India’s First Soil Carbon Payments

What is soil carbon?

• Soil carbon refers to carbon stored in soil organic matter through plant residues, roots and other organic materials.
• Agricultural practices can influence whether carbon is:
  
• stored in the soil, increasing soil organic carbon; or
• released into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases.
• This creates the basis for soil-carbon projects in agricultural carbon markets. 
• Practices such as reduced tillage, residue management and diversified cropping can improve soil health and potentially increase carbon storage.
    
  What is the Aadi Programme?
  

• Aadi is a farmer carbon programme launched by Grow Indigo in 2019, with technical guidance from ICAR.
• Farmers adopted regenerative farming practices during 2019–2022.
• The resulting reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions and increase in soil carbon were measured and independently verified.
• Carbon credits were then issued under the Verra VM0042 methodology.
• Farmers receive a share of the carbon credits generated from their own fields.
• Farming practices involved: The programme promotes practices such as:
  
• Direct Seeded Rice (DSR)
• Reduced/minimum tillage
• Crop-residue management
• Residue retention
• Diversified cropping
• Efficient water use
   

• How does soil carbon payment work?
   The important feature is that farmers are not simply paid for adopting a practice.
   They are paid based on the verified environmental outcome generated by their fields.
  
     Farmers adopt regenerative practices
                            ↓GHG reductions and soil-carbon changes are measured
                            ↓Data are independently verified
                            ↓Carbon credits are issued
                            ↓Revenue from carbon credits is shared with participating farmers
   This makes the initiative an example of results-based environmental payments.
       
  

         Conclusion: Soil-carbon payments represent a shift from treating sustainability as an                     additional cost of farming to recognising it as a potential source of farm income. Their                 long-term success will depend on credible MRV, transparent benefit sharing and wider                   adoption of resource-efficient agriculture.