Climate-Smart Agriculture: How Cashews and Bees Fight Global Warming

Climate change presents an existential threat to African agriculture. Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and extreme weather events threaten the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers.

But agriculture isn’t just a victim of climate change—it can be part of the solution. Stawi’s programs are designed to enhance farmer resilience while actively contributing to climate mitigation.

Carbon Sequestration: Trees as Climate Warriors

Cashew trees are remarkable carbon sinks. A mature tree can sequester approximately 50 kg of CO2 annually, with carbon stored in both biomass and soil.

Stawi’s Carbon Impact:

• 500,000+ trees planted to date
• Estimated 25,000 tonnes CO2 sequestered
• Growing at ~5,000 tonnes additional CO2/year
• 30-year tree lifespan ensures long-term storage

As we scale to 50,000 farmers by 2030, our annual sequestration could approach 100,000 tonnes CO2—equivalent to taking 20,000 cars off the road.

Avoided Deforestation

Perhaps more important than trees planted is forests preserved. In many areas, farmers clear forest for short-term agricultural use, releasing stored carbon and destroying biodiversity.

Stawi’s programs change the economic calculus:

Before Stawi: Farmers might clear forest for charcoal production or annual crops, earning $50-100/hectare one time while destroying the resource.

With Stawi: The same farmers earn $400+/hectare annually from sustainable tree crops and beekeeping—while maintaining or expanding tree cover.

Our best estimates suggest Stawi-associated farmers have preserved over 1,200 hectares of natural forest that might otherwise have been cleared.

Biodiversity Protection

Beekeeping creates powerful incentives for habitat preservation. Bees need diverse flowering plants throughout the year, and farmers quickly learn that maintaining natural vegetation improves honey yields.

Farmer Testimonial:

“Before bees, I didn’t care about the forest. Now I protect it—those flowers are my bees’ food, and my honey’s quality depends on them.” — Juma Bakari, Lindi Region

We’ve observed farmers voluntarily establishing “bee corridors” of native flowering plants and protecting forest edges adjacent to their farms.

Climate Adaptation Benefits

Beyond mitigation, our programs enhance farmer resilience to climate impacts:

Soil Health: Tree crops improve soil structure, increasing water infiltration and reducing erosion during heavy rains.

Drought Tolerance: Mature cashew trees can withstand dry periods better than annual crops, providing stable income even in difficult years.

Microclimate Moderation: Tree cover reduces temperature extremes, protecting both crops and farmers.

Income Diversification: Multiple income streams (cashews + honey) reduce vulnerability to single-crop failures.

Quantifying Our Impact

We’re developing rigorous measurement frameworks to validate our climate impact:

Current Approach

• Tree counts and survival monitoring
• Satellite imagery analysis of land cover changes
• Standard IPCC carbon estimation factors

Planned Improvements

• On-farm carbon sampling in partnership with research institutions
• Blockchain-based tree and forest monitoring
• Third-party verification for potential carbon credit certification

Carbon Markets: A Future Opportunity

While we currently don’t sell carbon credits, we’re exploring this as an additional revenue stream that could benefit farmers:

Potential Structure:

• Farmers receive payment for verified carbon sequestration
• Stawi facilitates measurement, verification, and sales
• Credits offered to corporate partners seeking offsets

Challenges remain—transaction costs, permanence guarantees, and additionality verification are all active areas of work. But the opportunity is significant: carbon payments could eventually represent 10-15% of farmer income.

The Bigger Picture

Agriculture accounts for approximately 24% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Transforming agricultural practices—particularly in smallholder systems across developing countries—is essential to meeting Paris Agreement targets.

Stawi’s model demonstrates that climate-smart agriculture doesn’t require farmers to sacrifice income. In fact, our most productive farmers are also our most carbon-positive. Profitability and sustainability align.

What You Can Do

For Investors: Climate-positive agriculture represents a compelling investment thesis. Support models like Stawi that prove environmental and financial returns can coexist.

For Corporates: Integrate verified carbon-positive products into your supply chain. Stawi offers traceable, sustainable cashews and honey.

For Governments: Create enabling policies for agroforestry and smallholder climate programs. Simplify access to climate finance.

For Consumers: Choose products from sustainable sources. Every purchase decision sends a market signal.

Want to learn more about Stawi’s environmental impact? Contact our team or read our annual impact report.