Ashok Tanneeru, Founder, Tanneeru Croppinn Pvt Ltd, Kondapur, Telangana, explains how using digital tools and precision techniques, smart farming supports the natural ability of soil to store carbon. Improved soil management helps trap carbon that would otherwise contribute to global warming. It also enhances soil fertility and crop performance. This innovative approach strengthens both environmental and agricultural outcomes.
Smart farming is something we have been hearing about for the last few years. We have been hearing about smart farming, or digital farming, or precision farming in the last couple of years or a few years already, but it is not that easy to get this implemented in India. It is getting difficult as of now, with carbon farming making its way. Carbon farming is a new market, a completely new market, so it just started a few years back in the western world, Europe, the US, China, and now the Indian government has started focusing more on carbon farming. So we all should know in detail about what smart farming is, what carbon farming is, how it has changed from the past to present, what is expected in the future out of these farming methodologies, and how it is changing the landscape of agriculture, with special emphasis on agriculture.
So when we compare smart farming and carbon farming, smart farming is also called precision farming or digital farming, and carbon farming is also called carbon sequestration. Sequestration means capture and storage. So it means to capture the carbon from the atmosphere and store it. There are different methods and different ways of doing that. The area we should focus on now is carbon sequestration in carbon farming in the agriculture sector. Smart farming is completely technology and data-driven, like satellite imagery, drones, or robots, and the data that it captures, the NDI VDI indexes. This data will be processed and communicated to the farmer for improvement and to achieve more efficiency in the farming practice. Carbon farming is methodology-driven or process-driven. It is a sequence of steps and methods to follow. Nothing too technical or too new in carbon farming. It is the same ancient method in a procedural way to ensure the carbon is sequestrated in the soil.
Smart farming activities observe, measure, and respond. The satellite observes the imagery, measures, processes the imagery, and it will be communicated to the farmer, and the farmer responds as per the instructions to water or fertilise the farms. Carbon farming is capture, store, decompose, capturing the carbon through the plants or trees, the forestry or large landscapes, and storing the carbon that is captured. It will be stored because the plants and trees store the carbon in the soil, in the trunks, in the leaves, in the stems, and then once the plants die or decompose, the carbon will be trapped in the soil where it is applied. Mostly, it is crops, livestock, forests, forestry, and smart farming. Carbon farming also involves crops, agroforestry like afforestation, reforestation, and landscapes, large landscapes.
Smart field management
The smart farming cycle has mainly three parts: initiate, monitor, and control. These are the three phases of one smart farming cycle. I am not including marketing the product or procurement. I am focusing only on production. Initially, the farm has to be located, and the farm has to be set up with the coordinates. The system will read the coordinates and assign the satellite imagery or drones to a particular location, and it will capture the images through sensors, IoT devices located in the location, or satellite imagery or drones capturing the images. These images will be stored, captured, and validated for their correctness and what kind of images. There are BDI and NDVI indices that calculate the colour pixelation in the images. Based on that, the plant health and soil moisture level will be determined.
This is monitoring. Some formulas calculate the plant health based on leaf colour. Basically, there are four colours: green, brown, light brown, dark brown, and red. Based on the colours, the plants are healthy or are about to die, or are yellow, basic yellow. When the plant is about to die, it gets a pale yellow colour and then a brown colour, and some other colours based on the crop type. These colours will be calculated, and based on that, the plant health information will be extracted, and the reports will be generated.
Then, control what we are going to do with the data. As an end user, the farmer, as it is technically challenging to implement smart farming, it is not going to be easy for all farmers. So we are planning a solution to assist in this area. Respond as if they have to water the plants and implement the actions based on the extracted reports. Harvest by harvest, if they have to change the configuration, the amounts of fertilisers, pesticides, or change the seed quality or mixing crops, these things will be generated through AI. AI-driven algorithms will also be there. Predictive analytics for the next harvest, the future harvest, to get better results. Then verify and enhance. Based on the reports, the farmer will reduce the fertilisers or pesticides and utilise these pesticides and fertilisers in the effective area, not the entire farm. Smart farming enables the farmer to apply these ingredients to the effective area, which will save money and also not over-pollute the farm or overdose the plants.
Carbon credit workflow
The carbon farming cycle is more or less the same. How carbon farming will be completed in a cycle is similar. A couple of terminologies are the same, but the activities and processes will be a little different. The farm will be located. It could be a farm or agroforestry, or a landmass, or a place where the owner or the person responsible for that land is claiming carbon credits or is willing to enable carbon farming. We need to have the location and set up the location details: type of crop or type of agroforestry, types of plants and trees in that location. Then capture all the data and validate. Validation will give us the results of what level of carbon is present. As per industry standards, one metric ton of carbon is equivalent to one carbon credit. The price varies from country to country. Europe is 5 to €10. The US standard is now around $10 to $15. India is going to set up an infrastructure and define a price tag for every carbon credit submitted. There will be a government body, a steering committee, and agencies that will approve the claims. Once approved, the carbon credits will be allotted to the responsible person and then traded on a trading platform like NSE, BSE. A new trading platform will be coming up in 2025. It is still in progress.
Then estimate the carbon that can be sequestrated in that piece of land, and then process the process. What process has to be followed, like cover crops, no tillage, no chemicals, and pesticides? Following certain methodologies, carbon sequestration can be complete. Extract the information and give the report, and then another agency will come and approve the report. That is how the trading will happen. Then continuity. You need to respond to the reports and see any enhancements, and implement the sequestration process. The methodologies cannot be done in one or two harvests. It will take a few harvests to have proper results. Practically, it will take time for the process to mature. It is a huge market. India is aggressive in this because of the Paris Agreement and commitments, cap and trade agreements. Everything is getting in line.
Maintenance has to be done. Maintenance is done through contracts. In the US and Europe, they are fulfilling this by having a contract with the farm or the location or the person claiming carbon credits for five to ten years. An agreement that says you will follow certain methodologies and processes to successfully have carbon sequestration. Likewise, we will also start with contracts. Without contracts, we cannot assure that the carbon sequestration is done and is reliable. Contracts are needed to ensure carbon sequestration is in place and reliable.
Agriculture transformation journey
The transition of smart farming compared with the past, present, and future. Past: there was no word called smart farming, but farming was done by ancestral knowledge. Currently, it is done by research information, articles from agencies or institutes, based on agriculture research departments, following guidelines of pesticides or soil fertility or irrigation methodologies. In the future, it will be reinforced learning and machine learning. Reinforced learning is a module in AI. Currently, we have drones and robots controlled by joysticks or control devices to capture or sprinkle fertilisers or pesticides. In the coming days, these will become autonomous controls at the server side. As the farm is captured, it is possible to make it autonomous. It is in progress. All controls will be autonomous like driverless cars. Time-driven and data-driven. The AI will learn from experiences and output. It will learn algorithms and logic and improvise by itself. It will communicate with the machines. The process will get better.
Whenever something happens, like any disease or something going wrong, in the past, it was peer advisory or farm associations. Now we have centralised crop advisory systems. Answers are recorded and communicated to similar questions. In the future, it will be taken over by AI to avoid human mistakes. Answers will get better with reinforced learning and will be in multiple languages because agriculture is regional. Earlier, it was manual operations with bullocks. No machinery. Now we have tractors, machines, drones, and robots. In the future, all will be autonomous. With a click or a tap, everything will be done. It will capture the root paths, store the root paths, and be autonomous. The infected area will be sprinkled with pesticides or fertilisers based on the captured images and results.
It was labour-intensive in the past. Now it is labour and machines. Labour is getting scarce. In the future, it will be fully automated. Only people will operate digitally. There may be manual planting or seeding, but mostly 70 to 80% will be automatic. Earlier, it had a very low carbon footprint. Now we have a little more. In the future, it will have a high carbon footprint because the technology and energy required by machines release carbon. Pesticides and fertilisers were not present earlier. Now we have excess because of monoculture and industrial farms, pests, and soil degradation. Farmers are forced to use them. Without fertilisers and pesticides, there will be no production. In the coming days, it will be mitigated by applying to the infected area only, improving soil quality, adding natural fertilisers, and reducing pesticides. It is already in progress. Some chemicals are dangerous to human and soil health.
Farming practices over time
Carbon farming adoption: earlier, we had permaculture, not commercial, mostly communal farming. Mix of different trees and crops, small crops, mixed crops, cover crops, ponds, water bodies. Natural mulching with dried leaves and other plants. Now we are in monoculture. Farming only one crop on 10 hectares. Market the produce for price. Once harvested, again monoculture. Commercial aspect. In the future, regenerative farming, more or less permaculture again. This will change. The commercial perspective is still open. How farmers can make it commercial and get more profit by replacing monoculture needs a solution.
Commodity farming: earlier farmers had groups and exchanged commodities. Now it is commercial. Billions of people to be fed. Because of commercial farming and monoculture, soil nutrients are depleted. Some plants always take nitrogen. The soil becomes unusable for some years. That has to stop. The farmer has to change based on demand and AI recommendations based on soil quality, accessibility, rain, and other factors. This is coming. Centralised farming. The system will recommend which crop is beneficial and good for soil health. Earlier, it was fertile soil, rich in microbial soil. Now, infertile soil, with no microbes because of excessive pesticides. In the future, we have to save soil with the best methodologies. Expected, but we do not know how it goes in India.
Water management: earlier optimum with small wells and water bodies. Now fewer water bodies because of commercialisation and machine-driven farms. In the coming days, irrigation will be restructured. Government, agencies, and farmers are planning irrigation activities to save water. There were no carbon incentives earlier. Now carbon incentives are being initiated worldwide. India is aggressively planning carbon credits infrastructure and trading platforms. The US, Europe have already implemented carbon incentives. Farmers who sequester carbon get paid per tonne per year.
In the future, incentives will be important. Incentive-driven farming will come. Everyone wants to reduce carbon. Earlier, natural sequestration happened through photosynthesis. Plants store carbon. It is released into the soil, and microbes convert it to nutrients. Now sequestration is difficult because of tilling, soil erosion, water management, soil not wet, mulching needed, and cover crops. It is not feasible. Countries decided to implement the cap and trade agreements discussed in 1997 and activated in 2005. Paris Agreement to reduce emissions and reach carbon neutrality. In the future, carbon farming will be controlled through digital data and reports to respective departments and global agencies.
Carbon incentive systems
Achievements: carbon credit scheme implemented already. The trading scheme was implemented last year. The global cap and trade agreement is active. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency in India will administer. The Central Energy Regulation Commission will build the infrastructure for trading, like the NSE, for carbon credits. Companies will claim sequestration and get credits. If someone is not doing well, they buy credits. It is a fine or a penalty. People doing well get incentives. Balance will be maintained. Almost all countries approved. We have national trading and international trading platforms. Early stage. It will take years to mature.
Grid Controller of India Limited will control data. National committees established. Green credits are coming. Separating carbon credits and green credits. Green credits are voluntary. Three markets: compliance, voluntary, and allowance markets. Compliance is for industries. They set benchmarks. If emissions are below, they earn credits. If above, they buy credits. New system to incentivise good behaviour. Allowance market exchanges credits among intermediaries. ICFRE controls green credits: sustainable agriculture, water management, pollution control, voluntary activities, and agroforestry. Green credits are controlled separately. The green credit programme is voluntary.
Coming up: government still thinking about base price for carbon credit: maybe 100 to 200 rupees. India will participate in COP28 UAE regarding implementation updates. Framework is in progress. Agencies have to be recognised, maybe by private parties. Steering committee formation. Technical committee formation. Trading platform registry in progress. The government is focusing on demand and supply. Both sides should be balanced. People storing carbon should claim credits. People emitting more carbon should pay fines. Case study: Energy Points by Bureau of Energy Efficiency. Saved energy earned certificates. That will help in carbon credits implementation. The government is thinking about allowing secondary markets and brokers. This is the complete status of carbon farming and carbon credits in India.
Carbon and PES Comparison
Difference between PES and carbon credit: PES protects the environment, and the government pays. Carbon credit is similar. PES growers who sequester carbon can claim carbon credits. They have to register and claim how much carbon they sequestered over which duration. For example, 10 acres will sequester one tonne per year or 10 tonnes. They can claim. PES and carbon credits have no difference. Even non-farmers can claim if they take responsibility for open land and sequester carbon. They submit documentation. The US and Europe are still early. US farmers are reluctant about carbon credit systems. It is early. In the coming days, it will get structured. We are volunteering in carbon, especially green credits. Carbon farming methodologies are new. We focus mainly on carbon farming methodologies and incentivising farmers who follow practices after an agreement. Everything may merge at some point. Environment and carbon can be clubbed. Green credits and carbon credits may have the same or different values. Unknown. Farming-related work will be separated from industrial work, which is in compliance. Both will be driven separately.
Regenerative necessity: The US is also confused because, so far, they were comfortable doing 20 or 50 acres with machines and monoculture. Farming looked like a business. Once carbon sequestration comes, you have to cover crops, natural mulching, and no tillage practices combined as regenerative farming. It ensures carbon sequestration. Practically, it takes time, three or four harvests. Commercially, not sure because crop rotation is needed. Monoculture depletes nutrients. Regenerative farming was like permaculture in olden days. Now, going back to the old system. The commercial farming perspective is still a question.
Efficient carbon sequestration
Precision agriculture enhances carbon removal efficiency: precision farming produces reports required to prove carbon sequestration. Farmers cannot simply say they sequestered carbon. Digital farming analyses and reports based on harvest. It supports carbon farming. Both should go together. Smart farming and carbon sequestration mitigate climate change: definitely a lot. Implementation is challenging but mandatory. Without it, agriculture will face difficulties. Irrigation, water management, soil fertility, and weather conditions are challenges. Transition is in progress with hurdles. Smart and carbon farming will change agriculture in India. But 83% of farmers are small and not tech-savvy, so adaptation challenges exist. Initial costs are high. Process not complete. Smart farming is not widespread. Government support is required. Farm bills signed recently help.
Environmental benefits of combining smart farming with carbon removal: greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, will be controlled if implemented. It is a global act and a global strategy along with the Paris Agreement.
Contact details
Ashok Tanneeru
Founder, Tanneeru Croppinn Pvt Ltd, Kondapur, Telangana
Mob: 77607 76000
Email: ashok.croppinn@gmail.com
Smart farming is something we have been hearing about for the last few years. We have been hearing about smart farming, or digital farming, or precision farming in the last couple of years or a few years already, but it is not that easy to get this implemented in India. It is getting difficult as of now, with carbon farming making its way. Carbon farming is a new market, a completely new market, so it just started a few years back in the western world, Europe, the US, China, and now the Indian government has started focusing more on carbon farming. So we all should know in detail about what smart farming is, what carbon farming is, how it has changed from the past to present, what is expected in the future out of these farming methodologies, and how it is changing the landscape of agriculture, with special emphasis on agriculture.
So when we compare smart farming and carbon farming, smart farming is also called precision farming or digital farming, and carbon farming is also called carbon sequestration. Sequestration means capture and storage. So it means to capture the carbon from the atmosphere and store it. There are different methods and different ways of doing that. The area we should focus on now is carbon sequestration in carbon farming in the agriculture sector. Smart farming is completely technology and data-driven, like satellite imagery, drones, or robots, and the data that it captures, the NDI VDI indexes. This data will be processed and communicated to the farmer for improvement and to achieve more efficiency in the farming practice. Carbon farming is methodology-driven or process-driven. It is a sequence of steps and methods to follow. Nothing too technical or too new in carbon farming. It is the same ancient method in a procedural way to ensure the carbon is sequestrated in the soil.
Smart farming activities observe, measure, and respond. The satellite observes the imagery, measures, processes the imagery, and it will be communicated to the farmer, and the farmer responds as per the instructions to water or fertilise the farms. Carbon farming is capture, store, decompose, capturing the carbon through the plants or trees, the forestry or large landscapes, and storing the carbon that is captured. It will be stored because the plants and trees store the carbon in the soil, in the trunks, in the leaves, in the stems, and then once the plants die or decompose, the carbon will be trapped in the soil where it is applied. Mostly, it is crops, livestock, forests, forestry, and smart farming. Carbon farming also involves crops, agroforestry like afforestation, reforestation, and landscapes, large landscapes.
Smart field management
The smart farming cycle has mainly three parts: initiate, monitor, and control. These are the three phases of one smart farming cycle. I am not including marketing the product or procurement. I am focusing only on production. Initially, the farm has to be located, and the farm has to be set up with the coordinates. The system will read the coordinates and assign the satellite imagery or drones to a particular location, and it will capture the images through sensors, IoT devices located in the location, or satellite imagery or drones capturing the images. These images will be stored, captured, and validated for their correctness and what kind of images. There are BDI and NDVI indices that calculate the colour pixelation in the images. Based on that, the plant health and soil moisture level will be determined.
This is monitoring. Some formulas calculate the plant health based on leaf colour. Basically, there are four colours: green, brown, light brown, dark brown, and red. Based on the colours, the plants are healthy or are about to die, or are yellow, basic yellow. When the plant is about to die, it gets a pale yellow colour and then a brown colour, and some other colours based on the crop type. These colours will be calculated, and based on that, the plant health information will be extracted, and the reports will be generated.
Then, control what we are going to do with the data. As an end user, the farmer, as it is technically challenging to implement smart farming, it is not going to be easy for all farmers. So we are planning a solution to assist in this area. Respond as if they have to water the plants and implement the actions based on the extracted reports. Harvest by harvest, if they have to change the configuration, the amounts of fertilisers, pesticides, or change the seed quality or mixing crops, these things will be generated through AI. AI-driven algorithms will also be there. Predictive analytics for the next harvest, the future harvest, to get better results. Then verify and enhance. Based on the reports, the farmer will reduce the fertilisers or pesticides and utilise these pesticides and fertilisers in the effective area, not the entire farm. Smart farming enables the farmer to apply these ingredients to the effective area, which will save money and also not over-pollute the farm or overdose the plants.
Carbon credit workflow
The carbon farming cycle is more or less the same. How carbon farming will be completed in a cycle is similar. A couple of terminologies are the same, but the activities and processes will be a little different. The farm will be located. It could be a farm or agroforestry, or a landmass, or a place where the owner or the person responsible for that land is claiming carbon credits or is willing to enable carbon farming. We need to have the location and set up the location details: type of crop or type of agroforestry, types of plants and trees in that location. Then capture all the data and validate. Validation will give us the results of what level of carbon is present. As per industry standards, one metric ton of carbon is equivalent to one carbon credit. The price varies from country to country. Europe is 5 to €10. The US standard is now around $10 to $15. India is going to set up an infrastructure and define a price tag for every carbon credit submitted. There will be a government body, a steering committee, and agencies that will approve the claims. Once approved, the carbon credits will be allotted to the responsible person and then traded on a trading platform like NSE, BSE. A new trading platform will be coming up in 2025. It is still in progress.
Then estimate the carbon that can be sequestrated in that piece of land, and then process the process. What process has to be followed, like cover crops, no tillage, no chemicals, and pesticides? Following certain methodologies, carbon sequestration can be complete. Extract the information and give the report, and then another agency will come and approve the report. That is how the trading will happen. Then continuity. You need to respond to the reports and see any enhancements, and implement the sequestration process. The methodologies cannot be done in one or two harvests. It will take a few harvests to have proper results. Practically, it will take time for the process to mature. It is a huge market. India is aggressive in this because of the Paris Agreement and commitments, cap and trade agreements. Everything is getting in line.
Maintenance has to be done. Maintenance is done through contracts. In the US and Europe, they are fulfilling this by having a contract with the farm or the location or the person claiming carbon credits for five to ten years. An agreement that says you will follow certain methodologies and processes to successfully have carbon sequestration. Likewise, we will also start with contracts. Without contracts, we cannot assure that the carbon sequestration is done and is reliable. Contracts are needed to ensure carbon sequestration is in place and reliable.
Agriculture transformation journey
The transition of smart farming compared with the past, present, and future. Past: there was no word called smart farming, but farming was done by ancestral knowledge. Currently, it is done by research information, articles from agencies or institutes, based on agriculture research departments, following guidelines of pesticides or soil fertility or irrigation methodologies. In the future, it will be reinforced learning and machine learning. Reinforced learning is a module in AI. Currently, we have drones and robots controlled by joysticks or control devices to capture or sprinkle fertilisers or pesticides. In the coming days, these will become autonomous controls at the server side. As the farm is captured, it is possible to make it autonomous. It is in progress. All controls will be autonomous like driverless cars. Time-driven and data-driven. The AI will learn from experiences and output. It will learn algorithms and logic and improvise by itself. It will communicate with the machines. The process will get better.
Whenever something happens, like any disease or something going wrong, in the past, it was peer advisory or farm associations. Now we have centralised crop advisory systems. Answers are recorded and communicated to similar questions. In the future, it will be taken over by AI to avoid human mistakes. Answers will get better with reinforced learning and will be in multiple languages because agriculture is regional. Earlier, it was manual operations with bullocks. No machinery. Now we have tractors, machines, drones, and robots. In the future, all will be autonomous. With a click or a tap, everything will be done. It will capture the root paths, store the root paths, and be autonomous. The infected area will be sprinkled with pesticides or fertilisers based on the captured images and results.
It was labour-intensive in the past. Now it is labour and machines. Labour is getting scarce. In the future, it will be fully automated. Only people will operate digitally. There may be manual planting or seeding, but mostly 70 to 80% will be automatic. Earlier, it had a very low carbon footprint. Now we have a little more. In the future, it will have a high carbon footprint because the technology and energy required by machines release carbon. Pesticides and fertilisers were not present earlier. Now we have excess because of monoculture and industrial farms, pests, and soil degradation. Farmers are forced to use them. Without fertilisers and pesticides, there will be no production. In the coming days, it will be mitigated by applying to the infected area only, improving soil quality, adding natural fertilisers, and reducing pesticides. It is already in progress. Some chemicals are dangerous to human and soil health.
Farming practices over time
Carbon farming adoption: earlier, we had permaculture, not commercial, mostly communal farming. Mix of different trees and crops, small crops, mixed crops, cover crops, ponds, water bodies. Natural mulching with dried leaves and other plants. Now we are in monoculture. Farming only one crop on 10 hectares. Market the produce for price. Once harvested, again monoculture. Commercial aspect. In the future, regenerative farming, more or less permaculture again. This will change. The commercial perspective is still open. How farmers can make it commercial and get more profit by replacing monoculture needs a solution.
Commodity farming: earlier farmers had groups and exchanged commodities. Now it is commercial. Billions of people to be fed. Because of commercial farming and monoculture, soil nutrients are depleted. Some plants always take nitrogen. The soil becomes unusable for some years. That has to stop. The farmer has to change based on demand and AI recommendations based on soil quality, accessibility, rain, and other factors. This is coming. Centralised farming. The system will recommend which crop is beneficial and good for soil health. Earlier, it was fertile soil, rich in microbial soil. Now, infertile soil, with no microbes because of excessive pesticides. In the future, we have to save soil with the best methodologies. Expected, but we do not know how it goes in India.
Water management: earlier optimum with small wells and water bodies. Now fewer water bodies because of commercialisation and machine-driven farms. In the coming days, irrigation will be restructured. Government, agencies, and farmers are planning irrigation activities to save water. There were no carbon incentives earlier. Now carbon incentives are being initiated worldwide. India is aggressively planning carbon credits infrastructure and trading platforms. The US, Europe have already implemented carbon incentives. Farmers who sequester carbon get paid per tonne per year.
In the future, incentives will be important. Incentive-driven farming will come. Everyone wants to reduce carbon. Earlier, natural sequestration happened through photosynthesis. Plants store carbon. It is released into the soil, and microbes convert it to nutrients. Now sequestration is difficult because of tilling, soil erosion, water management, soil not wet, mulching needed, and cover crops. It is not feasible. Countries decided to implement the cap and trade agreements discussed in 1997 and activated in 2005. Paris Agreement to reduce emissions and reach carbon neutrality. In the future, carbon farming will be controlled through digital data and reports to respective departments and global agencies.
Carbon incentive systems
Achievements: carbon credit scheme implemented already. The trading scheme was implemented last year. The global cap and trade agreement is active. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency in India will administer. The Central Energy Regulation Commission will build the infrastructure for trading, like the NSE, for carbon credits. Companies will claim sequestration and get credits. If someone is not doing well, they buy credits. It is a fine or a penalty. People doing well get incentives. Balance will be maintained. Almost all countries approved. We have national trading and international trading platforms. Early stage. It will take years to mature.
Grid Controller of India Limited will control data. National committees established. Green credits are coming. Separating carbon credits and green credits. Green credits are voluntary. Three markets: compliance, voluntary, and allowance markets. Compliance is for industries. They set benchmarks. If emissions are below, they earn credits. If above, they buy credits. New system to incentivise good behaviour. Allowance market exchanges credits among intermediaries. ICFRE controls green credits: sustainable agriculture, water management, pollution control, voluntary activities, and agroforestry. Green credits are controlled separately. The green credit programme is voluntary.
Coming up: government still thinking about base price for carbon credit: maybe 100 to 200 rupees. India will participate in COP28 UAE regarding implementation updates. Framework is in progress. Agencies have to be recognised, maybe by private parties. Steering committee formation. Technical committee formation. Trading platform registry in progress. The government is focusing on demand and supply. Both sides should be balanced. People storing carbon should claim credits. People emitting more carbon should pay fines. Case study: Energy Points by Bureau of Energy Efficiency. Saved energy earned certificates. That will help in carbon credits implementation. The government is thinking about allowing secondary markets and brokers. This is the complete status of carbon farming and carbon credits in India.
Carbon and PES Comparison
Difference between PES and carbon credit: PES protects the environment, and the government pays. Carbon credit is similar. PES growers who sequester carbon can claim carbon credits. They have to register and claim how much carbon they sequestered over which duration. For example, 10 acres will sequester one tonne per year or 10 tonnes. They can claim. PES and carbon credits have no difference. Even non-farmers can claim if they take responsibility for open land and sequester carbon. They submit documentation. The US and Europe are still early. US farmers are reluctant about carbon credit systems. It is early. In the coming days, it will get structured. We are volunteering in carbon, especially green credits. Carbon farming methodologies are new. We focus mainly on carbon farming methodologies and incentivising farmers who follow practices after an agreement. Everything may merge at some point. Environment and carbon can be clubbed. Green credits and carbon credits may have the same or different values. Unknown. Farming-related work will be separated from industrial work, which is in compliance. Both will be driven separately.
Regenerative necessity: The US is also confused because, so far, they were comfortable doing 20 or 50 acres with machines and monoculture. Farming looked like a business. Once carbon sequestration comes, you have to cover crops, natural mulching, and no tillage practices combined as regenerative farming. It ensures carbon sequestration. Practically, it takes time, three or four harvests. Commercially, not sure because crop rotation is needed. Monoculture depletes nutrients. Regenerative farming was like permaculture in olden days. Now, going back to the old system. The commercial farming perspective is still a question.
Efficient carbon sequestration
Precision agriculture enhances carbon removal efficiency: precision farming produces reports required to prove carbon sequestration. Farmers cannot simply say they sequestered carbon. Digital farming analyses and reports based on harvest. It supports carbon farming. Both should go together. Smart farming and carbon sequestration mitigate climate change: definitely a lot. Implementation is challenging but mandatory. Without it, agriculture will face difficulties. Irrigation, water management, soil fertility, and weather conditions are challenges. Transition is in progress with hurdles. Smart and carbon farming will change agriculture in India. But 83% of farmers are small and not tech-savvy, so adaptation challenges exist. Initial costs are high. Process not complete. Smart farming is not widespread. Government support is required. Farm bills signed recently help.
Environmental benefits of combining smart farming with carbon removal: greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, will be controlled if implemented. It is a global act and a global strategy along with the Paris Agreement.
Contact details
Ashok Tanneeru
Founder, Tanneeru Croppinn Pvt Ltd, Kondapur, Telangana
Mob: 77607 76000
Email: ashok.croppinn@gmail.com
