Google and Mitti Labs Partner to Cut Methane Emissions and Scale Climate-Smart Rice Farming Across India
Google and Mitti Labs Partner to Scale Climate-Smart Rice Farming Across India
Deep-tech company Mitti Labs has announced a five-year carbon credit agreement with Google to scale climate-smart agricultural practices across 100,000 hectares of smallholder rice farms in India. The partnership follows Mitti Labs’ recent funding round and marks a significant step forward in the company’s efforts to position agriculture as a scalable solution to climate change.
The initiative will support the transition of more than 70,000 farmers to water- and methane-saving irrigation practices. It is expected to eliminate the equivalent of 3 million tonnes of near-term warming impact, measured using a 20-year global warming potential (GWP20), equivalent to 1 million tonnes of GWP100 impact. The programme is also projected to conserve billions of gallons of water across critical regional basins.
Tackling Methane at the Source
Methane is considered a “superpollutant” — a short-lived but highly potent greenhouse gas that is responsible for roughly one-third of warming to date. Because methane breaks down in the atmosphere within approximately a decade, reducing emissions today can have a significant impact on near-term warming.
“Google is committed to finding the most promising solutions that neutralize warming across both the near and long term. Mitti Labs’ approach delivers critical near-term atmospheric impact by cutting methane emissions, while conserving billions of gallons of water and empowering smallholder farmers to deploy advanced water-management practices. We’re excited to partner with them to help accelerate and scale their solution across India,” said Kate Brandt, Chief Sustainability Officer at Google.
Rice cultivation is a particularly important target for methane reduction. Traditional rice farming often relies on continuously flooded fields, creating conditions that generate methane. Rice paddies account for more than 10 percent of global methane emissions.
Mitti Labs has developed a model that combines direct engagement with farming communities and satellite-based radar technology to support a transition to alternative irrigation practices. The approach can reduce methane emissions from rice fields by up to 50 percent while cutting irrigation requirements by nearly 40 percent without compromising yields.
Using AI and Satellite Technology to Save Water
Beyond methane reduction, the partnership is expected to generate billions of litres in water savings across India — equivalent to Bengaluru’s annual water supply for three years.
At the centre of Mitti Labs’ approach is its GeoAI platform, developed with support from NASA. The platform combines high-resolution satellite radar data with field-level ground-truth information to generate insights into crop health, soil moisture and flooding at the level of individual smallholder plots.
This combination of satellite technology, artificial intelligence and on-the-ground data enables farmers and programme operators to identify where irrigation practices can be improved and measure the resulting environmental impact at scale.
“Reducing methane from rice farming is one of the most powerful levers we have to slow near-term warming. This partnership is a powerful accelerator of our mission to reduce emissions, save water, and strengthen the livelihoods of the 150 million smallholder farmers who grow one of the world’s most important food crops,” said Xavier Laguarta, co-founder of Mitti Labs.
Building a Global Digital Map of Rice Farming
With support from Google, Mitti Labs plans to further develop its GeoAI platform by incorporating advanced AI crop modelling and satellite radar technology. The longer-term goal is to map millions of rice fields globally into “digital twin” datasets.
These datasets could provide detailed blueprints for producing rice with less water and fewer emissions, potentially helping smallholder farmers adapt to increasingly water-stressed conditions while maintaining food production.
Since its launch in 2023, Mitti Labs has expanded its operations to deliver what it describes as the world’s largest alternate irrigation programme. The company has also received an “A” rating from climate ratings agency Sylvera for its methane-based carbon credits, recognising its implementation and measurement protocols.
The partnership with Google represents another step in Mitti Labs’ efforts to bring technology, climate finance and farmer engagement together to address two interconnected challenges: reducing agricultural emissions and improving the efficiency and resilience of water-intensive food production.
