In a first, 2.5k Punjab, Haryana farmers earn nearly ₹3 crore for soil carbon credits

The first issuance covered around 30,000 acres and more than 50,000 carbon credits, with participating farmers receiving approximately ₹3,000– ₹15,000, the ministry said in a statement

For the first time in India, more than 2,500 farmers in Punjab and Haryana have earned ₹2.9 crore for generating verified soil carbon credits by adopting regenerative farming practices, the Union agriculture ministry said on Thursday.

The ministry said 2,550 farmers were paid according to their share of the carbon credits generated from their fields. (HT Photo for representation)

The first issuance covered around 30,000 acres and more than 50,000 carbon credits, with participating farmers receiving approximately ₹3,000– ₹15,000, the ministry said in a statement.

The payments – released at an event organised at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana – are part of ‘Aadi’, a Grow Indigo farmer carbon programme, a non-government scheme launched in 2019 with technical guidance from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

ICAR director general M L Jat said that the initiative demonstrates how climate-smart farming practices, backed by scientific assessment and rigorous verification, can create additional income opportunities for smallholder farmers while contributing to water conservation and improved air quality.

The ministry said 2,550 farmers were paid according to their share of the carbon credits generated from their fields. “Grow Indigo released the payments digitally from its own funds before the credits were fully sold, enabling farmers to receive the payments without waiting for sale proceeds,” the ministry added. Farmers could choose between an assured upfront payment and 75 per cent of the net carbon revenue after the credits were sold.

The payments followed a multi-year process of measurement and independent verification. Farmers who joined the programme after 2022 are part of the next monitoring cycle and will receive payments as their carbon credits are issued.

The carbon payments provide an economic incentive for practices that can also generate environmental benefits. Direct-seeded rice can reduce irrigation requirements compared with conventional transplanting, while improved crop-residue management can help reduce stubble burning and associated air pollution.

For enrolled fields during 2019–2022, the programme estimates savings of 45 billion litres of water and more than two lakh tonnes of crop residue kept out of fires, avoiding an estimated 1,000 tonnes of PM2.5 emissions, the ministry added.