The funding will support Varaha’s Kheti soil carbon project, which aims to help 337,000 smallholder farmers adopt regenerative practices across 675,000 hectares in Haryana and Punjab. Techniques such as direct seeding of rice, crop residue management and reduced tillage help improve soil health, lower emissions and generate verified carbon credits.
For Paris-based Mirova, the deal is a model for financing climate solutions that also improve rural incomes. The firm manages a range of sustainability-led assets, and its global backers include Gucci’s parent company Kering, Norinchukin Bank, the European Investment Bank and the Coca-Cola Foundation.
“This transaction — our largest carbon deal to date and our first in India — marks a pivotal milestone in our strategy,” said Charlotte Lehmann, senior investment director at Mirova.
Gurugram-headquartered Varaha works with farmers to adopt climate-friendly practices and turns the resulting emission reductions into carbon credits that companies buy to offset their pollution. These credits are in high demand globally, and Varaha’s technology-led monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) system ensures accuracy and transparency.
Varaha MD Madhur Jain said the partnership strengthens the company’s mission to make regenerative agriculture central to India’s climate strategy.
The Kheti project follows Verra’s VM0042 methodology, a widely used global standard for measuring soil carbon gains and emission reductions from improved agricultural practices.