May 2, 2024

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Based in Lithuania, HeavyFinance operates as a connecting investor with European farmers in need of external funding for the expansion of their operations and the shift to regenerative production. 

With the goal of removing one gigaton of CO2 emissions through ag financing, to-date, the team has facilitated financial support for more than 1,700 agricultural ventures in Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Portugal. And they’re not stopping there.

In mid-March 2024, it was announced that the team is raising €50 million (US$54.3 million) for a private credit fund that will support European small and medium-sized (SMEs) businesses with bespoke finance solutions that advance on-farm decarbonization and greener farming practices across the five aforementioned countries. 

Launched in 2020, HeavyFinance has taken more than 10,000 soil samples to help measure carbon storage on farmland, and has already deployed more than €50 million (US$54.3 million) in agricultural loans to promote sustainable practices, modernize equipment, and increase working capital in agriculture. 

This newest fund is anchored by a €20 million (US$21.7 million) cornerstone commitment made by the European Investment Fund (EIF) that will not only bolster the fund in its efforts, but will act to attract capital from additional public and private investors. 

Now, HeavyFinance announced that it has committed to enroll 300,000 hectares (741,316 acres) of farmland in the central and western regions of Ukraine to its carbon farming program with a goal of shifting the land to regenerative agriculture. Once these practices are in place and the area has adopted nature-based, sustainable, and regenerative methods, the farmland will be certified for soil-based carbon credits. 

With a target of generating over 1 million verified soil carbon credits under Verra’s methodology VM0042 volume 2 across Europe by the end of 2025, HeavyFinance is partnering with Ukrainian agricultural company Agsolco and its program Carbon Credit Ukraine – the only company in Europe conducting in-field soil carbon measurement with pre-sampling of more than 3,000 samples in Ukraine planned for the month of July. 

“It is an exciting opportunity for local farmers to participate in the carbon farming program,” said Roman Osadchiy, CEO, Agsolco Ukraine. “Many farmers already started their journey towards regenerative agriculture so this is a great opportunity to acknowledge their contribution to climate change and accelerate further implementation of sustainable farming practices.”

The 300,000-hectare area has been specifically chosen because of its carbon sequestration potential. Producing a mixture of arable crops including wheat, barley, and corn, its chernozem soil, or ‘black soil’, provides one of the highest wheat yields in the world. But for 50 years, deep tillage has been a widespread soil management practice in Ukraine, contributing to significant soil degradation, the loss of humus layer quality and depth, and organic carbon oxidation. 

The combination of the vast potential of chernozem soil with such land degradation presents the opportunity to remove 757.7 million tons of CO2 emissions if regenerative practices are applied across the country’s entire bank of agricultural land. This is equal to the total annual carbon output of Germany. 

HeavyFinance has already enrolled approximately 250,000 hectares of farmland to regenerative agriculture across Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Portugal, and this program will more than double the area covered by the company’s Carbon Farming Program.

Now, together with Agsolco Ukraine, the two companies are expecting the first credit issuance to occur in Q3 of 2025. 

“We tactically chose several key markets aiming for deep market penetration accelerated by localized educational programs and consultations from prominent agronomists and soil scientists,” explained Laimonas Noreika, CEO and co-founder, HeavyFinance. 

“To improve their soil along with storing more carbon, agricultural entrepreneurs need smart financial support that comes with laboratory soil sample analysis, insights, and guidance to add new regenerative farming practices to the existing mix.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and Agtech Intel News. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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