Project Overview:
Change Alliance is implementing an Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) Carbon Project with Varaha ClimateAg in Bhadradri Kothagudem, and Khamman districts of Telangana, covering paddy-growing areas across Dammapeta and Sathupalli blocks. The project aims to promote AWD, a climate-smart water management practice that reduces the need for continuous flooding in paddy cultivation, thereby helping reduce water use and methane emissions while maintaining crop productivity. The project is designed to cover approximately 2,000 hectares and engage 3,000 farmers.

Project Objectives:

1. Promote adoption of AWD practices among paddy farmers.
2. Reduce water use and methane emissions from irrigated rice cultivation.
3. Build farmer capacity on AWD implementation, water management and monitoring.
4. Generate robust field-level data to support carbon quantification and verification.

We are implementing the project through an integrated field approach:

• Farmer Identification, Engagement & Onboarding
• Awareness Building and Farmer Training
• AWD Pipe Distribution & Installation
• Monitoring of Wetting and Drying Events
• Geotagged Data Collection & Farm Mapping
• Reference Farm Data Collection and Carbon Monitoring
• Field-Level Quality Assurance and Audit Support

Key Deliverables:

• Mobilisation, registration and onboarding of 3,000 farmers for AWD adoption
• Awareness and training sessions at district, block and village levels
• Installation and use of AWD pipes for monitoring water levels and drying events
• Collection of geotagged farm data, KMLs, logbooks and field evidence
• Monitoring and documentation of AWD practices across project farms
• Support for carbon project monitoring, verification and audits

Projected Outcome:

The project is expected to promote water-efficient and climate-smart rice cultivation across 2,000 hectares, while reducing methane emissions associated with continuous flooding and strengthening farmers’ capacity to adopt sustainable water management practices. The project is also expected to generate robust field-level data to support carbon credit generation and participation in emerging carbon markets.