Carbon credit registry Verra has approved the first carbon credits issued under its Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) methodology for improved management in rice production systems (VM0051).
The inaugural issuance was granted to the Core Carbon Sustainable Rice Productions 01 project (Verra Project 3243), developed by Core CarbonX Solutions in the southern coastal state of Telangana, India.
The project has achieved over 210,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) in verified emission reductions by introducing improved water and crop management practices across flooded rice paddies in the region.
Flooded rice cultivation represents one of the largest global sources of agricultural methane emissions. The project addresses these emissions by transitioning participating smallholder farmers to an Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) irrigation model.
Key technical and operational parameters include:
- Methane abatement mechanism: Allowing paddies to dry periodically increases soil oxygen levels, directly suppressing the activity of methane-producing anaerobic microbes.
- Technical & direct financial support: Core CarbonX Solutions equips local farmers with field water monitoring tubes, technical training, and a direct revenue-sharing model funded by carbon credit sales.
- Methodological integrity: Methodology VM0051 applies updated scientific standards to quantify GHG reductions and incentivises secondary interventions, including methanotrophic bacteria application and climate-resilient rice seed varieties.
- Pipeline scale: Verra lists 13 additional VM0051 projects currently undergoing validation across India, Brazil, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Madagascar.
Verra noted that certifying real-world agricultural emissions reductions provides scalable carbon finance options for rural farming communities across key global food-producing regions.
