Anthesis and Ruuts are among a small group of global project pioneers delivering Verra issued regenerative agriculture carbon removals under VM0042.
11 February 2026
The South American Regenerative Agriculture (SARA) programme has achieved a significant milestone with the issuance of its first Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) through Verra, one of the world’s leading carbon credit certification bodies.
This confirms SARA as one of only eight programmes globally to be achieve issuance under Verra’s VM0042 regenerative agriculture methodology – with Anthesis Group and Ruuts responsible for two of them, underscoring their leadership in scaling high-integrity, nature-based carbon removals.
SARA is also the largest programme to be registered and issued under VM00042 in Argentina, Paraguay and Chile.
Developed by global sustainability consultancy Anthesis Group and Regenerative Agriculture Platform Ruuts, in collaboration with local partners Ovis 21 (Argentina), De Raiz (Paraguay), and Efecto Manada (Chile), the programme demonstrates how regenerative land management can deliver measurable climate, nature and livelihood outcomes at scale.
The programme currently supports more than 130 farms managing approximately 150,000 hectares of rangeland, with farmer participation and land area expected to grow significantly as the programme scales toward a target of 500,000 hectares. These restored landscapes make a measurable, nature-positive contribution to global carbon removal efforts, while strengthening the long-term productivity and resilience of farming systems.
The first monitoring period (2019 – 2023) has now been verified, resulting in the issuance of over 200,000 carbon removal credits, equivalent to more than 200,000 tonnes of CO₂e removed from the atmosphere. Annual issuance volumes are expected to increase year-on-year, with over one million tonnes of CO₂e removals forecast annually from 2028 onwards, subject to continued verification and programme expansion.
SARA combines robust carbon modelling and ecological monitoring with farmer-led land management, peer learning, community engagement, and ongoing technical support. Through the Ovis 21 Regeneration School and a decentralised network of accredited Field Professionals, participating farmers receive regular training and intensive on-farm support, including ecological assessments, water infiltration tests, and soil sampling.
All monitoring data is recorded via the Ruuts Monitoring App, integrated with remote sensing technologies, enabling a fully digitised Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system aligned with the Grassland Regeneration and Sustainability Standard (GRASS).
Importantly, this framework goes beyond carbon to track ecological and socioeconomic outcomes. During the first monitoring period, participating farms recorded a 33% increase in livestock productivity, despite widespread drought conditions across much of the programme area, demonstrating improved resilience, ecosystem function, and livelihoods alongside carbon sequestration.
The SARA issuance follows Anthesis’ earlier success with AgriCarbon in South Africa, the first regenerative agriculture programme in Africa to issue carbon credits under VM0042. Together, these initiatives form part of Anthesis’ growing global portfolio of Verra-registered nature-based carbon projects spanning agriculture, grasslands and landscape restoration.
To find out more about the SARA programme or explore collaboration opportunities, please email [email protected].
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