Verra’s Improved Agricultural Land Management methodology has been approved by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) as meeting its Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) — a move expected to unlock the generation of tens of millions of verified, high-integrity carbon credits from regenerative farming projects worldwide.
The methodology, VM0042 Improved Agricultural Land Management, v2.2, quantifies greenhouse gas emission reductions and removals through soil-based carbon sequestration. It covers a wide range of regenerative agricultural practices, including reduced tillage, improved fertiliser and residue management, crop diversification, better water management, and optimised grazing systems.
Currently, around 200 projects are registered under earlier versions of VM0042 on the Verra Registry, together capable of issuing an estimated 126 million tonnes of emission reductions and removals annually. Projects using previous versions may now upgrade to v2.2 to qualify for the CCP label, strengthening market credibility and buyer confidence.
“This is an important milestone for farmers and project developers around the world who are already leading the shift toward regenerative agriculture,” said Mandy Rambharos, Chief Executive Officer of Verra. “ICVCM’s approval ensures that the carbon markets recognise innovation and reward leadership. It will go a long way to help scale the market with integrity, transparency, and impact.”
As part of its broader digital transformation, Verra has already released a digital version of VM0042 v2.1 via the Verra Project Hub, enabling automated project submission, validation and verification. The digital edition of VM0042 v2.2 is expected to follow in the coming weeks.
The digitisation effort aims to streamline registration, improve data quality and enhance traceability across the carbon market — aligning with Verra’s goal to make climate impact more transparent, verifiable, and efficient.
