A major new Finnish-led research initiative is developing innovative, science-based solutions to measure and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agricultural lands, paving the way for more climate-friendly farming and food production.
Led by the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the AGCLIMATE project brings together top research institutions and companies, including Vaisala, to address agriculture’s significant role in food system emissions.
The aim is to create practical tools for the food industry to track and reduce emissions at the field level.
Research professor Jari Liski, project lead at the Finnish Meteorological Institute said: “In AGCLIMATE, scientific results are turned into practical solutions for everyday farming.
“Reliable data becomes usable for climate-friendly business and decision-making.”
Four key objectives of AGCLIMATE:
- Develop climate-smart farming practices;
- Build a real-time monitoring system for carbon balance and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions;
- Integrate emissions data into farm- and product-level carbon footprint calculations;
- Strengthen the business potential of low-emission food solutions.
Industry involvement
Carbon dioxide CO2 monitoring company, Vaisala has said that it uses high-quality technology that enables effective climate action.
Fernando Trolia Slamic, head of Vaisala’s New Climate Business said: “This project aligns perfectly with our goal of providing accurate measurement tools and data for understanding and reducing carbon emissions in the food industry.
“We are proud to cooperate and learn together with such a remarkable network of experts and key stakeholders, bringing our expertise to develop next-generation sensing technologies for agricultural and environmental monitoring.”
Collaborative effort to reduce emissions
The AGCLIMATE consortium includes leading research institutes and industry players across the agri-food value chain.
Running from April 2025 to December 2027 and spanning three growing seasons, the project includes seven work packages covering cultivation practices, life cycle analysis, monitoring systems, and international validation.
A field bbservatory system will make real-time measurement data openly accessible to stakeholders.
The results aim to improve the climate performance of food production and help companies prepare for future carbon regulations and market standards. The project is partly funded by Business Finland.
Project partners and roles include the following:
- The Finnish Meteorological Institute – project lead; develops carbon and N2O monitoring systems using field measurements, modeling, and satellite data;
- Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) – focuses on life cycle analysis, research on N2O reduction, soil carbon, and root biomass measurement, and compiles best practices;
- The University of Helsinki – provides expertise on nitrogen-efficient farming and N2O measurement through the Viikki research farm and SMEAR-Agri platform;
- Valio – connects field-level climate impacts with product-specific carbon footprints;
- Hankkija – focuses on climate-smart grass cultivation and forage optimisation;
- Datasense – enhances its GHG Research Suite for integrated emissions research;
- Cense Analytics – develops and provides a comprehensive soil carbon measurement service;
- Vaisala – develops next-generation sensors to improve carbon footprint monitoring and modelling.
