13 August 2025, New Delhi: The Good Rice Alliance (TGRA), which focuses on advancing sustainable rice farming in India, has received an ‘Ae’ (pronounced ‘single A’, ‘e’) ex ante rating from BeZero Carbon, a leading independent carbon ratings agency. Through TGRA, Bayer, a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of agriculture and healthcare, in collaboration with GenZero, a Temasek-owned investment platform dedicated to accelerating decarbonization globally, Shell Energy India Private Limited, a subsidiary of Shell Plc and investor in nature-based solutions, are committed to reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions through sustainable agricultural practices.
The ‘Ae’ rating reflects the project’s high standalone carbon rating (‘a’) combined with a very high likelihood of successful project execution (‘aa’).
A standalone Carbon ex ante of ‘a’ is comparable to the highest rated ex post Soil Carbon & Agriculture credits. Receiving an ‘Ae’, a top-quartile rating confirms a high likelihood that each TGRA credit will deliver one ton of CO2e avoidance.
Speaking on the rating achieved, Suhas Joshi, India Carbon Initiative Lead at Bayer said, “We are incredibly proud of this milestone. The Ae rating is not only a validation of TGRA’s scientific and operational rigor, but also a testament to the collective commitment of our alliance. We are committed to establishing a nature-based carbon market quality benchmark, by implementing Total Quality Management principles in the agricultural space. Through TGRA, we leverage high quality management practices and robust measurement tools to help generate high-integrity carbon credits by helping farmers reduce emissions, conserve water, and unlock new income streams while reinforcing a future-ready farming ecosystem. For carbon credit offtakers worldwide, this represents a rare opportunity to support decarbonization at scale while uplifting smallholder communities.”
BeZero is an independent carbon ratings agency boasting a 180+ strong team made up of climate scientists, geospatial experts, data scientists, financial analysts and policy specialists. BeZero’s ratings are based on a rigorous analysis of various factors, including additionality, carbon accounting, and permanence risks, providing transparency and building trust in carbon markets. Higher BeZero ratings are correlated with higher prices and increased demand for carbon credits.
BeZero Carbon’s ex ante assessment evaluates TGRA’s exceptional credibility across five key categories: additionality, carbon accounting, permanence, project execution, and safeguards. The ‘Ae’ certification offers assurance of delivery of impact-driven, high-integrity credits that meet the highest transparency and quality standard.
Since May 2023, TGRA has partnered with smallholder farmers across thirteen Indian states to implement Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) and Direct Seeded Rice (DSR). As of October 2024, TGRA has enrolled more than 12,000 farmers in the program, covering 35,000 hectares of farmland, reducing methane emissions equivalent to nearly 1,20,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year. Underpinned by best-in-class on ground and digital Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) and secured land and carbon rights, TGRA is well equipped to play a pivotal role in GHG reductions in agriculture.
Currently, TGRA covers major rice-producing states in the country, like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra. On average, it takes over 1 million litres of water to produce one ton of ricei. TGRA, through the implementation of climate-smart practices such as Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) and Direct Seeded Rice (DSR), can reduce water consumption by up to 30% without impacting yieldsii. This equates to over 12,50,000 million litres of water savings across 35,000 hectares per season in total, the equivalent of 330 billion US gallons. TGRA is also armed with a stringent Quality Management System, farmer training, support and hand holding mechanism and a Monitoring, Report and Verification (MRV) mechanism which are in place to help maintain program integrityiii.
Paddy rice cultivation is responsible for approximately 10% of global methane emissionsiv, a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential over 27 times that of carbon dioxide. Rice farms occupy 15% of the global farm area, equivalent to more than 150 million hectares worldwidev. With a keen focus on sustainability, the alliance is closely aligned with UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and plans to work together with smallholder farmers from the grassroots to drive maximum co-benefits and mitigate climate change.
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