eAgronom Gets Verra Stamp
Validates years of work in Poland and the Baltics for the Tartu-based agritech platform.
eAgronom, which provides Farm Management Software (FMS) and climate-friendly farming solutions, said its Sustainable Farming in Central and Eastern Europe carbon project has become Verra-certified under VM0042 methodology.
eAgronom’s clients have been using its sustainable farming practices, such as crop rotation, cover cropping, reduced tillage, precise nutrient management, and plant protection, to lower greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon sequestration, thereby improving soil health.
“Soil carbon does not mean ignoring emissions, but rather taking a responsible approach to them. Our first VM0042 credits are an important milestone in turning carbon waste into something beneficial for the planet,” said Robin Saluoks, CEO of eAgronom.
Those adopting its carbon programme now have access to new revenue streams through carbon credits generated by the project, enabling their transition to regenerative farming practices.
“This milestone has been long-awaited by both eAgronom and our local farming communities in Estonia,” said eAgronom Estonia Country Manager Kristjan Anderson.
“For farmers, it is increasingly important not only to grow their businesses, but also to do so in a way that protects and sustains the environment, and this carbon project makes that possible.”
eAgronom is supported by carbon asset developer South Pole and technological service provider Regrow. It has 300,000+ hectares enrolled in this project and over 2.5 million hectares across all carbon programmes and farm management software to date.
The Gold Standard in the Eye of the Storm
Verra is widely considered the world’s leading standardisation body for the voluntary carbon market. Its Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) is the “gold standard” that institutional buyers look for to ensure that a carbon credit represents a real, measurable, and additional reduction in emissions. For a startup like eAgronom, achieving Verra certification is a multi-year process that validates its data collection and methodology on a global scale.
However, the prestige of the Verra seal has been tested in the past two years. The organisation has found itself in the eye of a global storm over the credibility of certain credits - particularly those linked to rainforest protection (REDD+). Investigative reports questioned whether millions of “phantom credits” were being traded, leading to a leadership shakeup and a rigorous overhaul of their methodologies.
By certifying under the VM0042 methodology (focused specifically on improved agricultural land management), eAgronom is operating in a newer, more data-driven frontier of the carbon market. Unlike the controversial forestry credits, soil-based carbon sequestration is heavily reliant on the kind of hard farm-management data and soil testing that eAgronom and its competitors have spent years perfecting in the Baltics.