Thailand pilots low-carbon rice farming model

Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives is piloting a low-carbon rice farming model on 2,000 rai (around 320 hectares) in Suphan Buri province as part of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance the value of rice products and enable farmers to participate in the carbon credit market.

According to the ministry’s Rice Department, the project is being implemented in Ban Sa tambon of Sam Chuk district and is expected to serve as a model for nationwide expansion. The initiative aims to establish an environmentally friendly rice production system that lowers production costs while increasing farmers’ incomes through the sale of high-quality rice and the generation of carbon credits.

The department, in collaboration with government agencies, private-sector partners and local farmers, recently held a meeting to review the project’s progress, with the participation of more than 60 farming households.

Under the programme, farmers are encouraged to adopt a range of sustainable cultivation practices, including refraining from burning rice straw after harvest, using microbial products to process agricultural residues, and applying alternate wetting and drying irrigation techniques to conserve water and reduce methane emissions.

The project further encourages the use of natural soil amendments to cut chemical fertiliser use by at least 30%, thereby helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions and minimise environmental impacts.

Private-sector companies are expected to participate throughout the project’s value chain, from supplying agricultural inputs and purchasing low-carbon rice to developing measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) systems. These systems will support the certification of emission reductions and the future registration of carbon credits./.

VNA