India: Microsoft deal to create co-benefits for cotton farmers
Varaha, a developer of carbon dioxide removal projects with smallholder farmers across Asia, has signed an offtake agreement with Microsoft for biochar carbon removal in India.
Varaha will develop 18 industrial gasification reactors that will operate for 15 years, with a total projected removal volume exceeding 2 million tonnes of CO2.
The project sources cotton stalks from smallholder farms in Maharashtra for use as the feedstock for biochar production. Biochar is a carbon-rich charcoal produced by heating organic biomass (wood, crop waste, manure) in a low-oxygen environment, a process known as pyrolysis.
Farmers participating in the program adopt regenerative practices like crop residue mulching and biochar application to soils, improving soil health, water retention and long-term agricultural productivity. Farmers receive payment for both for contributing agricultural biomass and for implementing crop residue incorporation practices.
"This agreement demonstrates that high-integrity carbon removal can drive transformative co-benefits for communities and ecosystems," said Madhur Jain, Varaha CEO. "We're not just removing carbon, we're creating economic incentives for farmers to stop the open burning of crop residues."
Phil Goodman, a programme director at Microsoft, added: "This offtake agreement represents a step forward in scaling biochar CDR growth in Asia and advancing co-benefits for farmers: improved soils, cleaner air and shared economic opportunity.”
Image: A farmer spreading biochar to enhance soil quality
