data reduces costs, enabling the traceability of climate benefits across thousands or even millions of hectares of agricultural land. It allows projects to scale quickly while maintaining credibility. This scientifically robust approach adheres to IPCC Guidelines' Tier 3 methods, ensuring the highest level of detail and lowest level of uncertainty from currently available technologies.

Digital MRV for enhanced transparency and trust

Traditional carbon accounting approaches, reliant on manual data gathering and intermittent audits, are no longer sufficient in a world hungry for scale and rapid deployment - yet precision and integrity cannot be sacrificed. Enter digital monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV). Digital MRV brings impact verification into the digital age, harnessing the power of advanced technologies - remote sensing, geospatial analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) - to streamline data flows, minimise errors, and improve the reliability of claims.

By leveraging ground-truth data, satellite imagery, and sensory data, remote sensing enables continuous monitoring of vegetation cover and land management changes over vast areas - down to the precise field level. This reduces reliance on sporadic farm inspections and provides real-time insights into whether regenerative practices are being implemented as intended, strengthening assurance to soil carbon credit buyers.

Combined with machine learning algorithms, these imaging technologies can detect shifts in farm management patterns, validate reported data, and even identify anomalies or inconsistencies that warrant closer inspection.

This integrated, digital approach ensures that carbon claims are backed by a transparent, auditable data trail. It facilitates verification and auditing processes, giving buyers the confidence that the units they purchase represent genuine climate benefits. In a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape, digital MRV systems can also streamline compliance with emerging policies and standards.

These data-driven platforms bolster the credibility of carbon investments by making it easier to meet international requirements for rigour, additionality, and permanence. Project developers with in-house digital MRV can continuously track regenerative practices so that the integrity of a buyer's soil carbon portfolio is monitored over the entire permanence period. 

Meeting regulatory and standards requirements with data-driven approaches

As policy frameworks, market standards, and corporate sustainability disclosure requirements continue to mature, companies must prepare for increased scrutiny from government bodies, investors, and the public. The complexity of an evolving landscape calls for data solutions that can adapt to this complexity rather than shy away from it.

Data ensures consistency and comparability across projects, allowing regulators and standards bodies to evaluate claims on a level playing field. Detailed records, backed by robust analytics, help demonstrate compliance with methodologies, validate permanence safeguards, and provide a clear narrative of how carbon benefits are achieved over time. In this evolving environment, transparency is more than a best practice; it is the foundation upon which long-term trust and legitimacy rest.

Enhancing reporting with substantiated claims

Data-driven reporting is essential to communicate progress, ensure alignment with corporate sustainability targets, and foster meaningful engagement with stakeholders. Investors and consumers increasingly demand evidence-based claims, and presenting openly accessible performance metrics - derived from high-quality data - helps meet that demand. This data transparency also enhances the "social license" to operate, as civil society, journalists, and watchdog organisations can scrutinise projects and verify claims independently.

From data to action: A call for collaboration

No single stakeholder can unlock the true potential of soil carbon finance in isolation. Farmers, project developers, standards, buyers, verifiers, regulators, and technology providers must collaborate to develop a robust data ecosystem.

Farmers need training and incentives to collect and share reliable records. Project developers must invest in digital MRV systems and analytics platforms that lower transaction costs and improve data quality. Buyers can drive the market toward higher integrity by demanding data-backed evidence and by rewarding transparency.

This collaborative approach will help break down barriers to regenerative agriculture adoption. Armed with credible, data-driven insights, farmers can approach the regenerative transition with greater confidence, knowing that their efforts will be properly measured and fairly compensated. Buyers, in turn, can be sure that the credits they purchase genuinely reflect positive, lasting climate and environmental outcomes. Over time, as these investments scale, the broader agricultural system can move toward a healthier equilibrium: more carbon in the soil, more resilient yields, and greater ecological stability.

Looking ahead

The journey toward delivering soil carbon impact at scale is still underway, and challenges remain. But the tools and strategies at our disposal are evolving rapidly. Digital MRV and advanced analytics are not just technical add-ons; they represent a paradigm shift in how we account for, value, and invest in nature-based climate solutions.

As the soil carbon market matures, data will serve as the compass guiding us in building meaningful, trustworthy outcomes. With each hectare of farmland managed regeneratively and each tonne of carbon sequestered in the soil, we take another step forward on our shared path to a sustainable, climate-resilient future.

In the end, success will depend on our collective ability to harness data for credibility, forge trust between stakeholders, and ensure that every investment in soil carbon finance leads to real, quantifiable
benefits.