Amazon has signed a $30 million agreement to purchase carbon credits from Indian rice farmers, in one of the country’s largest agriculture-linked carbon transactions to date.
The deal is executed through the Good Rice Alliance, a partnership involving Bayer, Temasek’s GenZero, and Shell Nature-Based Solutions. This initiative connects over 13,000 smallholder farmers across approximately 35,000 hectares with corporate buyers seeking verified emission offsets.
Farmers adopt sustainable techniques like alternate wetting and drying to reduce methane emissions—a key greenhouse gas from rice paddies, which account for up to 10% of global totals from cultivation. These practices generate credits under standards such as Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard.
In the initial phase, Amazon will secure more than 685,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalent removals, supporting its net-zero ambitions. The program provides farmers with training and new income streams, scaling climate finance to smallholders without direct corporate involvement.
This move highlights growing interest in nature-based solutions in emerging markets like India, where agriculture meets carbon markets.
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