Our approach · Chapter two

Rice without
the flooding.

Alternate Wetting & Drying — explained, deployed, verified. The same yield with a third less water, half the methane, and a price premium that finally reaches the farmer.

The method

AWD: wet, then dry, then wet again.

Continuously flooded paddies are a holdover from a different climate. Alternate Wetting & Drying cycles the field instead — flooded for a few days, drained until the water sits 15 cm below the surface, then re-flooded.

Roots get oxygen. Methanogens can't ferment in dry soil. Pumps run less. Yields stay flat — or, in many trials, climb slightly because of deeper root structure.

The method has been validated for decades by IRRI, ICAR and the FAO. It works. The hard part has never been the agronomy. It's been the system around it: training, capital to bridge the switch, verification a buyer will trust, and a premium that makes the change worth it.

One growing season · the AWD cycle

−30%water used
−48%methane released
Flooded paddy · today

Rice as we grow it now.

  • Field stands in 5–10 cm of water all season — pumps run constantly.
  • Stagnant water ferments organic matter; methanogens release 23 kg CH₄/acre.
  • Soggy soil, shallow roots — crops snap in unseasonal storms.
  • No traceability, no premium. A clean kilo trades for the same as a dirty one.
  • Farmer absorbs all the climate risk and earns the standard market rate.
AWD with Clean Crop

The same crop, half the cost to grow.

  • Paddy cycles wet → dry → wet, irrigation only when needed.
  • Methane emissions cut by roughly half; aerated soil suppresses methanogens.
  • Deeper roots; the crop rides out storms better than continuously flooded rice.
  • Field-level verification + satellite proof — buyers can audit every batch.
  • 20–30% premium per ton, with 75% going directly to the farmer.

The farmer's journey — three steps.

We meet farmers through Farmer Producer Organizations, in their language, on their phone, with cash up front to make the switch a safe bet.

01 · Train

Learn the method.

An app-based AWD curriculum in Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil and English. Field officers run in-person sessions through partner FPOs. Transition capital covers any switch-over costs — so a single season's risk isn't on the farmer.

Mobile appFPO partnersTransition capital
02 · Track

Verify every paddy.

Farmers log weekly farm-level data — water depth, planting dates, inputs. We layer in satellite imagery and field audits to verify emissions reductions buyers can stand behind.

Weekly loggingSatellite dataField audit
03 · Earn

Connect to premium markets.

Pre-arranged buyers pay a 20–30% premium for verifiable, low-emission rice. 75% of that goes back to the farmer; 25% funds Clean Crop, including the next cohort's transition capital.

Premium buyers$165/ton to farmerTraceable supply
By the numbers

Verifiable value for everyone in the chain — and the soil beneath it.

Independent measurements from pilot fields and IRRI-led studies of AWD across Bihar, Punjab and Tamil Nadu.

30%
Less freshwater
Per acre, per season — vs continuously flooded paddies.
48%
Methane cut
Equivalent to removing the field from fermentation duty.
15%
Income lift
For farmers, on top of irrigation cost savings of 10–15%.
25%
Premium price
Avg. willing-to-pay for verified, traceable AWD rice.
1.25t
Yield held
Average tons per acre — no measurable drop versus flooded rice.
800
Pilot acres
In a single FPO, Bihar — ready to plant season one.
$47k
Cost to launch
Total venture cost through breakeven at year three.
∞
Cleaner air
Methane saved compounds for centuries. Every season counts.
What's next

Ready to plant 800 acres of clean Katarbhog rice in Bihar.

Our pilot FPO is identified, the buyers are mapped, the app is field-tested. We're closing the seed round now.

Talk to procurement → Meet the team →