India’s Highest-Ever Carbon Payments Empower Meghalaya Farmers and Regenerate Landscapes

In a landmark moment for the nature carbon markets and community-driven climate action in India, the Meghalaya Carbon Agroforestry for Community Resilience and Ecosystems (MegCare) programme has disbursed its first carbon payments to farmers for sequestering carbon through multi species tree-based agroforestry in sites across this biodiversity hotspot. The cheques were distributed to the farmers from Garo Hills region by the Honourable Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Shri Conrad K Sangma at an event held in Baghmara, South Garo Hills, Meghalaya. 

This milestone is not just about income — it represents the potential of carbon finance to restore ecosystems and biodiversity, improve springs in the Himalayas, strengthen rural livelihoods, and help communities lead India’s transition to a climate-resilient future, especially relevant in a region like Meghalaya, with is highly productive but also

MegCare is a pioneering partnership between Iora Ecological Solutions (IORA), Rabobank’s Acorn platform, and the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA). Launched in January 2024, the programme has already expanded to over 22,000 hectares of land and 10,400 farmers across the Khasi-Jaintia and Garo Hills regions, enabling tree-based farming practices that improve biodiversity, secure springsheds, and store carbon in the soil and biomass.

“The MegCare scheme will greatly benefit our community,” said the Honourable Chief Minister Shri Conrad K Sangma. “This carbon credit initiative is a significant boost to our efforts in natural resource management and rural prosperity. It empowers farmers through an innovative approach where farmer-led initiatives will be a key focus of this project. I recommend other farmers to join this program”

“There is a huge potential for carbon finance in the state of Meghalaya, and as MBDA we wanted to partner with a programme that has high integrity and accountability. This is why we patterned with Iora and Rabobank Acorn to develop Megcare, a programme where maximum benefits go to the farmers and communities” said Shri. Gunanka D.B., IFS, Executive Director & Addl. Project Director, MegLIFE and MegARISE

Farmers under MegCare receive carbon income based on the volume of carbon they remove through agroforestry. In this first round of payments, the sale price of each Carbon Removal Unit (CRU) reached EUR 40 – the highest per-tonne carbon payment ever made to farmers in India, and nearly four to five times the global average. This premium also reflects the true value of high integrity carbon removals that India can offer, and the growing demand for credible, community-based carbon removals in the voluntary market.

“MegCare is more than just a carbon project – it is multi-partner landscape-scale effort to restore biodiversity, secure watersheds, and bring dignity and prosperity to rural livelihoods,” said Swapan Mehra, CEO of IORA Ecological Solutions. “In a state that is ecologically rich yet vulnerable to degradation, carbon finance offers the nudge that communities need to protect and sustain green cover for generations to come.”

“With MegCare, we are proving that smallholder farmers can become climate heroes,” said Harm Haverkort, Acorn Partnership Lead Asia. “The farmers of Meghalaya are showing the world that regenerative agriculture and carbon finance can go hand in hand to deliver climate, community, and conservation outcomes.”

Iora’s dedicated team of 60 field and technical experts is now supporting the programme’s expansion, with a vision to establish 100,000 hectares of new agroforestry plantations and enhancement of 50,000 hectares of existing tree-based systems. Alongside carbon finance, the programme is enabling value chain development, linking farmers to high-value markets and building green entrepreneurship in Meghalaya’s rural economy.

MegCare is not just about mitigating climate change. It is about redefining what rural development looks like in the age of planetary crisis – where nature, prosperity, and climate action grow together from the ground up.