Case study
Case study
Case study
Regenerative Agriculture
Regenerative Agriculture
Regenerative Agriculture
How AB World Foods put a verified soil carbon baseline under its Project SPICE cumin programme
How AB World Foods put a verified soil carbon baseline under its Project SPICE cumin programme
How AB World Foods put a verified soil carbon baseline under its Project SPICE cumin programme
About
AB World
AB World Foods sources cumin and coriander from smallholder farming communities in Rajasthan, India, through a partnership with GRAVIS that began in 2019. Known internally as Project SPICE, the programme has delivered agronomy training, business skills development, and rainwater-harvesting infrastructure to more than 1,000 farmers, alongside broader social investment in adolescent health education and women's empowerment. The work was recognised externally in March 2025, when Project SPICE won the Edie Sustainability Project of the Year Award. That recognition rested on a strong record of training and community development, but it did not address any specific measurement of the land itself. Six years into a farming relationship built on agronomy support, AB World Foods is now taking the steps to account for exactly how that stewardship has reaped material benefits for the soil.
About
AB World
AB World Foods sources cumin and coriander from smallholder farming communities in Rajasthan, India, through a partnership with GRAVIS that began in 2019. Known internally as Project SPICE, the programme has delivered agronomy training, business skills development, and rainwater-harvesting infrastructure to more than 1,000 farmers, alongside broader social investment in adolescent health education and women's empowerment. The work was recognised externally in March 2025, when Project SPICE won the Edie Sustainability Project of the Year Award. That recognition rested on a strong record of training and community development, but it did not address any specific measurement of the land itself. Six years into a farming relationship built on agronomy support, AB World Foods is now taking the steps to account for exactly how that stewardship has reaped material benefits for the soil.
About
AB World
AB World Foods sources cumin and coriander from smallholder farming communities in Rajasthan, India, through a partnership with GRAVIS that began in 2019. Known internally as Project SPICE, the programme has delivered agronomy training, business skills development, and rainwater-harvesting infrastructure to more than 1,000 farmers, alongside broader social investment in adolescent health education and women's empowerment. The work was recognised externally in March 2025, when Project SPICE won the Edie Sustainability Project of the Year Award. That recognition rested on a strong record of training and community development, but it did not address any specific measurement of the land itself. Six years into a farming relationship built on agronomy support, AB World Foods is now taking the steps to account for exactly how that stewardship has reaped material benefits for the soil.
India
location
India
location
India
location
2,180
HA
2,180
HA
2,180
HA
1,000+ farmers
programme reach
1,000+ farmers
programme reach
1,000+ farmers
programme reach
1,000 farms
measured
1,000 farms
measured
1,000 farms
measured
challenges
Recognition without a land-based measure
Commitments under the Sustainable Spice Initiative and the wider shift toward supply chain traceability now require sourcing claims to hold up beyond a training record.
challenges
Recognition without a land-based measure
Commitments under the Sustainable Spice Initiative and the wider shift toward supply chain traceability now require sourcing claims to hold up beyond a training record.
challenges
Recognition without a land-based measure
Commitments under the Sustainable Spice Initiative and the wider shift toward supply chain traceability now require sourcing claims to hold up beyond a training record.
challenge 1
A story of training, not of soil
The Edie award recognised training and community development, but it did not address any specific measurement of the land itself.
challenge 1
A story of training, not of soil
The Edie award recognised training and community development, but it did not address any specific measurement of the land itself.
challenge 1
A story of training, not of soil
The Edie award recognised training and community development, but it did not address any specific measurement of the land itself.
challenge 2
Unclear which intervention drove change
Project SPICE knows the training that has been delivered, but it is less clear which specific intervention produced changes to the soil, or whether it has been a collective combination of the various interventions.
challenge 2
Unclear which intervention drove change
Project SPICE knows the training that has been delivered, but it is less clear which specific intervention produced changes to the soil, or whether it has been a collective combination of the various interventions.
challenge 2
Unclear which intervention drove change
Project SPICE knows the training that has been delivered, but it is less clear which specific intervention produced changes to the soil, or whether it has been a collective combination of the various interventions.
challenge 3
No prior monitoring on these boundaries
This is a single baseline reading, not yet a repeated measurement. Because these particular project boundaries have not been run before, Project SPICE cannot yet point to a confirmed multi-year trend the way Downforce clients measured annually since 2018 can.
challenge 3
No prior monitoring on these boundaries
This is a single baseline reading, not yet a repeated measurement. Because these particular project boundaries have not been run before, Project SPICE cannot yet point to a confirmed multi-year trend the way Downforce clients measured annually since 2018 can.
challenge 3
No prior monitoring on these boundaries
This is a single baseline reading, not yet a repeated measurement. Because these particular project boundaries have not been run before, Project SPICE cannot yet point to a confirmed multi-year trend the way Downforce clients measured annually since 2018 can.
Our response
A verified baseline, read from historical data
Downforce measured soil organic carbon across 1,000 farms covering 2,180 hectares that sit within the Project SPICE boundaries, using remote data at 10-metre resolution. Because the underlying data archive runs back to 2017, the analysis did not have to wait for years of forward monitoring to produce a historical picture as it could read what the land had already done.
Our response
A verified baseline, read from historical data
Downforce measured soil organic carbon across 1,000 farms covering 2,180 hectares that sit within the Project SPICE boundaries, using remote data at 10-metre resolution. Because the underlying data archive runs back to 2017, the analysis did not have to wait for years of forward monitoring to produce a historical picture as it could read what the land had already done.
Our response
A verified baseline, read from historical data
Downforce measured soil organic carbon across 1,000 farms covering 2,180 hectares that sit within the Project SPICE boundaries, using remote data at 10-metre resolution. Because the underlying data archive runs back to 2017, the analysis did not have to wait for years of forward monitoring to produce a historical picture as it could read what the land had already done.
response 1
Measured the full footprint
Soil organic carbon measured across 1,000 farms covering 2,180 hectares within Project SPICE boundaries, at 10-metre resolution.
response 1
Measured the full footprint
Soil organic carbon measured across 1,000 farms covering 2,180 hectares within Project SPICE boundaries, at 10-metre resolution.
response 1
Measured the full footprint
Soil organic carbon measured across 1,000 farms covering 2,180 hectares within Project SPICE boundaries, at 10-metre resolution.
response 2
Read history without waiting
A data archive running back to 2017 meant a historical picture could be produced without years of new forward monitoring.
response 2
Read history without waiting
A data archive running back to 2017 meant a historical picture could be produced without years of new forward monitoring.
response 2
Read history without waiting
A data archive running back to 2017 meant a historical picture could be produced without years of new forward monitoring.
response 3
An independently verified figure
10,692 tCO2e of carbon gained against the modelled baseline since 2017 across the measured footprint - the programme's first independently verified soil carbon figure.
response 3
An independently verified figure
10,692 tCO2e of carbon gained against the modelled baseline since 2017 across the measured footprint - the programme's first independently verified soil carbon figure.
response 3
An independently verified figure
10,692 tCO2e of carbon gained against the modelled baseline since 2017 across the measured footprint - the programme's first independently verified soil carbon figure.
Key findings
Evidence at work
Key findings
Evidence at work
Key findings
Evidence at work
01
Carbon quantified
10,692 tCO2e of carbon gained against the modelled baseline since 2017, across the measured footprint.
01
Carbon quantified
10,692 tCO2e of carbon gained against the modelled baseline since 2017, across the measured footprint.
01
Carbon quantified
10,692 tCO2e of carbon gained against the modelled baseline since 2017, across the measured footprint.
02
Measured at scale
1,000 farms covering 2,180 hectares assessed using remote data at 10-metre resolution.
02
Measured at scale
1,000 farms covering 2,180 hectares assessed using remote data at 10-metre resolution.
02
Measured at scale
1,000 farms covering 2,180 hectares assessed using remote data at 10-metre resolution.
03
A historical picture
The data archive runs back to 2017, so the analysis could read what the land had already done rather than waiting years for new monitoring.
03
A historical picture
The data archive runs back to 2017, so the analysis could read what the land had already done rather than waiting years for new monitoring.
03
A historical picture
The data archive runs back to 2017, so the analysis could read what the land had already done rather than waiting years for new monitoring.
04
Three lines of evidence, not one
Training delivered, what the supply chain can trace, and what the soil itself shows now stand alongside each other for the first time.
04
Three lines of evidence, not one
Training delivered, what the supply chain can trace, and what the soil itself shows now stand alongside each other for the first time.
04
Three lines of evidence, not one
Training delivered, what the supply chain can trace, and what the soil itself shows now stand alongside each other for the first time.
05
A reference line for the future
A baseline drawn under 2,180 hectares, against which every future measurement through to 2028 will be checked.
05
A reference line for the future
A baseline drawn under 2,180 hectares, against which every future measurement through to 2028 will be checked.
05
A reference line for the future
A baseline drawn under 2,180 hectares, against which every future measurement through to 2028 will be checked.
customer perspective
Project SPICE has always been about supporting farmers to build more resilient and sustainable livelihoods, and its success has been achieved through our partnership with farmers and the support provided through training and community initiatives. It has demonstrated the value of long-term investment in farming communities. However, it is becoming increasingly important for sustainability programmes to validate measurable outcomes, and by establishing an independently verified soil carbon baseline, gives us a credible reference point for understanding soil health within Project SPICE and tracking progress over time.
Debbie Dyson
Supply Chain ESG Manager, AB World Foods
customer perspective
Project SPICE has always been about supporting farmers to build more resilient and sustainable livelihoods, and its success has been achieved through our partnership with farmers and the support provided through training and community initiatives. It has demonstrated the value of long-term investment in farming communities. However, it is becoming increasingly important for sustainability programmes to validate measurable outcomes, and by establishing an independently verified soil carbon baseline, gives us a credible reference point for understanding soil health within Project SPICE and tracking progress over time.
Debbie Dyson
Supply Chain ESG Manager, AB World Foods
customer perspective
Project SPICE has always been about supporting farmers to build more resilient and sustainable livelihoods, and its success has been achieved through our partnership with farmers and the support provided through training and community initiatives. It has demonstrated the value of long-term investment in farming communities. However, it is becoming increasingly important for sustainability programmes to validate measurable outcomes, and by establishing an independently verified soil carbon baseline, gives us a credible reference point for understanding soil health within Project SPICE and tracking progress over time.
Debbie Dyson
Supply Chain ESG Manager, AB World Foods
On-farm outcome
Further insight can be obtained on areas of land with more measurable soil health improvements, by understanding which practices those farmers implemented. These are now learnings that can then be shared with other project farmers.
On-farm outcome
Further insight can be obtained on areas of land with more measurable soil health improvements, by understanding which practices those farmers implemented. These are now learnings that can then be shared with other project farmers.
On-farm outcome
Further insight can be obtained on areas of land with more measurable soil health improvements, by understanding which practices those farmers implemented. These are now learnings that can then be shared with other project farmers.