Mitti Labs, an AI-powered remote sensing and field operations company, is partnering with The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) PRANA program to bring climate-smart practices to rice farmers. PRANA, which stands for ‘Promoting Regenerative and No-Burn Agriculture’, tackles the persistent issues of stubble burning and soil degradation in Punjab
PRANA: A Catalyst for Change
Since 2022, PRANA has been working across 18 districts, helping farmers adopt regenerative practices. This has led to improvements in soil health and reduced air pollution. Through local camps, field demonstrations, and service provider engagement, the program has already made significant strides.
Looking ahead to 2025, PRANA aims to reach over 650,000 farmers in 6,259 villages, delivering more than 21,000 training sessions! The program is now addressing deeper issues such as water scarcity, declining soil fertility, and greenhouse gas emissions, working towards building Regenerative Foodscapes by empowering farmer institutions and scaling local agri-entrepreneurship.
Mitti Labs: Technology meets agriculture
“Mitti Labs has been a key partner in this journey,” says Gyan Prakash Rai, PRANA Lead. “Their advanced ‘soil-to-sky’ technology platform and on-the-ground measurement expertise have helped us monitor practice adoption and quantify impacts at the field level with high accuracy.”
This data validates climate and environmental outcomes, laying the groundwork for securing long-term climate financing for farmers and informing policy shifts. This can scale these solutions to reach even more farmers across the region.
A Successful Collaboration
Xavi Laguarta, co-founder of Mitti Labs, expressed his excitement: “Helping hundreds of farming communities in NW India transition to Climate-smart practices truly validates our mission of turning rice farming into a powerful vehicle for climate action.”
Water Conservation & Income Boost
Mitti Labs’ partnership with TNC has revealed the co-benefits of Climate-smart farming practices, particularly in water conservation and boosting farmer income. The PRANA program is expected to save a staggering 500 billion liters of water, equivalent to the consumption of a mid-sized city! Imagine the possibilities!
The Core Practices
The PRANA foodscape’s mission revolves around supporting farmers in Punjab to adopt regenerative agricultural practices. These practices aim to:
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Restore soil health.
- Improve air quality.
Practices such as:
- Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD).
- Direct Seeded Rice (DSR).
- No-burn crop residue management.
Are central to this transformation.
Tackling Methane Emissions
Founded in 2023, Mitti Labs is dedicated to accelerating the adoption of nature-based solutions to climate change. Working with 30,000 farmers, the company aims to reduce methane emissions from rice farming, a significant contributor to global methane emissions.
Methane emissions are a critical concern, being 85 times more potent than CO2! Rice farming contributes approximately 1GT CO2e to global emissions, on par with global aviation. Mitti Labs connects smallholder farmers with global companies seeking to offset their emissions through high-quality carbon credits based on measurable methane reduction.
Advanced Monitoring Technology
Mitti Labs has developed the world’s most advanced dMRV (digital Measurement, Reporting and Verification) system for rice farming monitoring. This technology provides country-level scale and field-level accuracy in quantifying greenhouse gases from rice farming.
In just two years, Mitti Labs has expanded its digital Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification capabilities to 10 million hectares, creating a “digital twin” of 25% of all rice farming areas in India! This real-time monitoring technology not only helps the PRANA team direct their program interventions but also provides visibility on the impact of on-ground teams.
NASA Partnership
Mitti Labs’ technology is supported by a strong relationship with NASA. In 2024, Mitti Labs was awarded Phase I of a NASA SBIR Ignite grant, followed by $850,000 for Phase II to continue its work monitoring GHG emissions from rice farming in India.
Addressing Crop Residue
In Punjab, two million farmers transition from rice to wheat every year. The short rotation window often forces farmers to burn rice residue, a major contributor to CO2 emissions, poor air quality, and chronic disease. This represents 90% of the total crop biomass.
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