NABARD ARDNABARD Grade AState AAO
In one line
India’s agricultural carbon market reached a milestone as 2,550+ small farmers in Punjab and Haryana received over ₹2.9 crore through DBT — India’s first farm-level soil carbon payments for verified regenerative farming practices.
Context
What It Is
- A digital market-linkage mechanism monetising verified soil organic carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas reductions
- Rewarding smallholder farmers for regenerative, climate-smart agronomic practices
Implementing Entity
- Grow Indigo — an agri-tech joint venture between Mahyco and US-based Indigo Ag
- Through its farmer-carbon initiative, the ‘Aadi’ programme
Background
- Initiated in 2019 to curb air pollution from paddy stubble burning in northwestern India and reverse groundwater depletion in the Indo-Gangetic plains
- The first payment cycle covers carbon sequestered and emissions avoided between 2019 and 2022
- Initial tranche of roughly 30,000 acres, generating over 50,000 internationally certified carbon credits
How it Works?
| Stage | How It Works |
|---|---|
| 1. Field Practice Adoption | Farmers adopt Direct Seeded Rice (DSR), minimum tillage, cover crops, and in-situ residue retention, replacing conventional transplanting and stubble burning. |
| 2. Measurement, Reporting & Verification (MRV) | Soil carbon and GHG changes are tracked using satellite data, digital crop models, and periodic soil sampling. |
| 3. Credit Issuance & Monetisation | Verified carbon credits are sold in the voluntary carbon market. |
| 4. Farmer Payment | Farmers receive upfront payments or 75% of the net proceeds from carbon-credit sales. |
