Mirova, the French climate-focused investment firm backed by Kering and other heavyweights, has invested $30.5 million (€26.4 million) in an Indian climate change technology startup Varaha. This investment will help expand the startup’s regenerative agriculture program, supporting hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers in northern India.
The deal marks Mirova’s first coal investment in India, but its structure is unusual. Instead of taking stock, the Paris-based company is investing cash and will receive a share of the carbon credits generated in return over time.
This deal is part of Mirova’s carbon investment strategy, which funnels corporate capital into proven emissions reduction projects. The company is a subsidiary of Natixis Investment Managers and its backers include parent Gucci, Kering, Orange, L’Occitane Group, Capgemini, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and MANE. These are all companies seeking to offset supply chain emissions through credible carbon initiatives.
Regenerative agriculture—the practice of restoring soil health and enhancing biodiversity through methods such as crop rotation and reduced tillage—is gaining ground as a practical approach to making agriculture more resilient to climate change. In India, where millions of smallholder farmers face declining soil fertility and erratic rainfall, the approach is as much about survival as it is about sustainability.
Founded in 2022, Varaha designs and executes carbon projects in regenerative agriculture, agroforestry and biochar. It works through a network of 48 local partners to conduct operations on the ground, and its software monitors these projects in real time, reports and verifies climate and social outcomes.
Mirova is investing in Varaha’s Kheti project, which works with farmers in the Indian states of Haryana and Punjab to adopt low-emission practices and generate verified carbon credits that can provide an additional source of income. So far, the project covers over 200,000 hectares and is expected to reach around 337,000 farmers on 675,000 hectares as it scales up.
Varaha’s approach is rooted in practices adapted to India’s farming systems, especially in the country’s rice-growing belt. The startup focuses on direct-seeding rice and incorporating crop residues into the soil — a critical alternative to the widespread practice of post-harvest paddy burning, Madhur Jain, co-founder and CEO of Varaha, said in an interview.
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“Instead of burning the residue, you use agricultural machinery to chop it up on the farm and mix it back into the soil,” he told TechCrunch.
The startup also promotes reduced tillage, cutting from multiple rounds of plowing to one or two, which helps conserve soil carbon and improve the soil’s ability to store more over time.
The startup plans to use Mirova’s investment to help it procure the machinery needed to implement regeneration practices.
“If you have to do direct seeding of rice instead of transplanting, which requires a lot of water, you need thousands of direct seeds,” Jain said. “Because this is not yet a conventional practice, the number of seedlings available in the market is much less than what is required. So you have to go to the manufacturers and get them. Similarly, to incorporate crop residues, you need machines like happy seeders and seeders.”
Credits generated under the program will be verified using Verra’s VM0042 methodology, with a revenue sharing model designed to channel revenue directly to participating farmers. The project is also seeking Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) certification from Verra, a not-for-profit company, which recognizes land management projects that deliver co-benefits for the environment, local communities and biodiversity.
While Verra is one of the main organizations that verify carbon credits worldwide, it has faced criticism after investigations suggested that some projects it approved may have they overestimated the carbon savings.
Varaha still prefers to use Verra for her regenerative agriculture work because the nonprofit is the only one that offers “the most advanced scientific methodology on soil carbon.” said Jane. However, he added that Varaha is not affiliated with any single registry and works with other leading templates, including Puro and Isometric.
“On the soil organic carbon side, none of Verra’s credits have been challenged by anyone so far,” he said.
In addition to reducing emissions, Varaha’s technology is intended to improve soil health, reduce water use, limit chemical inputs, increase crop yields, lower farming costs and contribute to cleaner air. The startup also plans to develop special programs for women farmers, aiming to strengthen gender inclusion in rural communities.
Varaha’s global reputation was helped by a deal it signed earlier this year with Google, in what it described as the world’s largest biochar carbon removal deal. The tech giant will buy 100,000 tons of carbon credits from startup to 2030.
Varaha’s investors include RTP Global, Omnivore, Orios Venture Partners, IMC Pan Asia Alliance Group’s Octave Wellbeing Economy Fund and Japan’s Norinchukin Bank. The startup has raised $12.7 million in venture funding to date, including $8.7 million from a Series A round last year.
