Mitti Labs receives a Tier 3 issuance from Gold Standard for its rice methane carbon credits.

From estimation to accuracy: Advancing methane measurement in rice cultivation

Did you know that methane emissions from rice farming contribute nearly 1 gigaton of CO₂e annually—a climate impact on par with the entire global aviation industry? Let that sink in. One of the world’s most important food staples is also one of its most potent climate challenges.

Methane is 85 times more potent than CO₂ in the short term.
Rice farming is one of the biggest sources of methane emission.
Most projects developers are still relying on averages to quantify their impact in methane emission reduction.

At Mitti Labs, we believe this challenge holds the key to a transformative climate solution—and it starts with how we measure impact.

The measurement gap in methane mitigation

Global carbon standards like Gold Standard and Verra have provided a valuable framework for certifying climate projects. But when it comes to methane—especially in agriculture—how we measure makes all the difference.

Gold Standard allows for Tier 1 and Tier 2 approaches, which are simplified methods to estimate emissions: Tier 1 uses country specific IPCC default values. That means it applies a one-size-fits-all number. For example, “X kg of methane per acre of rice”—regardless of where the field is, details on how it's farmed, or what conditions it faces.

Comparing Tier 1 vs Tier 3 in Gold Standard methodologies

While Gold Standard permits the use of generalised IPCC (Tier 1) or regional (Tier 2) emission factors, we apply Tier 3 emission factors, built from direct methane measurements and field trials tailored to local conditions. Our emissions data isn’t theoretical—it’s real, verified, and location-specific.

What Mitti Labs does differently

Here’s the issue: a rice field in Punjab is not the same as one in Telengana. Yet Tier 1 approaches assume they are. That’s where Tier 3 comes in. Tier 3 is the most advanced approach to measure emission reductions. This approach uses direct measurement and region-specific field trials. It accounts for real-world variation—the specific practices a farmer implemented on its field, the region-specific weather conditions that took place, and the local soil conditions.

But Mitti Labs doesn’t just adopt Tier 3 standards—we go beyond them by combining direct field measurements with advanced satellite analytics, AI-driven crop monitoring, and continuous ground-truth calibration to deliver unmatched accuracy, scale, and trust.

We’ve built the most robust digital Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (dMRV) systems for rice agriculture in the world. It combines:

• High-resolution satellite imagery

• Irrigation pattern tracking

• Crop phenology analysis

• Geo-tagged photographic evidence

• On-the-ground agronomic support

This enables us to detect practices like Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD), seeding, and harvesting events throughout the season, across thousands of smallholder farms. In contrast, traditional verification methods—such as farmer logbooks and sample interviews—only scratch the surface, with data often being reviewed for less than 1% of farmers involved.

We track every acre with full transparency—using remote sensing instead of costly field visits—so that every carbon credit we issue is backed by a verifiable chain of digital and physical evidence.

Our system is audit-ready by design. From baseline surveys to emission factor justifications, every dataset is built to withstand scrutiny. We’re already being validated by a Gold Standard-accredited VVB, and we’ve received a strong pre-issuance rating from Sylvera—a leading carbon credit ratings agency.

Sylvera’s Pre-Issuance Rating is one of the most rigorous, independent evaluations available in the carbon space. It assesses projects on three critical dimensions: integrity, delivery, and value. In awarding Mitti Labs an investable-grade rating, Sylvera confirmed what we’ve built—a low-risk, high-integrity project with strong carbon accounting and verifiable methane emission reductions. For investors and buyers navigating a market where demand for quality credits is set to outpace supply, this rating offers early validation, price certainty, and confidence in long-term impact. It means fewer unknowns, fewer surprises—and more trust. In a space clouded by complexity, we’re proud to be leading with clarity.

Devdut Dalal, Mitti Lab’s co-founder said: ‘’We are thrilled to announce Mitti Labs’ upcoming issuance of rice-based credits, a first in the world. In the coming years, we will continue to scale our impact, both to help farmers adapt to climate change and to provide carbon buyers with a cost-effective, high-integrity, scalable alternative to offset their emissions and contribute to climate change mitigation.’’

But what really sets Mitti Labs apart is this: We don’t just drop in with technology. We build ecosystems of trust.

Our farmer engagement is rooted in deep local partnerships—with state and national agricultural universities, and with highly respected implementation partners like Access Development Services and Dr. Reddy's Foundation, each with decades of community presence. Our field staff are not outsiders—they’re from the communities they support.

We embed scientific intelligence from institutions like IRRI into our training programs. And we ensure that every intervention—from AWD pipes to irrigation control—is not just monitored, but understood and adopted.

Science meets soil: A system that scales trust

Mitti Labs delivers full-spectrum visibility. Each AWD pipe installed, each mid-season drydown, each field-level irrigation shift is photo-documented, geo-tagged, and time-stamped.

And the science behind it? It’s peer-reviewed, validated, and globally respected. Our approach is shaped by collaborations with institutions like IRRI, Cornell University, and the USDA. This means our models are not just high-tech—they’re high-trust.

This isn’t technology layered on top of agriculture. This is technology grown from the ground up—from rice fields and water-use, from farmer feedback and satellite scans. It’s tech that speaks the language of the soil, powered by data, grounded in relationships, and ready to scale.

Why this matters to you

If you're part of a corporate sustainability team juggling Scope 3 targets, or an investor searching for high-integrity climate assets—this is your moment of clarity. By working with us, you are investing in the most scalable nature-based solution for permanent methane reduction, backed by rigourous science and the highest standard in carbon credit certification.