Mitti Labs, a trailblazing startup focused on reducing methane emissions in rice farming, has successfully raised a $3 million seed round. This funding was backed by prominent investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Voyager Ventures, Overview, and several angel investors. The capital injection comes at a pivotal time as the company rolls out five projects across 30,000 hectares in India, with an additional ten projects in the pipeline. Mitti Labs has partnered with Syngenta Foundation and Tilda rice maker Ebro Foods to train farmers in techniques aimed at reducing water use by 30% and methane emissions by 50%.
The firm utilizes AI models trained on ground data and remote sensing to generate carbon credits. Collaborations with Cornell University, the International Rice Research Institute, and the USDA have fortified Mitti Labs’ technological capabilities in methane abatement and measurement. “This season is the first where we officially onboarded farmers into our carbon programs, and the first batch of credits should be issued around July or August 2025,” says cofounder Xavier Laguarta.
Rice farming is a significant contributor to anthropogenic methane emissions, accounting for more than 8% of the total, according to the UN’s Food & Agriculture Organization. While it doesn’t produce as much methane as livestock, the emissions are substantial. The bulk of these emissions originate from methane-producing bacteria that thrive in flooded rice fields, a standard practice in traditional rice farming. “The season starts with land leveling, followed by setting up a nursery for seedlings, which are then transplanted into the field and continuously flooded,” Laguarta explained. Post-harvest, farmers often burn the stubble, further contributing to methane emissions.
Mitti Labs, founded last year by Xavier Laguarta, Devdut Dalal, and Nate Torbick, is working on established approaches to mitigate these emissions. Techniques like Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) and Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) are part of their strategy. “There’s no silver bullet; it’s a menu of options,” says Laguarta. The goal is to enhance yields and productivity, which in turn reduces emissions per kilo produced. “Different regions will benefit from different approaches, but the lowest hanging fruits are different seeding practices, water management, and no-burn at the end of the season.”
DSR involves planting seeds directly into fields, eliminating the need for continuous flooding. AWD, on the other hand, allows fields to dry periodically, reducing the time they are submerged. “AWD is essentially letting the field dry down to a certain point throughout a big portion of the season,” says Laguarta. However, for the last quarter of the season, water is necessary to prevent weed problems and maintain yields. DSR doesn’t necessarily require specialist equipment but does involve purchasing different seeds, which are slightly more expensive. “DSR can shorten the season slightly and eliminates the need for transplanting, which usually requires hiring outside support,” Laguarta noted.
The no-burn strategy, however, requires a business model for biomass collection and processing. “It’s not enough to just tell farmers not to burn the biomass,” he added.
The financial viability of these methane-mitigating measures often hinges on generating carbon credits. “We’re always thinking about what other levers we can pull to support farmers outside of carbon credits,” says Laguarta. While DSR can offer cost benefits through reduced cultivation time, water, and labor costs, and no-burn can generate revenue if a market for the biomass is found, AWD primarily offers an environmental benefit.
Mitti Labs employs a combination of satellite imagery, remote sensing, and ground sensors to measure and validate methane reduction. “We have test and control sites with ground water level sensors and gas chambers to measure methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon emissions,” Laguarta explained. Machine learning models then process this data to estimate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
To translate these reductions into carbon credits, Mitti Labs currently works with Gold Standard, a leading carbon registry, and may soon collaborate with Verra, which is developing a new methodology for rice methane reductions. “We view that as the minimum benchmark,” says Laguarta.