NEW DELHI: The Meghalaya government has made a groundbreaking move by disbursing payments to farmers for their contributions to carbon sequestration through the plantation of multi-species tree-based agroforestry in biodiversity hotspots.
This first payment marks a significant step toward establishing India’s emerging carbon market, supporting livelihoods driven by the community. Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Conrad K. Sangma, presented cheques to farmers from the Garo Hills region.
The MegCare program, officially known as the Meghalaya Carbon Agroforestry for Community Resilience and Ecosystems, was launched in collaboration with Iora Ecological Solutions (IORA) and Rabobank’s Acorn platform. The program aims to promote carbon market initiatives with community involvement since 2024.
The programme enabled tree-based farming practices among 10,400 farmers who planted diverse trees over 22,000 hectares. The efforts improved biodiversity, secured spring sheds, stored carbon in the soil, and expanded biomass. Farmers under MegCare receive carbon income based on the volume of carbon they remove through agroforestry.
In this first round of payments, the sale price of each Carbon Removal Unit (CRU) reached EUR 40 – the highest per-tonne carbon payment ever made to farmers in India and nearly four to five times the global average.
The MegCare scheme will greatly benefit our community, said Sangma in a release, encouraging other farmers to join the movement. This carbon credit initiative significantly boosts our efforts in natural resource management and rural prosperity. It empowers farmers through an innovative approach where farmer-led initiatives will be a key focus of this project. I recommend other farmers to join this program, he added.
The distribution of payment is a milestone in the carbon finance market in India. Initially, experts questioned the programme's success. But the first payment potentially represents an emerging strong carbon market while restoring ecosystems and biodiversity, improving springs in the Himalayas, strengthening rural livelihoods, and helping communities lead India’s transition to a climate-resilient future.
MegCare is more than just a carbon project – it is a multi-partner landscape-scale effort to restore biodiversity, secure watersheds, and bring dignity and prosperity to rural livelihoods, said Swapan Mehra, CEO of IORA Ecological Solutions.