CarbonFarm Raises $7.8M Series A to Scale High-Integrity Rice Decarbonization Worldwide

Oversubscribed round to expand CarbonFarm’s digital measurement and project development capabilities across corporate food supply chains and carbon markets

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, October 13, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — CarbonFarm, a rice decarbonization specialist, announced Tuesday that it has closed an oversubscribed US$7.8 million Series A round funding. The company provides digital measurement, reporting and verification, or MRV, and develops projects that help the rice industry turn climate ambition into measurable change across millions of small farms.

Colam Impact led the round, with participation from Proparco, Suma Capital, elea, Working Capital Fund, Albo and Bpifrance. Existing investors Serena and Techmind also renewed their support. The round brings together impact and climate investors with a development finance institution.

The funding will support CarbonFarm’s next phase of growth, expanding the technology and expertise needed to develop, finance and measure high-integrity rice projects worldwide.

Rice: an overlooked climate opportunity
Rice feeds half the world’s population, but its cultivation produces about 12% of global human-caused methane, a potent climate super-pollutant. That gives rice a greenhouse gas footprint comparable to global aviation. Rice farming also uses as much as 28% of the world’s freshwater resources.

Practical solutions already exist. Better water management — including letting fields drain periodically rather than keeping them continuously flooded — can cut emissions by up to 50% and water use by up to 30% without reducing yields. These practices can also make rice farming more resilient to droughts, floods and extreme weather. That makes rice decarbonization a rare chance to address climate mitigation, adaptation, water security and rural livelihoods at the same time.

That potential is drawing growing interest in rice carbon projects. Rice credits are now compatible with most regulated carbon markets, opening new sources of finance. Corporate buyers are also increasingly prioritizing methane reduction to slow near-term warming, and recent rice carbon deals announced by Amazon and Google highlight the momentum.

Building the infrastructure to scale rice decarbonization
Rice is grown mostly by smallholders, often on plots of about 1 hectare (2.5 acres). Scaling a program therefore means persuading tens of thousands of farmers to change practices — and giving buyers and funders reliable evidence of the results.

The hardest part of rice decarbonization is working effectively with farmers on the ground. CarbonFarm believes this is best done by organizations that have built trusted relationships with farming communities over many years. The company therefore partners with rice producers, cooperatives, agribusinesses, nongovernmental organizations, governments and local project developers, complementing their capabilities with rice project development expertise, digital MRV, access to climate finance and connections to carbon buyers and corporate supply chains. To analyze changes across so many small plots, CarbonFarm uses AI-powered analysis of satellite imagery, field data collection tools and greenhouse gas modeling. This lets partners track farming practices and quantify emissions at field level, providing stronger evidence for carbon credits and corporate supply chain claims.

“Carbon accounting is becoming much more rigorous, whether it underpins a carbon credit or a corporate Scope 3 claim,” said James Hastwell, co-founder and chief technology officer of CarbonFarm. “Independent, field-level evidence is becoming the expectation. Projects that can show clearly how their results were scientifically measured build greater confidence and can attract buyers willing to pay a premium for high-quality credits.”

Measurement is only part of the work. CarbonFarm also supports partners from project design and financing through certification and finding buyers.

“Scale will not come from replacing local value chain players; it will come from equipping them,” said Vassily Carantino, co-founder and CEO of CarbonFarm. “They understand the farming systems and have the relationships needed to make change happen. Our role is to help turn this local knowledge into programs that can attract finance and stand up to scrutiny.”

A global ambition for rice decarbonization
CarbonFarm’s model is already scaling. Since its previous funding round, the company has expanded to 19 countries. It works with leading food and agriculture companies including Mars Food, Diageo, Ebro, Tilda and BASF Agricultural Solutions; carbon finance players such as Livelihoods Funds and myclimate; and development organizations including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, SNV, Helvetas and Action Against Hunger; and tech companies such as Google.

“CarbonFarm is building the enabling infrastructure for one of the largest untapped decarbonization opportunities globally,” said Benjamine Friderich, investment director at Colam Impact. “We believe its combination of project development expertise, climate finance capabilities and digital MRV creates a uniquely scalable platform in the rice sector.”

The new funding will allow CarbonFarm to deepen its presence across Asia, Africa and Europe while accelerating expansion into Latin America. The growth comes as rice decarbonization attracts increasing attention from climate investors, corporations and development finance institutions seeking scalable ways to reduce methane emissions while supporting farmers. Proparco’s participation as a development finance institution reflects that momentum.

“Rice decarbonization is a highly promising climate finance opportunity that is beginning to receive the attention it deserves,” said Jean-Gabriel Dayre, co-head of regenerative agriculture, carbon markets and naturetech at Proparco. “CarbonFarm has built a strong project development portfolio and the capabilities needed to channel high-integrity climate finance toward rice-growing communities. We are delighted to support the company’s continued growth.”

CarbonFarm aims to make high-integrity rice decarbonization possible at global scale — and to become the go-to partner for organizations seeking to develop projects, deploy climate finance or credibly measure their impact.

About CarbonFarm
CarbonFarm is a climate tech company specializing in rice decarbonization. It partners with rice producers, agribusinesses, nongovernmental organizations and governments to develop, finance and measure high-integrity rice projects that reduce methane emissions and water use. CarbonFarm works across 19 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas. More information is available at carbonfarm.tech. For general inquiries, contact info@carbonfarm.tech.

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