Shillong: The Meghalaya government has disbursed its first carbon payments to farmers for their contributions to carbon sequestration through the plantation of multi-species tree-based agroforestry in biodiversity hotspots.
This first payment marks a significant step toward establishing India’s emerging carbon market, supporting livelihoods driven by the community.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma presented cheques to farmers from the Garo Hills region.
The MegCare program, officially known as the Meghalaya Carbon Agroforestry for Community Resilience and Ecosystems, is a pioneering partnership between Iora Ecological Solutions (IORA), Rabobank’s Acorn platform, and the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA).
Launched in January 2024, the programme has already expanded to over 22,000 hectares of land and 10,400 farmers across the Khasi-Jaintia and Garo Hills regions.
The programme enabled tree-based farming practices that improve biodiversity, secure spring sheds, and store carbon in the soil and biomass.
Farmers under MegCare receive carbon income based on the volume of carbon they remove through agroforestry.
In this first round of payments, the sale price of each Carbon Removal Unit (CRU) reached EUR 40 – the highest per-tonne carbon payment ever made to farmers in India and nearly four to five times the global average.
“There is a huge potential for carbon finance in the state of Meghalaya, and as MBDA we wanted to partner with a programme that has high integrity and accountability. This is why we patterned with Iora and Rabobank Acorn to develop Megcare, a programme where maximum benefits go to the farmers and communities,” said Gunanka D.B, Executive Director & Addl. Project Director, MegLIFE and MegARISE.
The MegCare scheme will greatly benefit our community, said CM Sangma, encouraging other farmers to join the movement.
“This carbon credit initiative significantly boosts our efforts in natural resource management and rural prosperity. It empowers farmers through an innovative approach where farmer-led initiatives will be a key focus of this project. I recommend other farmers to join this program,” he added.
Iora’s dedicated team of 60 field and technical experts is now supporting the programme’s expansion, with a vision to establish 100,000 hectares of new agroforestry plantations and enhancement of 50,000 hectares of existing tree-based systems.
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MegCare is more than just a carbon project – it is a multi-partner landscape-scale effort to restore biodiversity, secure watersheds, and bring dignity and prosperity to rural livelihoods, said Swapan Mehra, CEO of IORA Ecological Solutions.
The distribution of payment is a milestone in the carbon finance market in India.
