A more sustainable future for rice
At the agricultural end of our supply chain, in the paddy fields of northern India, we’re partnering with thousands of basmati farmers to adopt more sustainable ways of producing rice.
Since its launch in 2021, our Responsible Growing Programme has expanded rapidly – creating measurable outcomes for people, nature and the climate. In 2025, we more than doubled the number of farms in the Programme, reaching 3,840 farms and covering 15,314 hectares by the end of 2025.
In return for meeting our quality standards, farmers receive extension advice and equipment that supports them to manage their impacts, cut costs, increase yields and boost incomes.
There’s no obligation to sell the rice to Tilda, but those who do receive a premium
price that reflects the added risks of growing basmati to our higher standards.
Growing pure basmati in northern India
Follow the journey of a basmati crop from planting to harvest
Watch the time-lapse video as we capture the changing seasons of the paddy fields.
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Rice is a key staple for billions of people, but traditional cultivation methods contribute significantly to climate change. Our work shows that it is possible to produce rice in a more environmentally sustainable way – and that it is also economically sustainable or beneficial for farmers. Through collaboration with our expert partners, we’re showing not only what can be achieved in northern India, but also potential for the entire global rice industry to reduce its climate impact.
Changing how rice is grown in paddy fields
Our goal is to encourage all our basmati farmers – and others beyond our supply chain – to adopt new techniques that reduce the impacts of growing rice
Traditional rice farming involves growing rice in permanently flooded fields. This uses 3,000 – 5,000 litres of water per kilogram of rice produced and generates large amounts of methane – a potent greenhouse gas.
A more sustainable approach, developed by the International Rice Research Institute, is called Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD). This irrigation technique reduces the number of flooding cycles, cutting methane emissions and water use.
We’ve spent three years trialling this practice with our partner farmers and can now show not just progress – but proof of impact. The data shows that, when we work together, more sustainable rice production is both possible and scalable.
Between 2023-2025, we more than doubled the number of farms in the programme, reaching 3,840 farms. Farm incomes increased by 7.5% on average per year compared to farms outside the sustainability programme. And CO2e emissions fell by 22.7 million kg, representing a 36% reduction per tonne of rice compared to farms outside the programme.
3,840
progressive farms have joined our Sustainable Farming Project, covering 15,314 hectares.
23 million kg Co2e
emissions reduced. This is equal to taking 15,050 UK cars off the road for a year.
37 billion litres
of irrigation water saved, approximately equal to the annual consumption of about 711,210 UK adults.
6 million kWh
of electricity reduced. This is equal to the annual consumption of 2,090 UK households.
7%
average increase in production for farmers using AWD, improving economic stability.
Over 70%
reduced impact on the environment associated with pesticide use per hectare of rice grown, as measured by the environmental impact quotient (EIQ) indicator.
21.4%
reduction in fertiliser use per tonne of rice on average
7.5%
average increase in farm incomes per year compared to farms outside the sustainability programme due largely to higher yields
The next challenge: nitrous oxide
The next phase of our journey involves supporting pioneering research in the field to explore ways to we can reduce nitrous oxide emissions.
We now know that, while AWD significantly reduces methane and water use, up to 10–15% of that benefit may be offset by increased nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions – another potent greenhouse gas.
This occurs because, when fields are no longer continuously flooded and the soil is increasingly exposed to oxygen, it encourages microbes to release N2O – especially in the presence of fertilisers applied to boost crop yields.
Since fertilisers are currently essential for maintaining yields and protecting farmer livelihoods, the challenge is to finds a way to reduce N2O emissions without compromising productivity. That’s what we are aiming to achieve through our research.
Healing the soil with fungi
Tilda has launched a pilot research project in collaboration with the CUCSC and Ebro India, our parent company.
We’re partnering with Dr Emily Servanté from the University of Cambridge Crop Science Centre (CUCSC) to test whether using bio-fertilisers that contain mycorrhizal (AM) fungi could help reduce N2O emissions and nutrient run-off, and improve soil quality.
These fungi help plants absorb nutrients more efficiently, acting as a natural bio-fertiliser, meaning farmers could further reduce synthetic fertiliser use without compromising yields.
Our aim is to explore whether AWD techniques also promote the growth of AM fungi, by comparing data from the farms in our programme with those still using traditional methods.
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These early results are extremely encouraging. We’ve confirmed that AM fungi naturally associate with Pusa basmati rice, and that bio-fertilisers can enhance root development and crop vigor. Our next step is to quantify these benefits at scale and ensure that any inputs are truly sustainable.
How does it work?
Exploring soil science for lower emissions
AWD works by reducing the number of flooding cycles in the field, cutting methane emissions and water use. However, some of these benefits may be offset by increased nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions – another potent greenhouse gas. Researchers are now exploring whether AM fungi in the soil could help reduce these impacts.
Meet the team
Meet some of the people bringing this work to life
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Bohti Devi
Farmer from Alahar village, Haryana
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Surendra Pal
Agriculture and biotechnology expert, Ebro India
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Parwinder Singh
Farmer from Haryana
Where our story begins
The rice fields of northern India
Biodiversity
Protecting crops while supporting nature
Our work with farmers includes providing information and advice on the benefits of using Integrated Pest Management – a method which helps reduce the environmental impact of pest control practices while supporting biodiversity. We offer free pheromone traps to help manage pests, and straw bundles which create a natural habitat for spiders – a natural form of ‘biological’ pest control.
Ingredients
Ensuring a transparent supply chain
Beyond rice, we make our products using only high quality natural ingredients sourced from suppliers we’ve worked with for many years.
Our long-standing partners are committed to meeting our high standards of ethics and transparency. We use Sedex Global to assess suppliers’ compliance with our standards and ensure transparent reporting.
In 2025, we achieved a Sedex score of 100% for ethical performance and transparency in our supply chain.
