Why in News?
India has moved its agricultural carbon market from the policy level to the farm level, with more than 2,500 smallholder farmers in Punjab and Haryana set to receive over ₹2.9 crore through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for adopting regenerative farming practices. The first payments were initiated at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, for 2,550 farmers.
About Agricultural Carbon Market and Aadi Programme
The payments are linked to the ‘Aadi’ farmer carbon programme, launched by Grow Indigo in 2019 with technical guidance from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Under the programme, farmers adopted practices such as Direct Seeded Rice (DSR), reduced tillage and improved crop-residue management between 2019 and 2022.
The programme currently covers more than 2 million acres and over 100,000 farmers across seven States and has issued agricultural carbon credits under the Verra VM0042 methodology.
Agricultural carbon markets provide economic incentives to farmers for adopting practices that can reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, improve soil health and strengthen climate resilience. ICAR institutions have supported greenhouse-gas accounting, crop-simulation modelling, soil sampling, device validation, field training and satellite-based remote sensing.
Direct Seeded Rice can reduce irrigation requirements compared with conventional rice transplantation, while better crop-residue management can reduce the need for stubble burning and thereby help address air pollution in the Punjab-Haryana region.
The initiative represents a shift towards regenerative agriculture, with emphasis on water conservation, soil-health improvement, sustainable residue management and climate-resilient farming.
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