Mirova, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers dedicated to sustainable investment, announces a landmark USD30 million investment in the Kheti soil carbon project developed by Varaha. The project supports smallholder farmers in India to implement regenerative agriculture practices. This transaction marks Mirova’s first carbon investment in India and represents the largest single commitment to date under its nature-based carbon strategies, reinforcing its ambition to scale high-integrity climate solutions in Asia.
Founded in 2022, Varaha is Asia’s largest carbon project developer, pioneering transformative climate solutions that build soil organic carbon, afforest agricultural lands, and generate biochar. Varaha specializes in designing and implementing high-integrity carbon projects that specifically empowers smallholder farmers across South Asia, positioning smallholder agriculture as a way to remove greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere while also enhancing rural livelihoods.
The Kheti project aims to support the transition of over 337,000 smallholder farmers across 675,000 hectares in the Indian states of Haryana and Punjab toward regenerative practices such as direct seeding of rice, crop residue management, and reduced tillage. These practices are expected to generate high-quality carbon credits , with a revenue-sharing mechanism ensuring that farmers directly benefit from the sale of credits under the Verra VM0042 methodology. The project is also expected to achieve Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) certification.
Varaha’s approach is rooted in deep local expertise and a robust implementation model, leveraging a network of local implementation partners for on-the-ground project execution. The company’s digital platform enables real-time monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV), ensuring transparency and traceability of climate and social outcomes.
Beyond climate mitigation, the project is expected to deliver strong co-benefits:
- Ecosystem regeneration: Enhanced soil health, improved biodiversity, reduced water consumption, and minimized chemical inputs.
- Livelihoods and well-being: Increased agricultural yields, lower input costs, improved air quality, and net job creation.
- Gender and inclusion: Dedicated outreach to women farmers and support for female entrepreneurship in rural communities.
Madhur Jain, MD & CEO, Varaha: “This partnership is a strong validation of Varaha’s vision to make regenerative agriculture a cornerstone of India’s climate strategy. Our work with thousands of smallholder farmers demonstrates that large-scale, high-integrity carbon projects can also deliver meaningful livelihood benefits. With deep on-ground operations and industry-leading MRV systems, we’ve built a model that combines scientific rigor with real smallholder community impact. We’re deeply grateful to Mirova for their trust and partnership — together, we aim to make India a global powerhouse in greenhouse gas reduction, showing that climate resilience and rural prosperity can go hand in hand.”
Charlotte Lehmann, Senior Investment Director, Mirova: “This transaction — our largest carbon deal to date and our first in India under the natural capital platform — marks a pivotal milestone in our strategy. It opens up new avenues to scale high-integrity nature-based investments across the Asia-Pacific region. Kheti exemplifies how carbon finance can drive systemic transformation in agriculture while strengthening the resilience of vulnerable rural communities.”
Since 2020, Mirova has mobilized more than USD350 million from corporate partners to support nature-based carbon projects, building a leading expertise fully integrated within its natural capital platform. Through landmark transactions such as Kheti, Mirova aims to guide the nature-based solutions sector towards greater maturity and to accelerate the scaling of this asset class, reinforcing its commitment to high-integrity climate finance and transformative impact.
