The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has said it is adopting a multi-faceted approach to tackle climate change in India’s agricultural sector.

Through data-driven solutions, new financial mechanisms like the Agri Fund and the upcoming Carbon Fund, and forming strategic partnerships with multilateral agencies and State governments, Nabard aims to build a more resilient and sustainable agricultural sector.

Delivering the keynote address at the businessline’s Agri and Commodity Summit 2025 here on Friday, Nabard Chairman Shaji KV outlined four pillars that guide them in addressing the urgent challenges posed by climate change, given the volatility of the agricultural sector and its impact on food security.

The first pillar — accelerating green lending across sectors — focuses on integrating climate-related activities into existing financial products, and collaborating with rural financial institutions to create innovative financial instruments tailored to climate policy, he said.

Data access

The second pillar is about playing a broader market-making role. It aims to promote climate-related actions by providing access to data, creating awareness about relevant products and players. This approach intends to facilitate wider adoption of climate resilience practices within the agricultural sector.

The third pillar is an internal green transformation, reflecting Nabard’s commitment to leading by example. This involves achieving zero emissions within the organisation and working with rural financial institutions to reduce their concrete emissions. 

The fourth pillar, resource mobilisation, is centred around securing the necessary funding for climate-resilient activities. This involves leveraging various financial mechanisms such as blended finance, carbon funds and exploring options like green bonds.

Data warehouse

“We are building a comprehensive data warehouse for agriculture and rural sectors. This initiative, developed in partnership with various agencies including UNDP, will help formalise farmers, especially tenant farmers, and improve their access to credit and government schemes,” the Chairman said.

“By integrating data on crops, farmers’ KYC and land details, the data warehouse aims to provide a unified platform for better decision-making and improved financial services,” he said.

Nabard is partnering with individual States to integrate data into the agreed framework, ensuring a standardised data approach across the country.

The Chairman also highlighted the critical role played by blended finance that combines philanthropy, grants, concessional capital and market funds to mobilise resources for climate-resilient agriculture. To this end, Nabard is actively engaging with the government and multilateral agencies to establish a dedicated Carbon Fund to support projects that reduce emissions and promote carbon sequestration in the agricultural sector.

The Hindu businessline Agri & Commodity Summit 2025 is presented by Nabard and co-powered by Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSSI) in association with Yara.

The Associate Partners are NCDEX, Indofil, Bayer, Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Ltd, Kribhco Agri, NSE, Aqua Group and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. The Banking Partner is State Bank of India while the Broadcast Partner is NDTV Profit.