South African farmers receive R2.7 million in first carbon credit payouts

The Grassland Restoration and Stewardship in South Africa Group Project (GRASS GP) has distributed R2.7 million ($170,000) to 15 farming communities, marking the first payments under the initiative. These payments follow the issuance of 266,254 verified carbon units, generated from the project's first monitoring period across over 95,000 hectares. Developed by TASC in partnership with Meat Naturally Africa, the project aims to restore degraded rangelands in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal through regenerative grazing. The credits are the first globally to combine CCB certification with Verra’s VM0042 methodology, channelling carbon credit revenues directly to local communities for activities like hiring herders and pasture restoration. The project plans to restore two million hectares by 2030, preventing approximately 14 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over 30 years.