Description

The AgroEcology Italy Project is a large-scale initiative designed to empower Italian farmers to adopt regenerative agricultural practices, including tree planting and agroforestry, across more than 350,000 hectares of land. Initially focused on 10,000 hectares, the project aims to expand over time, delivering tangible environmental, economic, and social benefits.

Developed by Alberami SRL with the support of the Agroimpulso Foundation, the project spans a 20-year timeline and focuses on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, increasing carbon sequestration, and promoting sustainable land stewardship. Alberami provides critical financial incentives and expert guidance to overcome traditional barriers to adoption.

The AgroEcology Italy project is the only ICROA-certified project in Italy and is monitored with remote sensing technologies to ensure additionality and transparency.

Sustainable Agricultural Practices

More than 300 farmers across Italy are implementing the following sustainable practices to generate high-integrity carbon credits:

• Application of organic farming principles: Adoption of organic management techniques across large areas.
• Minimal soil tillage: Use of zero tillage (direct seeding) or minimum tillage (limited to 10–15 cm depth without soil inversion).
• Green cover maintenance: Year-round vegetation cover using spontaneous growth or cover crops, where feasible.
• Intercropping: Enhancing biodiversity by growing two or more species of crops, plants, or trees simultaneously in the same field.
• Integrated field management: Creating buffer zones, windbreaks, and hedgerows by integrating edges, rows, and forests into cropland.
• Woody residue management: Using pruning residues as soil amendments or mulch.
• Natural strengtheners: Applying inorganic natural products (e.g., zeolite, kaolin) and leaf fertilizers to bolster plant defenses.
• Reduction of synthetic fertilizers: Achieving at least a 15% reduction compared to baseline levels.
• Reduction of synthetic pesticides: Reducing pesticide use by at least 50% in the first year, in full compliance with regulations.
• Recycling farm organic matter: Utilizing agro-industrial waste, biochar, anaerobic digestate, compost, and farmyard manure.
• Planting new perennials: Establishing or densifying vineyards, orchards, olive groves, and other woody perennial crops.
• Cropland conversion: Transitioning annual cropland into grassland, pastureland, or permanent crops.
• Improved crop rotations: Implementing diverse rotations, including with industrial hemp, ensuring the same crop does not return to the same plot within short intervals.

Farmers participating in the project are required to adhere to sustainable farming practices established by the project developer. This includes requirements for organic certification, reduced use of fertilizers, and prohibitions on burning practices, ensuring a consistent and verifiable environmental impact.

Addressing Agricultural Challenges

Italian agriculture has faced mounting challenges in recent decades, including extreme weather events, global competition, and an aging farming population. The AgroEcology Italy Project addresses these critical issues by offering new financial incentives to farmers while boosting productivity. It delivers long-term ecological and social benefits such as biodiversity restoration, soil health improvement, and sustainable economic development for rural communities.

Carbon Credits

The project is verified and registered with the International Carbon Registry (ICR). Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Iceland, the ICR is a global organization committed to combating climate change. The ICR operates a quality management system aligned with ISO 9001:2015 standards, ensuring high transparency and credibility in carbon credit issuance.