Trading house eyes carbon credits with cultivation method that also conserves water.

KENTO HIRASHIMA

TOKYO — Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co. said Monday it will work with a nongovernmental organization to promote a water-saving rice cultivation technique in Bangladesh that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, aiming to generate carbon credits as early as next year.

The partnership with Bangladesh Bondhu Foundation will train farmers in alternate wetting and drying, in which paddies are drained of water and the soil allowed to dry before they are flooded again.

This method can reduce the activity of methane-emitting bacteria in the soil, cutting emissions by around 30% compared with conventional flooding. It also conserves water, in a country that often uses groundwater for farming.

“Through this project, Mitsui aims to promote sustainable rice growing in Bangladesh,” the company said in its announcement.

Bondhu, which has a track record of generating carbon credits through alternate wetting and drying, will provide technical guidance and monitoring.

Mitsui plans to register the project for Japan’s Joint Crediting Mechanism, a system that allows Japan to receive a portion of the credits generated through such projects. Bangladesh joined the initiative in 2013.

A share of the profits from the credits will be returned to farmers.

Published Date: February 10, 2026