Michigan State University (MSU) scientists are helping small farmers in developing countries grow crops while increasing their quality of life and reducing negative impacts on the climate.
According to excerpts from the article:
Called Carbon2Markets, the program includes collaborative projects with farmers, researchers and government agencies in 10 Asian and African countries. The farmer groups are integrating high-value forest crops such as jatropha, teak or shea into the crops they're currently growing using methods that are smart and sustainable. Then the farmers use techniques and standards created by MSU remote-sensing experts to accurately measure and record the carbon stored by the trees and soil.
Storing carbon in the soil and plants keeps it out of the atmosphere, which helps slow global warming.
Besides being one of the first efforts to help small landowners gain access to the carbon offset market, the project also help support the research goals of its collaborators, such as Thailand, which hasn't always been the case when developed countries work with developing countries.
“We are very pleased to collaborate with Michigan State on this project,” said Anond Bunyaratvej, secretary general of the National Research Council of Thailand, or NRCT. “This project with MSU fulfills both of the NRCT’s objectives: to help people live and grow things sustainably, and to transition the country to a knowledge-based economy."
Read the entire article here.
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