Adopting climate-friendly practices in agriculture poses challenges for farmers, especially when faced with high initial costs or the risk of reduced yields. This issue is particularly pronounced in India, where over 86% of farmers operate on small or marginal lands, typically less than 2 hectares. In this context, low-effort, high-impact farming methods become essential.
One such method in rice farming is Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD), which provides climate benefits without significant financial investment or yield loss.
In conventional rice farming, seeds are initially grown in nurseries and transplanted after 25–30 days into the larger main field. Post-transplantation, rice grows for approximately 90–100 days, sometimes extending to over 120 days for specific varieties. For the first 65 days, fields are kept flooded with 4–5 cm of standing water. This flooding helps control weeds by creating oxygen-deficient conditions that inhibit weed seed germination.
Continuous flooding leads to an anaerobic environment ideal for methane-producing microbes that decompose organic matter. During this process, carbon from decaying plant materials reacts with hydrogen in water, producing methane—a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential around 28 times higher than carbon dioxide over a century. Consequently, traditional flooded rice farming significantly contributes to agricultural emissions.
Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) replaces the continuous flooding method with a schedule of drying and re-flooding paddy fields. This method disrupts the anaerobic conditions that favor methane-producing microbes, thus reducing emissions.
Farmers are advised to implement the following AWD schedule:
A study conducted by Mitti Labs Ltd during the 2024 kharif season assessed 30 paddy fields in three villages of Warangal district. The findings revealed:
This illustrates AWD as a low-effort yet impactful practice that conserves water and reduces emissions without compromising productivity.
Beyond resource efficiency, AWD presents opportunities for farmers to generate carbon credits. These credits allow farmers to monetize methane reductions, with direct measurements and data collection creating a robust monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) system.
Industries with high energy and water consumption, such as data centers and airlines, purchase these credits to offset emissions and fulfill net-zero commitments, enhancing demand for verified agricultural practices.
Currently, methane abatement credits trade between $15 and $25 per tonne CO₂e. With an estimated reduction of ~2.5 tCO₂e/ha per crop, farmers can potentially earn ~$37.5/ha, translating to approximately ₹3,367 per hectare (₹1,363 per acre) per crop. Given that India is the world's largest rice producer and exporter, AWD-related carbon markets provide a scalable opportunity for farmers to increase their income while simultaneously lowering emissions.
Q1. What is Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD)?
Answer: AWD is a rice cultivation technique that alternates between flooding and drying paddy fields to reduce methane emissions and conserve water while maintaining yield.
Q2. How does AWD benefit farmers financially?
Answer: By adopting AWD, farmers can earn carbon credits for reducing methane emissions, translating into additional income from the sale of these credits.
Q3. What are the key advantages of using AWD?
Answer: AWD helps conserve water, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and maintains crop yields, making it a sustainable choice for rice farming.
Q4. How can farmers measure methane reductions?
Answer: Farmers can measure methane reductions using field chambers and laboratory analysis as part of a rigorous monitoring and verification system.
Q5. Is AWD widely adopted in India?
Answer: AWD is gaining traction among Indian farmers as a climate-friendly practice that enhances sustainability and farmer income while addressing environmental concerns.
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