Standard Bank Business and Commercial Banking (BCB) announced a partnership with Orizon Agriculture that enables farmers to turn regenerative farming practices into verified carbon credits, while participating in carbon markets without taking on additional complexity.
Image: Yogashen Pillay / Independent Newspapers
Standard Bank Business and Commercial Banking (BCB) has partnered with Orizon Agriculture to launch what it says is South Africa’s first bank-backed regenerative agriculture carbon crop credit programme, aimed at helping farmers generate additional income through carbon markets.
Announced at the NAMPO Harvest Day, the initiative will allow farmers implementing regenerative farming practices to convert verified environmental outcomes into tradable carbon credits without having to manage the technical and administrative complexities themselves.
Standard Bank said the programme is designed to support agricultural clients who are already improving soil health and reducing farm emissions by creating an additional revenue stream linked to sustainable farming practices.
Through the partnership, eligible Standard Bank clients can be introduced to Orizon’s CarbonCrop Rewards Programme, which measures and verifies improvements in soil organic carbon and reductions in on-farm emissions. These verified outcomes are then converted into carbon credits that can be sold into carbon markets.
Standard Bank explained that each carbon credit represents one ton of greenhouse gas emissions reduced or removed from the atmosphere. In agriculture, this is typically achieved through practices such as reduced tillage, cover cropping, improved grazing management and lower fertiliser use.
Orizon Agriculture helps farmers earn carbon credits for regenerative agriculture practices.
Founder and CEO, Michael Lilje, said farmers are showing growing interest in carbon markets, although many remain cautious.
“Our role is to ensure carbon projects are robust, transparent and farmer‑focused. Working with Standard Bank allows farmers to engage through a trusted relationship, while we ensure the integrity of the carbon credits generated,” Lilje said.
He said the programme would help farmers participate in a growing carbon market while improving the resilience of their operations.
“We can talk about climate change as much as we want and the impact it has on the environment. The fact is the climate has always been up and down,” Lilje said.
“There have always been dry years and overly wet years. It is getting more erratic, and it is important for farmers to look after the soil so that future generations of farmers can farm.”
He added that building healthier soils would help retain more water, which is critical in a water-scarce country like South Africa.
“South Africa is the 31st driest country in the world, and I think it is important that we protect our water resources. It doesn't matter how much rainfall we have, it matters how much water is infiltrated into the soil.”
Louis Van Ravesteyn, head for agribusiness for business and commercial banking at Standard Bank, said the initiative aligned with the Nampo theme of resilience through innovation.
“Our partnership with Orizon is all about innovation and it comes to sustainability that drives that. This partnership is all about regenerative agriculture and as farmers do the work on the farm they will get carbon credits and we will trade those credits.”
He said farmers who improve soil health also strengthen their resilience against climate-related risks while creating an additional income opportunity through carbon trading.
Bill Blackie, CEO of business and commercial Banking at Standard Bank, said farmers are increasingly under pressure to balance profitability, productivity and sustainability.
“This partnership with Orizon is about supporting our agricultural clients to navigate that shift in a practical way, by enabling access to carbon markets that are linked to real farming practices and independently verified outcomes.”
According to Standard Bank, the programme will initially focus on South African commercial farmers, with the first year dedicated to onboarding participants and improving understanding of agricultural carbon markets through the bank’s relationship managers.
The bank added that beyond carbon credit income, regenerative agriculture practices supported by the programme could improve soil health, increase water retention and enhance long-term farm productivity.
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