February 9, 2026
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Agricultural carbon markets must protect farmers through revenue transparency, yield protection, and independent verification.
Agricultural carbon markets in India emphasize financial efficiency and credit volumes over farmer welfare, creating risks from underreported yield declines and intermediary value capture; standards like VM0042 bar certification where reduced fertilizer causes yield loss. Soil methods such as biochar are context-dependent and require multi-year, large-scale field evidence before crediting. The dairy sector is an untapped mitigation opportunity needing India-specific methodologies and scalable pilots. Recommended reforms include mandated revenue transparency, farmer-first contracts, independent yield monitoring with compensation, publicly funded trials, corporate co-financing for research, and stronger public oversight to protect farmers.