Seeds of Change: The Implementation Story of PRANA (2022 - 2026)

Abstract

Crop residue burning remains one of the most persistent environmental challenges in northwest India, driven by the narrow window between rice harvest and wheat sowing. Launched in 2021, PRANA (Promoting Regenerative and No-burn Agriculture) was designed to address the last-mile barriers that prevented farmers from adopting sustainable alternatives to burning. This report chronicles PRANA’s implementation journey from 2022 to 2026, documenting its evolution from a pilot initiative into a large-scale platform supporting regenerative and no-burn agriculture across Punjab. 

Drawing on four years of field implementation, the report examines how PRANA combined behavior change communication, field demonstrations, decentralized service delivery, machinery access, and climate-smart agricultural practices to accelerate farmer adoption. By 2025-26, the initiative had reached more than 6,200 villages across 18 districts, supported over 370,000 farmers in adopting no-burn practices, expanded water-saving approaches such as Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) and Direct Seeded Rice (DSR), and contributed to significant reductions in crop residue burning, greenhouse gas emissions and water use.

The report highlights key lessons from implementing solutions at scale, including the importance of managing farmer risk, strengthening local service ecosystems, and integrating residue management with broader goals for climate resilience, water conservation and agricultural livelihoods. It also explores emerging opportunities to build long-term agricultural transition systems that move beyond standalone interventions toward more sustainable and resilient farming landscapes.

Citation

The Nature Conservancy. (2026). Seeds of change: The implementation story of PRANA (2022-2026): Summary report. The Nature Conservancy.