Amos Wekesa CGIAR SEMINAR SERIES Payments for Ecosystem Services: Win-Win Solutions? Co-organized by IFPRI, the CGIAR, and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Session at Tropentag 2023 SEP 21, 2023 - 7:45 TO 9:15AM EDT

1. Experiences from
linking farmers with
carbon markets in Africa
By Amos Wekesa
Carbon Specialist
Global Evergreening
Alliance

2. How the projects were designed

3. Kenya Agricultural Carbon Project (KACP)
Start date 2009 to end date 2030

4. Restore Africa - Restoring Landscapes and Livelihoods in
East and Southern Africa
Start date 2022 to end date 2052

5. Challenges of AFOLU Carbon Projects
● High entry and initial costs – methodology, project design, mobilization and
community engagement
● Measurements, Reporting and Verification – lack of data, tools, complex
measurements and technical capacity
● Non-permanence and leakage – requires extra efforts to manage and monitor
risks
● Certification – standard, methodologies, market complexity are costly,
stringent and low credit prices.
● Policy uncertainty – scares proponents and investors or increases costs

6. Lessons learnt
● Governance: large collaborative structure with large umbrella NGO proponent to collaborate with
CBOs, local NGOs is the best
● Farmer groups – Farmers should be organized in groups to reduce transaction costs related to
provision of services
● Extension service – context specific, TOT, Lead farmers and digital systems
● Benefit sharing – aligned to community needs, inclusive, transparent, co-ownership, gender lens and
grievance feedback mechanisms
● Developing business case – involves farmer interests, extension costs, social equity; monitoring
and transactions costs should be 10-15% of carbon revenues, carbon credit price of >4 USD best
● MRVs – piloted, need monitoring information system, digital, linked to extension structure, trust
building, farmers to monitor themselves, multiple monitoring, piggyback on existing organizational
structure
● Non-permanence (reversal) risk – tree planting requires to plant more trees than the target to ensure
tree availability to meet livelihood needs.