India’s first soil-carbon payments: ₹2.9 crore to 2,550 farmers in Punjab and Haryana

Soil-carbon payments to farmers: what happened?

When a farmer stops burning straw or ploughs less, more carbon stays in the soil and less greenhouse gas goes into the air. If this gain is measured and verified, it can be sold as carbon credits. This is the first time Indian farmers have been paid for carbon stored in their soil.

• Farmers adopted Direct Seeded Rice (DSR), reduced tillage and crop residue management between 2019 and 2022.
• Greenhouse-gas cuts and soil-carbon gains were measured and independently verified before credits were issued.
• The first issuance covered around 30,000 acres and more than 50,000 carbon credits.
• Grow Indigo paid from its own funds before the credits were fully sold, so farmers did not have to wait.
• Farmers could choose an assured upfront payment, or 75 per cent of net carbon revenue after sale.

What did the fields save?

• About 45 billion litres of water (enrolled fields, 2019 to 2022).
• More than two lakh tonnes of crop residue kept out of fires.
• An estimated 1,000 tonnes of PM2.5 emissions avoided.

How big is the programme?

• More than two million acres.
• Over 100,000 farmers.
• Seven states.
• Farmers who joined after 2022 are in the next monitoring cycle and will be paid as their credits are issued.

What has happened to farm fires in Punjab?

How does a farmer earn from soil carbon?

1. Adopt DSR, reduced tillage, residue retention
2. Field changes measured (soil samples, models, satellites)
3. Independent verification
4. Carbon credits issued (Verra VM0042)
5. Farmer paid by share of credits from his field

Why does soil-carbon payments to farmers matter?

What are the challenges in soil-carbon payments to farmers?

• Measuring and verifying soil carbon takes years; the first payment came for work done in 2019 to 2022.
• Payments are small, so they may not cover the cost of changing practice on their own.
• Credits are sold later at uncertain prices; the upfront option shields farmers from this.
• A private programme; scaling it needs clear national rules for farm carbon credits.

What should be done next on soil-carbon payments to farmers?

• Pay farmers who joined after 2022 as their credits are issued.
• Spread DSR and residue retention through KVKs and State bodies.
• Use the BRICS network to share methods.

What can Prelims ask on soil-carbon payments to farmers?

• First soil-carbon payments in India: PAU, Ludhiana, 17 September 2026.
• ‘Aadi’ programme: Grow Indigo, 2019, with ICAR guidance.
• Credits issued under the Verra VM0042 methodology.
• ICAR-IIFSR, Modipuram coordinates the BRICS regenerative farming network at first.
• Punjab farm fires 2025: 5,114, the lowest under the present framework.

How to write about soil-carbon payments to farmers in Mains

Practice question (10 marks, 150 words): Carbon markets can reward farmers for climate-friendly practices. Examine with reference to India’s first soil-carbon payments in 2026.

• Intro: ₹2.9 crore to 2,550 farmers, 17 September 2026.
• How: practices, measurement, verification, credits.
• Gains: income, water, air, soil.
• Limits: delay, small payments, price risk.
• Way forward.

What should UPPCS aspirants note?

• ICAR-Indian Institute of Farming System Research (IIFSR) is at Modipuram, Meerut, UP; it will coordinate the BRICS network at first.