To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs what consideration his Department has given to the development of performance indicators for farmers and growers to capture carbon sequestration data and measure progress.

Farmers and land managers play an important role in sequestering carbon and contributing to offsetting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It essential that they have the baseline information and understand that information, so that they can meet whatever future obligations will be.

My Department is developing plans aimed at baselining soil nutrient levels and carrying out research to estimate the carbon stocks stored in grasslands soils and above ground biomass across Northern Ireland’s farmed landscape.

Carbon sequestration is a key factor that can significantly offset GHG emissions. The methodologies used to calculate carbon sequestration are still the subject of complex debate and ongoing research.