CIBO Technologies CEO Daniel Ryan on Accelerating Regenerative Agriculture and Carbon Programs
AgriBusiness Global recently spoke with Daniel Ryan, President and CEO of CIBO Technologies, about innovative methods and tools used to accurately measure carbon footprints across agricultural supply chains. Ryan discussed incentive programs, ag tech, the evolution of new products, and more in the exclusive Q&A below.
ABG: How are new solutions helping agriculture in measuring and reducing carbon emissions throughout the supply chain?
Daniel Ryan, CEO at CIBO Technologies. Photo credit: CIBO Technologies
Daniel Ryan: New solutions are revolutionizing agriculture by providing farmers access to incentive programs for transitioning to regenerative agriculture. These incentives come in many forms, including for supply chain emissions reductions (Scope 3) and public incentives from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Many programs require quantifying and reporting on the impact of the practices on carbon emissions. Validated bio mechanistic models are required to impact quantification at scale, and standards-based reporting is required to ensure transparency and accountability.
ABG: How does defining sourcing regions or supply sheds, measuring carbon intensity (CI) from the company inventory base year to the current crop year work? How does this benefit a company?
DR: Defining sourcing regions and measuring carbon intensity (CI) from the company inventory base year to the current crop year is a strategic approach to understanding and managing carbon emissions.
This process benefits companies by providing a detailed understanding of the current and potential emissions factors of fields, portfolios, and supply sheds. By tracking progress as growers implement practice changes, companies can quantify progress toward carbon reduction targets, ensuring they are on track to meet their sustainability goals and improve overall environmental outcomes.
ABG: What are some of the major challenges faced by the crop protection product sector and how does tracking carbon emissions help them?
DR: Agricultural-related industries like input companies (i.e., crop protection, biologicals, etc.) are all undergoing something of a renaissance. Old assumptions are being challenged and new innovations in science, technology, precision application, and agronomic support are all helping to drive the evolution of new products and practices for integrating them into the business of farming.
Many of these companies have their own goals around reducing their carbon footprint, including the application and use of the products they make. Some of the biggest names in agriculture inputs are our best customers as they roll out programs to help educate farmers and incentivize regenerative agriculture practices alongside, not instead of, their new and updated products. The importance of consistent, accurate, and trusted carbon monitoring and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions tracking is important for them. It not only delivers real insight to them that they can use to make better and faster business decisions, but it also provides important Scope 3 emissions and carbon intensity quantification that they incorporate into their own reporting.
ABG: What roles do farmer incentive programs play in promoting sustainable agricultural practices and how can they achieve better environmental outcomes? How do plant health and biologicals companies get in on this change?
DR: Farmer incentive programs are integral to promoting sustainable agricultural practices, providing farmers with the necessary financial and technical support to transition. These programs help scale regenerative agriculture and drive the adoption of sustainable practices that mitigate climate change, enhance food system resilience, and improve grower outcomes.
Regenerative farming practices have been proven to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and increase land resilience. But they cost the farmer money to implement and require changes in the operation. Incentive programs help farmers adopt these practices more readily by offsetting the costs of doing so and by providing agronomic support for the transition. Plant health and biologicals companies can participate by developing and offering products and incentives that support sustainability and contribute to the reduction of the overall carbon footprint.
ABG: How do crop protection product companies ensure that their products reporting align with standards such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the Science Based Targets Initiative?
DR: Crop protection product companies can confirm that their reporting aligns by actively working with companies involved in the development of Scope 3 standards. CIBO collaborates with organizations like the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, Value Change Initiative, and SBTi to stay ahead of industry requirements and ensure alignment in our products.
ABG: How can technological advancements help in tracking and reporting carbon emissions for crop protection companies?
DR: Technological advancements play a critical role in tracking and reporting carbon emissions for crop protection companies. Technologies like remote sensing and bio mechanistic crop modeling identify supply shed geographies and quickly calculate farmer emissions. The emissions data are used to establish GHG and carbon footprint baselines and then to track the changes against those baselines each season and year. CIBO Impact, for example, uses these technologies to model the carbon footprint and intensity at scale without requiring growers to input data manually.
Armed with detailed emissions visibility like this, companies can set GHG reduction targets in alignment with standard-setting bodies such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and SBTi. They can perform analyses to understand the potential GHG impact of practice changes and interventions within their supply sheds and deploy programs to drive those changes. Year-over-year progress can be modeled and quantified for annual reporting, ensuring compliance with standards like GHGP, SBTi FLAG, and CDP.
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