Notification: PCI India has successfully migrated from pciglobal.org to pciglobal.in. All emails received from our new domain pciglobal.in are to be treated as undisputed origin.

Background

In India, women play a vital role in agriculture, yet they remain underrepresented in decision-making, access to resources, and assets ownership. Climate change worsens these inequities. Credit Offsetting Rice Emission (CORE) project focuses on enabling women to lead sustainable, climate-resilient agricultural transformation in the rice value chain—one of the most water- and emission-intensive crops. Currently active at Jind and Fatehabad districts in Haryana, CORE helps women gain greater control over income, assets, and financial decisions through sustainable livelihoods.

Scope of Intervention

India’s agriculture sector is both highly vulnerable to and a major contributor to climate change. Traditional rice farming, in particular, contributes significantly to methane emissions. There is an urgent need to mainstream climate-sensitive practices among small and marginal farmers, especially women, who often lack access to training, technology, and decision-making platforms.
The CORE project directly engages 2,800 small and marginal farmers, with a strong emphasis on mobilizing and training women farmers to adopt climate-resilient practices such as Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) in rice cultivation. It also aims to transform women’s roles from passive laborers to active stakeholders, entrepreneurs, and decision-makers in the rice value chain. 

Program Lead & Collaborators

Led by PCI India, CORE partners with:

  • Local community-based organizations (CBOs) and farmer producer companies (FPCs).
  • Women Business Collectives (WBCs), which serve as institutional anchors for knowledge sharing and market access.
  • Technical experts from International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) specializing in climate-resilient agriculture trainings
  • UN Women for gender components of the project

What We Did

The project comprises three core components:

  1. Gender-responsive agricultural practices
    1. Mobilization and organization of women farmers
    2. Capacity building on gender sensitivity and climate action
    3. Inclusion of women in the design and delivery of farming tools and methods
  2. Adoption of climate-sensitive technologies
    1. Technical training on Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD)
    2. Promotion of water-saving and low-emission rice cultivation
    3. Education on production, processing, procurement, and consumption dynamics
  3. Institutional strengthening for sustainability
    1. Capacity development of FPCs and WBCs
    2. Facilitation of access to markets, infrastructure, and financial services
    3. Support for sex-disaggregated data collection and policy feedback loops

Outcome 

  • 2,800+ women farmers mobilized across Haryana
  • Increased adoption of AWD technology, showing early signs of reduced water usage and methane emissions.
  • Formation and strengthening of women-led collectives and FPCs, enhancing their agency in procurement and marketing.

Expected outcomes: 10–15% lower water use, up to 38% methane reduction, higher women’s incomes, and national policy insights.