How an AI Startup is Helping Rice Farmers Combat Climate Change

Tackling climate change poses a major challenge—just ask innovators in carbon removal like Mitti Labs.

The New York-based startup has developed technology to measure methane emissions from rice paddies and has trained countless farmers in sustainable practices. Such comprehensive initiatives are typically overlooked by venture capitalists.

So, how has Mitti managed to attract investment? The key is partnerships.

Mitti has teamed up with The Nature Conservancy to promote regenerative, no-burn agriculture, a collaboration disclosed exclusively to TechCrunch. This partnership is part of a range of agreements that enhance Mitti’s reach. The company plans to utilize its AI-driven models to evaluate, report, and validate the efforts of the nonprofit’s workers in India, who are helping farmers embrace a variety of climate-friendly practices.

“Most of the project work is conducted by locals from the villages where these initiatives are taking place,” co-founder Xavier Laguarta told TechCrunch.

While Mitti currently focuses on mitigating methane emissions from rice farming, Laguarta indicated that the company is also looking into developing additional software features for third parties.

“We can measure Scope 3 emissions from other project developers or companies collaborating with rice farmers,” he noted, referring to emissions outside an organization’s direct control. “For those already implementing projects on the ground, we can provide a SaaS solution.”

Mitti is not the only company exploring the SaaS-partnership model. Mati Carbon, which recently won the Xprize Carbon grand prize, focuses on measurement, reporting, and verification software for enhanced rock weathering, a process that spreads minerals on fields to sequester carbon and boost soil health.

Methane reduction projects generate carbon credits, tracked by Mitti using its software. The company takes a percentage of the credits’ sales and redistributes the remainder to farmers and the community. “Generally, farmers may see a 15% increase in income by participating in our programs.” This financial uplift is vital for smallholder farmers, who often face profitability challenges.

Mitti’s software monitors diverse signals from rice farms to evaluate their methane emissions throughout the growing season. Rice farming stands apart from other agricultural methods as the fields are frequently inundated, creating anaerobic conditions that foster methane-producing microbes.

Methane is an intense greenhouse gas, warming the planet 82 times more than an equivalent quantity of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Rice cultivation contributes around 10% to 12% of anthropogenic methane emissions.

Mitti primarily uses satellite imagery and radar as data sources, which can penetrate clouds, plants, water, and soil to reveal underground activities where microbes thrive. This data is processed through AI models that combine satellite information with results from extensive field studies.

Smallholder farmers play a pivotal role in Indian agriculture, with an average farm size of one hectare (approximately 2.5 acres). Monitoring each farm with physical equipment would be prohibitively costly. Employing remotely sensed data keeps verification expenses manageable, while partnerships enable the adoption of climate-friendly practices among millions of farmers.

“Ninety percent of rice is produced in Asia, and aside from China, most rice-growing regions exhibit similar smallholder dynamics,” Laguarta noted. “Our strong collaboration with The Nature Conservancy allows us to create these tools, applicable to numerous other initiatives in the region.”