Deforestation is one of the major causes of release of green-house gases and a major contributor to global climate change. FAO (2009) estimated that 13 million ha of forest land were cleared annually during 1990–2005. Africa has some 635 million ha of forest cover or 16% of total global forests cover, so it has a great potential to help sequester carbon and contribute significantly to the reduction of carbon emissions through carbon sinks.1 It is estimated that Africa accounts for only 3.8% of the greenhouse gases—compared to 4.2 billion ton of CO2 emissions by the EU-15 countries.2
The size of the carbon trade market runs into several billions of dollars. It grew from $19 billion in 2006 to $30 billion in 2007 or 250% the total value of aid to Africa. According to the World Bank Africa accounts for a miniscule share of this market—a meager 3% of certified emission reduction, compared to 61% by China and 12% by India.
One of the ways in which smallholders can benefit from these emerging carbon markets is for them to be compensated for better land use practices—those which reduce deforestation, degradation, revamping of ecosystem services, biodiversity, etc. Sustainable intensification of land uses, as opposed to extensive land use practices, will allow farmers to meet their food needs on smaller pieces of land, reduce deforestation and degradation, and contribute to reduction of carbon emissions. But that requires getting agriculture right in Africa. It has been estimated by FAO (2007) that avoided deforestation and sustainable agriculture can allow Africa to mitigate carbon losses of 167.8 million and 69.7 million tons of carbon (Table 3).