New €50M Loan Fund Set to Supercharge Soil Carbon Farming Across Europe

A €50 million private credit facility has been launched to accelerate the rollout of soil carbon projects across Europe, giving farmers a financial leg-up in adopting regenerative agriculture. Spearheaded by Lithuanian firm InSoil and bolstered by a €20 million investment from the European Investment Fund (EIF), the initiative will offer interest-free loans to farms ready to make the sustainable leap.

Close-up of golden crops with a bee hovering nearby, and farmers from Lithuania in the background. AI generated picture.

The fund aims to scale up eco-friendly practices like no-till cultivation and cover cropping—methods known to improve soil health, lock away carbon, and support biodiversity. Alongside the environmental gains, these techniques offer farmers a new opportunity: earning revenue from carbon credits generated through soil restoration.

‘This new vehicle will provide capital for projects with measurable green impact, underscoring institutional confidence in investing in transition to regenerative agriculture,’ the company noted in a statement.

Once known as HeavyFinance, InSoil has set an ambitious goal: enrol 1 million hectares into its carbon farming initiative by 2026. The company has already issued €75 million in loans to 3,000 farmers across six countries, enabling regenerative practices on half a million hectares. These efforts, according to the company, have removed an estimated 700,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent from the atmosphere.

Currently, InSoil is using Verra’s VM0042 methodology—’Improved Agricultural Land Management v2.1’—for credit certification. Nicole Maka-Sprawa, the company’s communications lead, told Quantum via email that ‘the first batch of carbon credits is expected later this year or early next year.’

She added that actual carbon sequestration rates will vary depending on the land area, soil conditions, and techniques used—but the outlook is promising. ‘By 2030 our projects will be sequestering several million tonnes of CO₂ annually,’ Maka-Sprawa stated.

The new credit offering is geared towards small and medium-sized farms, covering costs from land purchases to equipment and operating expenses. With carbon credits in play, farmers gain not only environmental resilience—but also a new stream of income that rewards environmentally-positive practices.