Partnerships in sustainable agriculture succeed when strong implementation is paired with credible evidence and clear communication. A climate action project led by BENEO, in partnership with CarbonFarm and Rikolto, illustrates how these elements can come together to support on-the-ground delivery while building wider market confidence in sustainable rice value chains.
The initiative is funded by the Government of Flanders under the Flemish International Climate Action Programme (VIKAP). Through the grant titled “An innovative value chain for promoting sustainable rice farming practices in the Mekong Delta”, the project aims to demonstrate how sustainability objectives can be translated into practice across the rice value chain. Over the project period, the initiative aims to train more than 1,000 rice farmers in alignment with Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) standards, supporting a transition toward practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve water efficiency, and strengthen long-term farm resilience without compromising yields.
BENEO’s role as project lead reflects a broader effort to strengthen transparency and accountability across its agricultural supply chains. As part of its sustainability commitments, BENEO is working to better understand and manage environmental impacts within its Scope 3 footprint, while supporting farmers in adopting recognised best practices aligned with SRP standards. The project establishes a clear baseline, tracks progress over time, and supports credible reporting aligned with external assurance frameworks, demonstrating how climate action objectives can be integrated into commercial sourcing models.
Over the past year, CarbonFarm has supported the initiative by providing monitoring and verification capabilities that strengthen its technical foundation. The focus has been on enabling scalable, data-backed oversight of rice cultivation practices, allowing project partners to move beyond self-reported data and toward consistent, field-level visibility. This approach supports alignment with recognised sustainability standards and helps ensure that outcomes are measurable, transparent, and auditable, an essential component of linking practice adoption with credible claims.
Roland Vanhoegaerden, Operations Managing Director for Specialty Rice Ingredients at BENEO: “This initiative reflects BENEO’s commitment to building a more sustainable rice value chain. With its focus on climate change resilience and farmer partnerships, it contributes to our sustainability strategy, the 'Healthy Planet Plan'. By working closely with farmers and partners over the 2025–2027 period, we aim to support the adoption of improved practices while strengthening how we measure and communicate progress across our sourcing regions.”
The project is currently in an active implementation phase in the Mekong Delta. In the upcoming season, several hundred farmers will be enrolled across selected sourcing regions, covering several thousand hectares, with field activities focused on the adoption of improved rice cultivation practices and structured data collection. At the end of each season, CarbonFarm generates end-of-season reports, translating AI-powered satellite analytics on farm operations, such as seeding, harvesting, water management, and straw practices, and field data on fertiliser use into GHG emission reduction estimates. This mid-implementation stage provides practical visibility into how farmer engagement, monitoring processes, and verification workflows are being embedded as the project progresses, rather than presenting outcomes only at the point of completion.
The current project utilises an accounting and monitoring approach that links on-farm practice change directly to BENEO’s Scope 3 emission reduction. Through structured, field-level monitoring and consistent data collection, the initiative moves beyond practice-based assurance towards quantified visibility on emissions performance, enabling credible and repeatable Scope 3 reporting over time. By grounding implementation in robust data and field-level monitoring, this project aims to build confidence among stakeholders across the food and ingredient value chain, including farmers, implementers, buyers, and industry observers.
The value of this approach became visible over the months following the distribution of BENEO’s press announcement in Summer of 2025. The initiative received coverage across Europe, the Americas, and the Asia-Pacific region, alongside follow-up interest from industry publications. This response reflects growing attention to sustainable rice within food supply chains, as well as the importance of initiatives that combine credible climate action with evidence-based communication.
For CarbonFarm, this collaboration reinforces a broader lesson. Climate action projects that prioritise robust monitoring and verification do more than deliver environmental and social outcomes. They also enable partners to communicate progress with confidence, support credible claims, and position sustainable value chains within a rapidly evolving market landscape.
As expectations continue to rise across food and agricultural supply chains, projects that combine farmer adoption, recognised standards, robust MRV, and commercial engagement will be better placed to scale impact and sustain market attention.
CarbonFarm continues to work with partners across the rice value chain to support the design, monitoring, and communication of high-integrity sustainability initiatives. Organisations interested in learning more about how CarbonFarm can support project development, monitoring, or market engagement are invited to contact info@carbonfarm.tech.