Incentivizing Sustainable Agriculture Using Satellite Technology
This project tests a technological innovation that provides satellite-verified payments to Indian rice farmers who adopt water-saving practices, promoting sustainable agricultural practices. By automatically detecting reductions in irrigation from space, this approach delivers direct cash incentives while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Rice farming contributes an estimated 11% of global methane emissions while also driving groundwater depletion. Sustainable practices such as Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) and Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) can reduce water use by 30-40% and substantially cut emissions. Yet adoption has remained limited.
This project pilots a new approach: satellite-verified incentive payments for farmers who adopt climate-friendly rice practices. The satellite monitoring system tracks water usage patterns in rice fields by detecting changes in soil moisture and flooding cycles. When farmers reduce flooding through practices like AWD, satellites help verify these water savings, leading to direct cash payments.
Supported by funding from Yale Planetary Solutions, the Weiss Fund, International Growth Centre, Yale Inclusion Economics and the Yale Economic Growth Center - the research team is working in Karnataka and Telangana, India, in partnership with CarbonFarm, which provides satellite monitoring. The pilot project will initially involve 800+ farmers across both states.
This is an image of all the plot boundaries of farmers sampled in the study, as identified by satellite images using coordinates mapped on the field.
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing in Karnataka on August 21, 2025, with the Hon. Minister of Agriculture, Sri N. Chaluvarayaswamy; Karnataka State Department of Agriculture (KSDA) Commissioner Mr. Y. S. Patil and Director Mr. G. T. Putra; and the research team from the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL).
Beyond immediate adoption outcomes, researchers are evaluating impacts on methane emissions, groundwater use, energy demand, farmer decision-making, and long-term sustainability. If successful, this model could serve as a blueprint for scaling agricultural methane reduction programs across the millions of hectares of rice cultivation in South and Southeast Asia.
