Computer giant Microsoft is paying €137,000 to 15 farmers to plant native trees in a forestry deal that could be rolled out on a much larger scale, according to John O’Reilly of forestry company Green Belt.

Farmers in Cork, Kerry, Galway and Mayo are already planting native hardwood trees in return for a €1,000/ha supplementary payment from Microsoft.

This is paid on top of the existing Government grant of around €5,000/ha and premium of €635 annually for 15 years.

The farmers retain ownership of their land, trees and the resulting timber, while Microsoft can claim the environmental benefits of trees as part of its corporate social responsibility commitments.

The 137ha of trees will sequester 35,600t of carbon over 40 years, which is the same as taking 7,500 cars off the road for one year.

The idea was developed by UK-based Forest Carbon Ltd, Natural Capital Partners and Irish-based Green Belt.

“It’s very early days but there is no reason why large multinationals who have huge budgets for corporate social responsibility won’t invest more in projects like this,” John O’Reilly told the Irish Farmers Journal.

“The Microsoft supplementary payment compensates farmers for providing ecosystem services, things like improved water quality, soil protection, increased habitats and increased biodiversity,” he continued.

“If the idea is developed, it could become a form of REPS or GLAS without funding coming from the Department.”

Some 450,000 trees will be planted in this project, consisting of around 60% native Irish oak, as well as birch, alder, road, Scots pine, hazel, holly and cherry.