Landowner Willingness to Manage for Soil Carbon Sequestration in Brazil

Large-scale adoption of the practices for soil carbon sequestration depends on the willingness of landowners and land managers to implement these practices. Despite growing interest, limited research has explored farmers’ willingness to adopt soil carbon sequestration practices in the Atlantic Forest biome, and no studies have specifically examined the factors that discourage these practices. The objective of this research was to analyse factors affecting the attitudes of Brazilian farmers and landowners regarding carbon sequestration in soils. The main hypothesis for this research is that a lack of willingness of landowners to adopt carbon-storing practices presents a major constraint to adoption of these practices at scale. We conducted semi-structured educational interviews with farmers and landowners (N = 60) in the Atlantic Forest region. The questionnaire included questions like: ‘What soil management techniques focused on soil carbon increase are you currently implementing?’, ‘Which practices on land management you would never adopt?’ , and ‘Would you be willing (and why) to adopt techniques like biochar and rock dust into your land management schemes?’. We identified the practices that respondents associate with carbon sequestration, and we highlight key factors influencing adoption, including specific land management strategies, economic incentives, policy support, uncertainties regarding outcomes, and knowledge gaps. We found that knowledge about biochar is virtually non-existent among the interviewed farmers. Nearly 70% of the interviewed farmers are not aware of how their practices impact the availability and sequestration of carbon in the soil. Some associate biochar with “terra preta de índio”. So far, no farmers interviewed use biochar on their properties, but about 60% show interest in trying or learning more about the practice. None of the farmers have heard of the “soil carbon market,” and they associate the carbon market only with large-scale productions. Additionally, none of the respondents have considered the support of public policies to promote soil carbon sequestration practices (many do not access any public policies related to agriculture). Cultural resistance was especially observed among conventional farmers and older farmers, who do not use agrochemicals and are not open to innovations. Wider access to knowledge was pointed as the principal necessity to understand carbon-storing practices and not the public policies. Understanding opportunities and barriers, as expressed by the farmers and landowners, to implement soil carbon sequestration at scale is crucial for refining ineffective strategies and informing more effective policy and management decisions.