India’s agricultural carbon market has moved from policy discussions to farm-level payments, with more than 2,500 farmers in Punjab and Haryana receiving over Rs 2.9 crore for adopting regenerative farming practices.The first payments were released at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, where M L Jat, Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), initiated direct benefit transfers to the farmers.“The payments are part of ‘Aadi’, a Grow Indigo farmer-carbon programme launched in 2019, with technical guidance from ICAR. Farmers participating in the programme adopted practices such as direct-seeded rice (DSR), reduced tillage and crop-residue management between 2019 and 2022,” an official of the Ministry of Agriculture told The Tribune.She said the greenhouse gas reductions and increases in soil carbon resulting from these practices were measured and independently verified before carbon credits were issued.Aadi is the first flagship farmer-carbon programme in India to issue agricultural carbon credits under the Verra VM0042 methodology. The programme covers more than 2 million acres and over one lakh farmers across seven states.The payments provide an additional economic incentive for practices aimed at improving soil health, conserving water and reducing crop-residue burning.Under the programme, participating fields during the 2019-22 period saved an estimated 45 billion litres of water and kept more than 2 lakh tonnes of crop residue out of fires, avoiding about 1,000 tonnes of PM2.5 emissions, the official said.“Farmers were paid according to their share of carbon credits generated from their fields. The first issuance covered around 30,000 acres and more than 50,000 carbon credits, with participating farmers receiving approximately Rs 3,000 to Rs 15,000. Farmers who joined after 2022 will be paid in subsequent monitoring cycles as their credits are issued,” Usha Barwale Zehr, Executive Director, Grow Indigo, said.The carbon payments come against the backdrop of efforts to reduce stubble burning and address pressure on groundwater in Punjab.According to the ministry, farm-fire incidents in the state declined from more than 83,000 in 2020 to fewer than 5,000 in 2025. It also cited Ransinh Kalan village in Moga as a model where residue burning was avoided across 1,310 acres for six consecutive years.