Five countries in cooperation to increase low-emissions rice production capability

From October 9 to 11, the Kick-off Workshop of the Capacity Building for Sustainable and Low-Carbon Rice Innovations in Southeast Asia (CABIN) project took place in Can Tho city. The project is supported by the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (Taiwan ICDF) and implemented by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for the period 2024 - 2028, with the participation of 5 Southeast Asian countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Philippines and Vietnam.

To give an overview of the rice production situation of the five countries participating in the CABIN project, each year these countries produce millions of tons of rice and gain a total straw output of nearly 150 million tons, accounting for approximately 20% of global straw output. Due to limited knowledge of straw management and a lack of suitable technology, straw burning has become a common problem.

Indonesia is the country with the largest rice cultivation area among the countries participating in the project. Its rice output in 2022 reached 54.75 million tons (unmilled). The total amount of straw ranged from 75 to 90 million tons.

Before 2009, more than 85% of Indonesian farmers burned straw to clear their fields and prepare the land after harvest. In 2009, the Indonesian government issued Law No. 41 on sustainable agricultural land protection. It stipulated that farmers were not allowed to burn straw, but instead, they would decompose it and return it to their fields, or use it as animal feed, industrial materials and energy.

In a similar manner, the Philippines has an annual rice harvest area of ​​approximately 4.82 million ha, with an output of 20.06 million tons. The government has taken initiatives on straw management, through the promulgation of the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 and the Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, which prohibit the burning of straw in rice fields.

The Philippines has also implemented a number of projects such as: using straw to produce biodegradable geotextiles; producing mushrooms, animal feed and composting, etc.

In Cambodia, with a rice cultivation area of ​​over 3.5 million ha, the amount of straw produced is approximately 10 million tons, and 55% of which is collected to make silage for livestock, produce mushrooms and vegetables, make organic fertilizer, and transport to Vietnam for consumption. The remaining 45% is processed by farmers by burning or allowing it to decompose naturally.

Straw management in Cambodia is facing many challenges due to farmers' lack of knowledge about increasing the value of straw, high labor costs for straw collection, lack of storage, and high humidity during the rainy season.

As a country with a low rice growing area, Laos has nearly 994,000 ha of rice with a total output of over 3.9 million tons. More than the impacts of natural disasters, pests and the environment, only 3% of the country is fertile land area (equivalent to approximately 26,000 ha), the rest is medium fertile land and poor land. To improve rice production, the Lao Government has focused on improving the quality of rice varieties for each ecological type, ensuring good adaptability, resistance and commercial production capacity.

As for Vietnam, Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) Le Thanh Tung, said that each year the country produces over 43 million tons of rice and approximately 43 million tons of straw.

The Mekong Delta is the largest rice producing region in Vietnam, contributing nearly 90% of rice exports, but localities in the region are still focusing on economic and food security goals. The public has not paid much attention to the issue of emission reduction.

Localities lack mechanisms to promote and encourage farmers to grow low-emissions rice. The common problem is that infrastructure conditions (mainly irrigation) do not ensure the application of emission reduction measures. Emission source management (straw) is not optimal, and there is a lack of innovative emission reduction policies.

Together with the research efforts of IRRI and financial resources from Taiwan ICDF through the CABIN project, it will contribute to helping Vietnam solve the challenges in rice production. The project not only brings opportunities for participating countries to develop a modern and environment-friendly agricultural sector but also reveals a sustainable direction, closely linking rice production and natural resource protection to open up a green future for the Southeast Asian region.

The five participating countries have agreed on strategic plans for sustainable straw management, which will guide the CABIN project in promoting these practices in each country.

In the first phase (2024 - 2028), the CABIN project will focus on several key objectives:

Developing annual plans and strategies for sustainable and low-emissions rice transformation;

Developing training materials on sustainable and low-emissions rice appropriate to scale;

Enhancing knowledge and adoption of sustainable and low-emission rice production through training, field demonstrations and technology transfer.