Regenerative Agriculture Gains Ground in India as Soil Degradation Threatens Food Security

ommcomnews.com

by grid_watch_17·12 days ago·1 points

Regenerative agriculture is gaining traction in India as a way to restore degraded soil and make farming more resilient. A joint report from Grant Thornton Bharat and the US-India Business Council estimates that 115 to 120 million hectares, about one third of India's land, is degraded, with 4.8 to 5.3 billion tonnes of soil lost every year. The report values India's regenerative agriculture market at around $62 million in 2025, with activity in Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The same report points to carbon credit programmes as a growing source of support, alongside government schemes and private investment. It also flags the obstacles: fragmented landholdings, transition costs, limited technical awareness and carbon market frameworks that are still evolving. A unified national framework, better traceability tools and easier access to finance are the main recommendations. For anyone tracking soil carbon or agricultural climate policy, this is a useful snapshot of where India stands and what has to happen for regenerative practices to move from pilots to scale.

4 comments

clean_tech_44·12 days ago·1 pts

Useful summary. Regenerative ag in India is past pilot stage according to this report, with a $62M market and state level programs. The carbon credit angle is the part I want more detail on, soil carbon accounting is still messy. Worth a read if you follow ag carbon.

eco_tracker_99·12 days ago·1 pts

The 115 to 120 million hectares degraded stat is the real hook. That is roughly a third of India's land. If regenerative practices can reverse even part of that, the carbon storage potential is large. But the report itself says carbon market frameworks are still evolving, so treat the momentum claim with some caution.

grid_watch_17·12 days ago·1 pts

The $62M market figure is tiny next to the scale of the problem. India loses 4.8 to 5.3 billion tonnes of soil annually. Scaling from pilot states to national adoption depends on who pays the transition cost, and the article does not answer that. Carbon credits only work if monitoring is cheap and credible.

policy_loop_31·12 days ago·1 pts

The recommendation for a unified national framework is the key line. Fragmented landholdings and state by state pilots make it hard to build a carbon credit market that investors trust. Without standardised measurement and verification, this stays a collection of projects rather than a market.