ClimateRice
Transforming global rice production with SRI
4 billion people eat rice every day
The way we grow rice needs to change
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generates 12% of man-made methane emissions
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uses 1/3 of world's freshwater for irrigation
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15% estimated yield loss by 2050 due to climate change
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80% of rice is grown by smallholders
ClimateRice is a collaboration between Cornell University & CarbonFarm
We aim to scale up the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) to 1/3 of global rice area in 10 years.
To get there, we're creating a self-financing model with carbon credits.
4 billion people eat rice every day
The way we grow rice needs to change
​
-
generates 12% of man-made methane emissions
-
uses 1/3 of world's freshwater for irrigation
-
15% estimated yield loss by 2050 due to climate change
​​
-
80% of rice is grown by smallholders
4 billion people eat rice every day
The way we grow rice needs to change
​
-
generates 12% of man-made methane emissions
-
uses 1/3 of world's freshwater for irrigation
-
15% estimated yield loss by 2050 due to climate change
​​
-
80% of rice is grown by smallholders
A climate-resilient alternative exists
The System of Rice Intensification (SRI)
A simple method based on agronomy, agro-ecology and farmer knowledge
A climate-resilient alternative exists
The System of Rice Intensification (SRI)
A simple method based on agronomy, agro-ecology and farmer knowledge
4 billion people eat rice every day
The way we grow rice needs to change
​
-
generates 12% of man-made methane emissions
-
uses 1/3 of world's freshwater for irrigation
-
15% estimated yield loss by 2050 due to climate change
​​
-
80% of rice is grown by smallholders
What is SRI?
The System for Rice Intensification is a set of sustainable practices that can have a big impact
For the farmer
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+20 to +100% increase in smallholder profits
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improved soil quality
For the environment
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-50% reduction in methane emissions
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-30% reduction in water use
For food security
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Improved resilience to drought, flooding and extreme wind events
SRI is a knowledge-based approach all about developing healthy plants
Scaling SRI globally requires money to train and support farmers...
... so we're creating a virtuous self-financing model.
This is our self-financing model
1. Train farmers
2. Measure impact
3. Sell carbon credits
1/ Train farmers
Provide training and support to farmers to adopt SRI
2/ Measure the impact
Use satellites to measure, report and verify the reduction in methane emissions
3/ Sell carbon credits
Issue and sell registry-certified carbon credits to companies striving to reach Net Zero emissions
4/ Repeat
Use carbon credit sales to reward farmers, and train and support new ones
Our impact
We're targeting 55M hectares over the next 10 years.
That's one-third of global rice farmland.
+40% increase in smallholder profits
Higher yields.
Lower input costs.
Extra revenue from carbon credits.
Erika Styger
Professor of Practice
Director Climate Resilient Farming Systems
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Vassily Carantino
CEO
​
​
James Hastwell
CTO
Earth Observation start-up
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Erika is Professor of the Practice in the Department of Global Development at Cornell University. There, she holds the position of Director of the Climate-Resilient Farming Systems Program and with SRI-Rice is connected to a global network of local SRI partners in 50+ countries.
Vassily combines expertise in climate change with a cultivated intuition for data-driven problem solving.
​
As a former McKinsey consultant, he specialised in sustainability & carbon markets. Engineer by training, Vassily is a graduate of Columbia Business School.
Data product leader to leverage big data and scientific research to build innovative products.
​
Prior to CarbonFarm, James was the Head of Data Science at a French AdTech leading a team of 15 engineers.
James holds a Masters in Applied Mathematics from Ecole Polytechnique in Paris.
Team
Climate-Resilient Farming Systems Program
Earth Observation Start-up
Erika Styger, PhD
Professor of Practice
​
​
Vassily Carantino
CEO CarbonFarm
​
​
James Hastwell
CTO CarbonFarm
Erika is a global expert on implementing and scaling-up the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), and has worked in 30+ countries for the past 30 years.
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She is connected to a global network of local SRI partners in 50+ countries.
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She is a Professor of the Practice in Tropical Agronomy, Cornell University, Director of Climate-Resilient Farming System.
​
Vassily combines expertise in climate change with a cultivated intuition for data-driven problem solving.
​
As a former McKinsey consultant, he specialised in sustainability & carbon markets.
Engineer by training, Vassily is a graduate of Columbia Business School.
James is the data product leader to leverage big data and scientific research to build innovative products.
​
Prior to CarbonFarm, James was the Head of Data Science at a French AdTech leading a team of 15 engineers.
James holds a Masters in Applied Mathematics from Ecole Polytechnique in Paris.
&
Cornell's Climate Resilient Farming Systems program
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Leading academic group on SRI
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Global network of local SRI partners in 50+ countries
Prof. Erika Styger
Erika is Professor of the Practice in the Department of Global Development at Cornell University. There, she holds the position of Director of the Climate-Resilient Farming Systems Program and with SRI-Rice is connected to a global network of local SRI partners in 50+ countries.
CarbonFarm, an innovative Earth-observation startup
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Partnered with the European Space Agency
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Collaborating with 2 leading research labs to detect methane emissions from rice via satellite
Vassily Carantino, CEO
Vassily combines expertise in climate change with a cultivated intuition for data-driven problem solving.
​
As a former McKinsey consultant, he specialised in sustainability & carbon markets. Engineer by training, Vassily is a graduate of Columbia Business School.
James Hastwell, CTO
James is a data product leader whose expertise lies in leveraging big data and scientific research to build innovative products.
​
Prior to CarbonFarm, James was the Head of Data Science at a French AdTech leading a team of 15 engineers. James holds a Masters in Applied Mathematics from Ecole Polytechnique in Paris.
