Amazon.com Inc. announced on April 22, 2026, that it has entered into an agreement to purchase 685,000 carbon credits from a large-scale methane reduction program involving smallholder rice farmers in India. The deal is part of Amazon’s ongoing efforts to mitigate its environmental footprint and support nature-based solutions that contribute to its goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. The credits are generated through the adoption of sustainable farming techniques that significantly lower the greenhouse gas emissions associated with traditional rice production.
The program is led by Bayer, the German life sciences and agricultural multinational, which has implemented a system known as Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD). In traditional rice cultivation, fields are kept continuously flooded, creating anaerobic conditions that lead to the production of methane by soil microbes. The AWD method involves periodically draining the fields, which inhibits methane production. According to Bayer’s technical reports, this practice can reduce methane emissions by as much as 50% and decrease water usage by up to 30% without compromising crop yields.
The initiative currently encompasses more than 75,000 smallholder farmers across several Indian states, including Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar. To ensure the integrity of the carbon credits, the project utilizes digital monitoring tools and satellite imagery to verify that farmers are adhering to the AWD protocols. The resulting credits are validated under established international carbon standards, providing a transparent mechanism for Amazon to offset its residual emissions. This transaction represents one of the most significant investments in agricultural carbon markets by a technology firm to date.
Kara Hurst, Vice President of Worldwide Sustainability at Amazon, noted that the partnership provides essential financial incentives for farmers to transition to climate-smart agriculture. The revenue from the credit sales is shared with the participating farmers, offering them an additional source of income while improving the long-term resilience of their land. This economic model is designed to scale sustainable practices across the region’s vast agricultural landscape.
The collaboration between Amazon and Bayer underscores a growing trend of corporate investment in high-quality, verifiable carbon offsets. By focusing on methane—a gas with a warming potential significantly higher than carbon dioxide—the project targets a critical area of climate action. Bayer has indicated that it plans to further expand the program, aiming to integrate more smallholder farmers into the global carbon economy while enhancing food security and environmental health in India.