The world’s first large-scale SOC+ARR project, originated by marginal and subsistence farmers, has been registered and issued by Verra and rated BBB by the reputed rating agency Sylvera. This unique SALM project comprises 29739 dedicated farmers covering 142125 acres across multiple IPCC zones in the initial phase, cultivating 49 different crops in the state of Karnataka, India

Monitoring Design

The SOC plus ARR Project follows internationally recognized standards under Verra VCS (Project ID 3115).

1. Baseline Establishment

  • Historical land use assessment
  • Soil sampling and carbon stock analysis
  • Fertilizer and biomass usage documentation
  • Baseline emission calculations
  • RothC baseline calibration modeling

2. Project Establishment

Monitoring is conducted at regular intervals as per approved methodology of VM0017 v1.0 to ensure measurable and verifiable carbon removals.

All data is recorded through farmer registers, field visits, and internal monitoring systems.

I. Soil Organic Carbon Monitoring

  • Stratified soil sampling methodology
  • GPS-based plot identification
  • Periodic soil sample testing at accredited laboratories
  • Bulk density and carbon concentration measurement
  • Statistical analysis for SOC stock change
  • Monitoring of crop residue
  • Monitoring of farm-yard manure (FYM)
  • Monitoring of weather conditions

II. Afforestation & Revegetation (ARR) Monitoring

  • Tree inventory (Diameter & height measurement) and survival rate assessment
  • Species verification
  • Biomass estimation using allometric equations

III. Emission Reduction Calculation

  • Reduction in synthetic nitrogen fertilizer usage
  • Reduced fossil fuel consumption
  • Reduced biomass burning
  • Agroforestry sequestration
  • Soil organic carbon (SOC) removals
  • Leakage and permanence assessment

3. Verification & Certification

  • Third-party validation and verification
  • Independent audits
  • Independent model expert for carbon modelling
  • Issuance of Verified Carbon Units (VCUs)
  • Transparent registry listing

Project is planning to migrate to VM0042 methodology