CultYvate Precision Irrigation and AWD Carbon MRV

CultYvate is an Indian agritech company established in 2016 in Bengaluru that runs outcome-based precision agriculture programmes for sugarcane and paddy. It tackles wasteful flood irrigation, high irrigation costs and methane emissions from rice fields, working through sugar mills, corporates and carbon programmes.

The solution combines soil moisture sensors, flow meters, weather data and AI to tell farmers when and how much to irrigate. For sugarcane it automates irrigation on existing drip systems; for paddy it provides alternate wetting and drying (AWD) advisory by SMS and voice calls in local languages. Bluetooth-enabled AWD sensors feed a carbon MRV workflow under the Gold Standard. Hardware is solar powered and can operate without constant internet. The AWD system is patented in India and the USA.

• Autonomous sugarcane irrigation: automates watering on existing drip systems using sensor data.
• AWD advisory for paddy: tells farmers when to re-flood fields via SMS and IVR in local languages.
• Multipoint soil moisture sensor: measures moisture at several root-zone depths.
• Portable and fixed AWD IoT sensors: Bluetooth-enabled water level sensors for paddy fields.
• Carbon MRV: digital monitoring, reporting and verification aligned with Gold Standard.
• Weather station: automatic weather station feeding the irrigation models.

• Rice exporters and cooperatives in the Mekong Delta monitoring AWD compliance and emissions for low-carbon rice.
• Carbon project developers needing sensor-based MRV data from paddy fields.
• Sugar mills in Vietnam advising contract cane growers on drip irrigation scheduling.

• Cuts irrigation water use; the Punjab paddy programme reports 30% water saved and 60% lower greenhouse gas emissions.
• Raises productivity, with sugarcane pilots in Tamil Nadu reporting 50% yield improvement and 80% lower irrigation costs.
• Generates carbon credits from AWD, with 60% of carbon profit shared with farmers.
• Reaches smallholders through voice alerts in local languages that need no literacy.

Rice is a major source of agricultural methane, and AWD is now a recognised method for cutting emissions and water use while generating carbon credits. Vietnam's programme for one million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice in the Mekong Delta creates demand for affordable field sensors and digital MRV tools of this kind.

Founded in 2016 and based in Bengaluru, India. Programmes cover over 70,000 acres under Gold Standard dMRV in Punjab with more than 12,000 AWD sensors. Partners and supporters listed include Titan Design Impact, the DCM Shriram AgWater Challenge, AVPN, ACT Capital, Hindustan Unilever Foundation via Villgro, CISCO and CIIE.