Regional Development Minister Alannah MacTiernan has welcomed another positive step forward for carbon farming in Western Australia, with INPEX, ANZ and Qantas signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to evaluate the feasibility of a new carbon farming and renewable biofuels project in the Wheatbelt.
The unique collaboration between large carbon intensive enterprises, bankers and farmers will provide an opportunity to support strategic agroforestry and decarbonisation using drought-resilient native tree crops, integrated with existing farming systems in the region.
The McGowan Government is currently driving several carbon farming and regenerative agriculture projects in WA, including the $15 million Carbon Farming and Land Restoration program, the $15 million Agriculture Climate Resilience Fund and the $550,000 Southern Rangelands Revitalisation Pilot project.
These initiatives are assisting the State's agriculture sector response to global market forces and adapt farming systems to incorporate carbon sequestration, while creating opportunities to participate in the carbon market and improve long-term business viability.
As stated by Regional Development Minister Alannah MacTiernan:
"We welcome this collaboration which signals another positive step forward for carbon farming in WA.
"We are confident this proposal will not see a loss of agricultural production and will help farmers strengthen their farming systems.
"Strategic tree planting can lead to a suite of co-benefits to improve system function and enhanced productivity on farmland.
"Under this initiative, we understand farmers will be able to opt to retain some carbon credits to address their own carbon footprint.
"It is clear that markets and financers are increasingly requiring carbon accounting of farm produce, and projects like this can help Western Australian farmers diversify their income and build resilience into the business."
