PROMISE OF BIOECONOMY AND THE FARMER’S PARADOX
India stands at the threshold of a monumental transformation—a transition toward a Bioeconomy powered by Environment, Employment, and Energy (BioE3). This is not merely a strategy for energy security or net-zero compliance; it is a blueprint for redefining the socio-economic architecture of rural India. At its heart lies the Indian farmer, whose fields are becoming the frontline of climate action and whose produce is the raw material of the nation’s green industrial future.
As India marches toward the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, the BioE3 mission—“building a US$ 300 Million BioEconomy”—holds the promise of converting farms into carbon sinks, crops into climate-positive fuels and chemicals, and rural communities into co-owners of the clean energy transition. Yet, amidst this promise, a paradox persists: while the farmer initiates the carbon-saving chain, he often remains the most invisible and under-rewarded stakeholder in the bioeconomy.
Through the sustainable cultivation of feedstocks such as Dent Corn, Napier Grass, Bamboo, Agri-residue, and Algae, farmers are enabling the production of bioethanol, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), bioplastics, bio-based chemicals, and bio-CNG.
These products are helping India decarbonise major sectors—from oil refining to aviation to FMCG—and enabling industries to claim carbon credits through Scope 1, 2, or 3 emissions reductions.
And yet, despite being the starting point of this chain, farmers remain excluded from the carbon credit value generated by end-users.
SUSTAINABLE FARMING IS RECOGNISED, BUT NOT FULLY REWARDED
Some progress exists. Sustainable agriculture practices—such as low tillage, organic inputs, or efficient water use—can generate farm-level carbon credits under voluntary carbon standards or India’s emerging Indian Carbon Market (ICM).
However, once crops leave the farm gate, no mechanism links the farmer to the downstream emissions reductions when feedstocks are converted into ethanol, SAF, or bioplastics. The benefits flow entirely to industries, fuel blenders, and airlines—not to the producer who initiated the carbon savings.
This is where the BioE3 Mission must become inclusive and just.
WHY THIS MUST CHANGE: THE CASE FOR SHARED CARBON VALUE
We must evolve from a “produce and forget” model to a “produce and benefit continuously” model, where the farmer receives not just crop value, but a share of the climate value as well.
Four Key Reasons for Reform:
-
Climate Justice = Economic Justice
If downstream users claim carbon credits, a fair share of that value must flow upstream to the farmer whose produce made it possible. -
Incentivising Sustainable Agriculture
Carbon-linked income will motivate farmers to adopt better practices, improve yields, and shift toward climate-positive energy crops. -
Strengthening the Bioeconomy Chain
Revenue sharing aligns incentives across the chain—from seed to SAF, from farm to carbon exchange. -
Building Transparency Through Tech
Digital platforms can trace carbon intensity from origin to end-use, ensuring integrity and enabling farmers to be recognised as co-creators of mitigation.
FARMER-LINKED PATHWAYS AND BUNDLED CREDITS
A promising way forward is to design farmer-linked, high-integrity low-carbon fuel pathways that combine the lifecycle emission reductions from ethanol, SAF, and other bio-based fuels with bundled nature-based credits generated at the farm level.
This ensures that every litre of biofuel not only reduces carbon intensity but is anchored in verifiable improvements in sustainable farming. Robust digital MRV platforms can deliver a new class of premium carbon assets—transparent, permanent, and SDG-compliant.
Such bundled credits will command higher value in global markets, create direct revenue opportunities for farmers, and provide buyers confidence that their investments deliver both climate action and rural development co-benefits.
WHAT IS NEEDED: A FRAMEWORK FOR FARMER-LINKED CARBON CREDIT SHARING
To realise this vision, a Farmer-Linked Carbon Sharing Mechanism must be established, built around policy reform, new methodologies, and digital infrastructure.
Key Components:
-
Methodologies for Carbon Credit Accounting: Develop crop- and product-specific carbon credit methodologies that capture emission reductions from farm-level practices through to final use, ensuring full-chain MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, Verification). These should be compatible with India’s ICM, and potentially Verra and Gold Standard frameworks. For example: Yellow Dent Corn to ethanol, Sugarcane to Ethanol, Bamboo to bio textiles/bioplastics, rice husk/Napier and energy crops to bio-CNG, and beyond.
-
Recognising Farmer Contribution: Farmers or FPOs must be acknowledged as contributors to emission savings in MRV protocols, entitled to a proportional share of revenue.
-
Digital Carbon Ledger: A blockchain-based system should tag each batch of biomass or biofuel to its origin, ensuring full traceability.
-
Smart Contract Revenue Sharing: Smart contracts can automate tamper-proof distribution of carbon revenue in real time, ensuring equitable payments across the chain.
-
Farmer Incentives: Benefits could include:
• Direct monetary incentives from carbon revenue.
• Subsidised inputs for low-emission practices.
• Better access to green finance and credit.
• Preferential procurement from processors adopting fair-share models.
PILOT PROJECTS
Launch pilots in states like Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka under BEE, MNRE, MoA&FW, and MoPNG, in partnership with carbon exchanges, oil marketing companies, and SAF buyers.
TECHNOLOGY BACKBONE: Creating a Farmer-Centric MRV Platform
To operationalise this framework, a national BioE3 Digital Carbon Platform must be developed with the following layers:
-
Farmer Registry & Geo-Tagging – registering farms and mapping crop cycles.
-
Emission Factor Database – crop-specific emission factors must be standardised and linked with the carbon credit registry.
-
Supply Chain Integration – connecting farm data to processors and blenders.
-
Carbon Exchange Interface – tokenising credits and linking them to markets.
-
Farmer Wallets – Aadhaar-linked digital wallets to receive carbon revenue shares directly.
ICS 2025: A PLATFORM FOR CLIMATE EQUITY AND POLICY INNOVATION
The 5th International Climate Summit (ICS 2025), themed “Corn Revolution leading to Ethanol, Ethylene, SAF, Bioplastics, Hydrogen and e-Methane”, provides the ideal platform to advance this vision. With participation expected from senior ministers, global institutions, SAF users, carbon market players, farmer cooperatives, and Agtech innovators, the time is ripe to embed “Carbon Credit Access for Farmers in BioEconomy Value Chains” as a national policy priority.
MAKING CARBON SHARING THE PILLAR OF INDIA’S BIOECONOMY
The BioE3 Mission must be more than a technological leap—it must be a just transition. By giving farmers a stake in carbon outcomes, India can build a system that is equitable, resilient, and globally replicable.
If successful, this model can be applied across crops and feedstocks—corn to ethanol, sugarcane to biofuels, bamboo to bioplastics, residues to bio-CNG. India has the chance to lead the world in farmer-centric carbon finance.
A RUPEE FOR EVERY TONNE SAVED
We have the technologies, the policies, and the momentum. What is needed now is the collective will to ensure the farmer is no longer invisible in the carbon economy.
Let ICS 2025 be the moment when India begins its journey from soil to Scope 3 with fairness—where every tonne of bio-carbon saved means a rupee earned, transparently, fairly, and directly, by the farmer who nurtured it from the land.
That would be the true Corn to Ethanol Revolution—not just producing green fuels, but ensuring that the farmer, the very architect of this transformation, shares equitably in the climate and economic dividends of India’s Bioeconomy future.
Umesh Sahdev is Executive Chairman, Hydrogenium Resources Pvt. Ltd; Co-Chair, International Climate Summit 2025; Co-Chair, Environment & Climate Change Committee, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry; umesh.sahdev@hydro-genium.com
