Author: pr-moritz
Last saved by: Sascha Buhr
Company: Bayer
Document comments: V-2025-03-04

Bayer to issue first carbon credits from regenerative farming practices in India
•	Validation, certification and issuance of credits up to 250,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO_2e) are forthcoming and will be available in global carbon marketplace
•	Regenerative agricultural practices like direct seeded rice have led to fewer greenhouse gas emissions and benefited rice farmers in India through reduced labor and water usage, lower cultivation costs, and increased farm profitability

Monheim, April 2, 2025 – Bayer is announcing its first tranche of carbon credits from thousands of rice farmers implementing regenerative practices like direct seeded rice (DSR) farming in India. Credits of up to 250,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO_2e) are being validated, certified and issued by Gold Standard, one of the leading standards and registries in the voluntary carbon market. These credits will be available for climate-conscious companies to purchase in support of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions, water savings, and regenerative agriculture in smallholder farming at scale. 

The Bayer Rice Carbon Program has been implemented across 11 states in India, with thousands of farmers adopting regenerative agriculture practices over the past two years. Along with alternate wetting and drying techniques, DSR is one of the emerging practices generating the new carbon credits. This marks the first time Bayer will issue carbon credits as a result of regenerative crop production in Asia. 

“The Bayer Rice Carbon Program is generating hundreds of thousands of high-quality carbon credits, and with this large-scale pilot feeding into larger scale projects across the region, there are many more in the pipeline,” said George Mazzella, VP of Ecosystem Services Business Development at Bayer's Crop Science division. In addition to reduced labor and water usage, and potentially lower cultivation costs leading to increased profitability, farmers participating in the Bayer Rice Carbon Program have access to crop advisory services throughout the season. 

“Our teams on the ground are working with farmers as they transition to new practices,” added Mazzella. “This hands-on support helps ensure their long-term success and prosperity, and it's also what sets this program apart.” 

Traditionally, rice farmers first grow seedlings in nurseries before transplanting them in ploughed, levelled and flooded paddy fields. The process is labor intensive, and over subsequent months the water level must remain constant to ensure that the plants establish and grow. Shortly before harvest the farmer drains the field. Some 80 percent of the world’s rice crop is today produced using this method. 

The Bayer Rice Carbon Program generates carbon credits by helping farmers transition from transplanted puddled rice cultivation, significantly reducing methane emissions caused by decomposing organic matter in flooded rice fields. According to the European Commission, methane is 28 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat over a 100-year period and 84 times more potent on a 20-year timescale. 

“Direct seeded rice is an important regenerative practice that reduces emissions of a potent greenhouse gas, and we are excited to see the first carbon credits coming out of it,” said Frank Terhorst, Head of Strategy and Sustainability at Bayer’s Crop Science division. “For us, regenerative agriculture is all about on-farm outcomes, driven by production systems that not only create value for farmers, but make farming more resilient, and also benefit the environment. In the long run, such systems enable farmers to produce more food without starving the planet.”

Parties interested in purchasing carbon credits through the Bayer Rice Carbon program should contact the Ecosystems Services team at Bayer. 

About Bayer
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. In line with its mission, “Health for all, Hunger for none,” the company’s products and services are designed to help people and the planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to driving sustainable development and generating a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2024, the Group employed around 93,000 people and had sales of 46.6 billion euros. R&D expenses amounted to 6.2 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

Contact for media inquiries:
Alexander Hennig, phone +49 175 3089736
Email: alexander.hennig@bayer.com

ahe	(2025-0061E)

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