La Granja was also the country’s largest organic almond orchard to achieve the French low-carbon standard; Label Bas Carbone and is estimated to capture 4575 tons of CO2 over the next 20 years.
Read about how Greenpods got started
Now, the successful team are replicating their efforts on the other side of the Pyrenees at their latest farm, La Esperanza in Maella, Aragon. The farm currently has 30 hectares of almond trees. They plan to cultivate another 50 hectares of almond trees and 55 hectares of olive trees over the coming years.
Here, Greenpods co-founder Boris Spassky speaks about how regenerative agriculture can build food security, about certification and credibility.
Agriculture is a major cause of climate change, contributing up to 25% of greenhouse gas emissions (IPPC, 2019). We degrade an estimated 12 million hectares a year through deforestation, intensive monocropping and overgrazing (EPRS, 2020).
In France alone we import 4.5 million tons of soy (often linked to forest clearing). We import 35,000 tons of almonds a year, producing fewer than 500 tons. We import more than 50% of our fruit and vegetables.
This system just won’t work any longer. We have two levers: supply and demand.
And this is where agriculture also brings a hope out of the climate crisis.
On the supply side we must transition our agricultural production towards regenerative agriculture to stop depleting our resources like water and energy.
On the demand side we must switch to more plant-based diets and source food more locally to relieve pressure on land.
For example, on our farm we plant cover crops – we never leave the soil bare. We use reduced tillage, grinding pruning residues instead of burning them. All these practices increase soil organic carbon and therefore the soil’s ability to retain water.
All our regenerative agriculture practices are highlighted in our Regenagri audit report – it’s a simple, quantifiable system. As a farmer you need certified backing in speaking to procurement departments, it’s indispensable. Having credible backing gives transactional leverage in conversations with buyers and puts you in a different category of producers. If you don’t necessarily get a price advantage, you do get a transactional advantage.
Hear more from GreenPods Boris Spassky on the Regenagri podcast from June 2024.
