Methane Reduction from Rice Cultivation in Punjab Pakistan

SELLER

NetZeroAg

PROJECT SUMMARY

NetZeroAg brings Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) to smallholder rice farmers across Pakistan's Punjab, reducing methane emissions and water use while supporting rural livelihoods.

The project delivers a triple benefit: reducing methane emissions, conserving water, and increasing smallholder farmer incomes.

Instead of keeping rice paddies continuously flooded, fields are periodically drained and re-flooded, allowing oxygen into the soil and suppressing methane-producing microbes. This simple change can reduce methane emissions by up to 65% and water use by up to 30%, while maintaining or improving yields and lowering production costs for farmers.

Operating in the Sheikhupura District of Punjab, the programme combines farmer training with advanced monitoring and support. Farmers receive season-long guidance from agronomists, complemented by a voice-based AI assistant available in local languages and accessible on basic mobile phones, enabling participation regardless of literacy levels or smartphone ownership.

Beyond verified carbon reductions, the project delivers meaningful co-benefits, including lower fuel consumption, healthier soils, improved farm profitability, and greater climate resilience for rural communities. The programme also invests in community development through training and empowerment initiatives for women farm workers, healthcare outreach programmes, and vocational skills training designed to expand economic opportunities and strengthen rural resilience.

Project Impacts and Benefits

• Reduces methane — the main greenhouse gas from rice — by up to 50% per field through Alternate Wetting and Drying.
• Reaches 3000 smallholder farming households.
• Operates in a sector that generates 7.83 million tonnes CO₂e/year, the highest emission intensity per tonne of rice in South Asia.
• Cuts irrigation water use by up to 30% — a critical gain in a water-stressed region.
• Significantly reduces pesticide and nitrogen runoff into waterways, protecting downstream water quality.
• Maintains or improves yields by up to 10% per hectare.
• Lowers input costs through reduced fertiliser, pesticide and pumping/fuel use across the project area.
• Thousands of farmers have eliminated open burning of crop residue, cutting the harvest-season smoke that drives respiratory illness in women and children.
• Women's empowerment training delivered to every participating household, plus group training on female-specific issues and medicine distribution.
• Provincially certified skills courses for young people under 18 (boys and girls), opening access to microloans from national banks.
  

More details on this project are available on the Gold Standard website 

Project documentation can be found in the Gold Standard Impact Registry 

N.B.  Individual vintages cannot be selected for purchase. Purchases will include credits from the vintage range stated.