Costa Rica took another step towards consolidating its environmental leadership on 3 July in San José, honouring 67 farmers who are generating ecosystem services through sustainable soil management (SSM) under the Recarbonization of Global Agricultural Soils (RECSOIL) initiative. The event marked the culmination of a three-year collaborative effort to build a national soil-based Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES-Soil).

RECSOIL is led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) through the Global Soil Partnership (GSP). In Costa Rica, the initiative is implemented by farmers of Dos Pinos Cooperative and iCafé, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Costa Rica (MAG) and the National Forestry Financing Fund (FONAFIFO), with financial support from PhosAgro, a leading phosphate-based fertilizer producer and the Scaling up Climate Action on Land Use and Agriculture through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) (SCALA) programme, jointly implemented by FAO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Together, these partners have supported the sustainable management and recarbonization of agricultural soils across 32 cantons of Costa Rica.

A milestone public policy instrument to drive healthy soils

The formal recognition of, and payments to, farmers participating in the RECSOIL pilot is a milestone public policy instrument that rewards farmers who manage agricultural soils sustainably.

For the first time, Costa Rica is testing a mechanism that rewards farmers not only for what they produce, but also for how they produce, recognizing the ecosystem services their soils provide, including carbon storage, improved soil health and greater resilience.

The PES-Soil mechanism, which compensates farmers implementing a set of recommended practices according to their agricultural system, was carefully constructed using RECSOIL soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil health and sustainable management practices monitoring protocols, in combination with local agronomic expertise and farmer inputs.  

The RECSOIL pilot in Costa Rica initiated with a focus on dairy and coffee systems, tailoring recommended practices based on soil type and climatic condition, degradation processes affecting soil health and productivity and feasibility of implementation. These systems were selected as pilot cohorts as these sectors have the power to make substantial strides towards Costa Rica's NDCs, NAP, Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA), and its broader strategy for a more resilient, competitive and low-emission agricultural sector. The experience developed through RECSOIL builds a strong case for scaling up locally-adapted, soil-based PES more widely, positioning Costa Rica as an international reference point for nature-based solutions that transform agrifood systems.

“Environment and agriculture cannot be separated; they always go hand in hand” said Costa Rica's Vice Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Fernando Vargas Pérez. “These incentives seek to recognize producers who are doing things right and represent the possibility of capitalizing on the carbon generated by sustainably managed agricultural farms.”

RECSOIL in Costa Rica: from baseline to results

Since the pilot began, RECSOIL has engaged 67 farms across 32 cantons of Costa Rica. Coffee and livestock producers led the effort to implement SSM through participating in RECSOIL.

Each participating farm underwent a feasibility assessment of its soil carbon sequestration potential, while technicians from the Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA) and local universities participated in technical trainings on SOC and soil health monitoring, data management, use of the RECSOIL app for on-farm data collection and greenhouse gas emission estimation through the Environmental eXternalities ACcounting Tool (EX-ACT). The technicians then conducted a more precise baseline assessment of initial SOC stocks and soil health indicators, using this data, in collaboration with farmer observations, to determine the most suitable SSM practices to implement for the improvement of soil health. Farmers also received training on soil evaluation and participated in knowledge-sharing workshops to spread best practices, trouble shoot and adjust implementation to maximize soil health.

Over the past three years, pilot participants have implemented these SSM practices, generated technical information, and strengthened their capacities to advance towards more resilient, efficient and sustainable production systems.

“The producers who are part of this first RECSOIL pilot are the main protagonists of this success,” said Natalia Rodriguez Eugenio, FAO Land and Water Officer. “They have committed to caring for their soils because they know that healthy soil is the foundation for more productive and resilient agrifood systems, offering better opportunities for future generations.”

Partnerships turning a pilot into policy

One of the pilot's key achievements has been the co-design of the national PES-Soil mechanism, coordinated by MAG and FONAFIFO together with FAO, UNDP and other strategic partners. The SCALA programme contributed to this process by strengthening technical capacities, fostering inter-institutional coordination, mobilizing private sector actors and generating action-based evidence to help accelerate transformative climate solutions in the agriculture and land-use sectors. This work complemented RECSOIL's technical work on the ground.

“The multistakeholder partnership model used to develop the PES-Soil mechanism is key to bringing about the changes needed to address global challenges such as climate change and ecosystem degradation” said Kifah Sasa Marín, UNDP Assistant Resident Representative.

Part of a growing global effort

Costa Rica's experience adds a pioneering public policy element to a growing body of RECSOIL pilots worldwide – where farmers, soil scientists and government representatives are promoting SSM practices to build more resilient agrifood systems. With an innovative PES model that integrates science, public policy and sustainable production, Costa Rica now offers a scalable, replicable example of how countries can leverage healthy soils as allies against climate change.