Implementing sustainable rice cultivation practices

Improved irrigation and drainage systems that avoid continuous flooding throughout the growing season can reduce methane emissions and other negative environmental impacts generated through rice cultivation. Additionally, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and its partner organizations have developed and validated numerous solutions to reduce agrochemical use in rice production while preserving the ability of rice landscapes to support diverse life forms.

Sustainable practices include:

• Alternate wetting and drying (AWD), can also be called “controlled irrigation” or “multiple irrigation” around key rice-crop growth periods such as flowering. This helps to control weeds and ensure rice crops have sufficient water while reducing methane emissions from paddy rice systems, as well as reducing the uptake of arsenic by rice plants, which is unsuitable for human consumption. Reduced flooding approaches such as AWD are also known to increase soil macrofauna, such as earthworms, and improve soil physicochemical properties. This is especially improved if one transforms the system to direct seeding.
• Mid-season drainage, also called a single drawdown of water during the mid-season, involves drainage for 5–10 days during the crop growing season, which generates GHG reduction benefits.
• Direct-seeded rice (DSR): seeding rice into dry soil, rather than flooded fields, reduces methane emissions by shortening the flooding period by about a month. It also improves soil health, alters pesticide use, and allows more flexibility for intercropping and multiple harvests, potentially boosting yields.
• Aerobic Rice system: growing rice in well-drained, non-saturated soils. This may yield lower crop production than other rice cultivation methods but can be suitable for drier or water-scarce climates.
• The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) approach combines AWD irrigation measures with improved soil, nutrient, and plant management practices to reduce emissions and increase yields.
• SRI practices should be tailored to local conditions and be combined with a range of agroecological approaches, such as Conservation Agriculture (CA), but should always follow these key principles:
  • Early establishment of young plants
  • Low plant density
  • Enhanced soil fertility: Add organic matter to the soil and practice mechanical weeding (manual or motorized), instead of chemical weeding.
  • Apply the minimum amount of water needed: Apply AWD irrigation techniques.
• By reducing irrigation and encouraging aerobic conditions, as well as reducing the application of chemical fertilizers, SRI helps to promote and enhance the diversity of microorganisms in the soil, and the level of biodiversity it can support as a result.
• Alternative practices to rice-straw burning that reduce GHG emissions include:
  • Using rice straws and residues: Rice straw and residue that are usually removed from rice fields by burning can instead be harvested and used to make paper, replace wood products (e.g. medium-density fiberboard, MDF) or as biochar.
  • Mulch rice straw residues and retain them in field: After harvest rice crop residues can be mulched and left on the field or incorporated in the soil, before seeding the next crop (see the example of Happy Seeder, a no-tillage and direct-seeding system developed in India), with benefits for soil health and water retention capacity.
  • Use diverse, older, local rice genotypes that produce more biomass, which can be used as a soil amendment. This also conserves plant genetic resources.
• The burning of rice straw residues transfers heat and pollutants into the soil, typically reducing its moisture content and damaging beneficial bacteria. Any methods which reduce or avoid the burning of such residues help to conserve soil health, fertility, water retention capacity and supported biodiversity.
• Integrated Pest Management (IPM): In tropical Asian irrigated rice systems, IPM leverages the natural presence of beneficial insects to control pests, thus reducing the need for synthetic chemicals. Research indicates that farmer participatory approaches, such as field schools, have significantly improved the implementation of IPM practices, leading to sustainable pest management and increased yields without compromising ecological balance.
• Site-specific nutrient management (SSNM): Studies conducted in China have demonstrated that SSNM can enhance fertilizer use efficiency and increase rice yields compared to traditional practices. By tailoring nutrient applications to the soil’s indigenous supply and crop requirements, SSNM not only boosts productivity but also contributes to better soil health and reduced environmental impact. This approach has shown promising results across various Asian countries, making it a viable alternative for sustainable rice production.
• The diversification of rice-producing systems, including crop rotation and cover crops, to naturally improve soil fertility and the population of beneficial microbiota, break pest cycles, and increase food production while diversifying smallholders’ income.
• Agroecological practices such as rice-fish culture integrate aquatic species into rice farming systems, creating a symbiotic relationship that benefits both crops and fish. This method not only enhances biodiversity but also improves nutrient cycling within the ecosystem. Studies have shown that fields with integrated fish populations can achieve up to 12% higher rice yields compared to conventional systems, while also reducing the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Some agroforestry practices applied to rice production systems can increase yields, especially in low-productivity environments with low fertilizer inputs, and benefit agrobiodiversity, e.g. in forest–rice terrace systems. For example, runoff rainwater harvesting for irrigation can transform rainfed rice into irrigated systems, enabling farmers to improve yields and introduce fish farming and cultivate a second crop per year. Other practices can include grass–fish and embankment–fish systems, livestock–fish integration systems featuring chickens, ducks or pigs, seasonal ponds and ditches.

Enabling governance measures are key to supporting the successful implementation and management of community-led sustainable rice cultivation within food systems which include a range of measures to improve the sustainability at economic and at environment level as well for livelihoods. and can be achieved through:

• Promoting inclusive farmer organizations and cooperatives for rice farmers enhances local development through community-driven approaches and capacity building, including access to agricultural inputs, credit, and collective marketing. These cooperatives not only increase members’ income through profit sharing but also contribute to food security by boosting rice productivity, particularly for small- and medium-scale farms.
• The promotion of rental services for agricultural machinery enables smallholders to access essential equipment such as tractors, harvesters, and threshers, which is particularly important for the adoption of direct seeded rice (DSR) practices. These services have shown to play a crucial role in improving rice productivity in regions with low levels of mechanization.
• Policies that promote the adoption of input-saving technologies are effective for rice cultivation because improved practices, such as using better seed varieties, row planting, recommended fertilizer rates, and proper weeding, are complementary and yield greater benefits when adopted together. Evidence from Ethiopian smallholder farmers shows that integrated use of these technologies significantly boosts productivity, making policy support for bundled technology adoption and affordable input access essential for improving rice yields.
• Piloting and refining financing mechanisms such as Payments for Ecosystem Services through mechanisms like voluntary carbon markets can help channel finance to scale implementation of sustainable practices.
• Supporting the production of locally adapted rice varieties and making quality seeds available and affordable to smallholders while also recognizing and supporting the conservation and use of farmers’ rice varieties (landraces) under national seed policies. This can enhance the resilience of agricultural systems and safeguard both food security and smallholders’ livelihoods, as these varieties possess genetic adaptability to challenging environments, including inherent protection against disease and pest risks.
• Investment in R&D for developing and supporting technological innovations for enhancing sustainability in all stages of the rice value chain. The private sector is now an important player in rice R&D and in technology dissemination and the growth in private sector investment clearly provides the opportunity to encourage the development of public-private partnership for substantially augmenting the amount of investment in these areas.
• Targeted capacity-building, education, and training programs for both young people and farmers are essential, focusing on improving access to and effective use of new technologies in rice production, as well as raising awareness about the harmful impacts of burning rice straw and promoting feasible alternative practices.
• Redirecting subsidies to reduce the excessive use of environmentally harmful inputs and promote quality organic inputs will help enhance rice yield, quality, and nutrient use efficiency.
• Update government training programs to incorporate innovative cultivation practices that produce lower emissions rice and conserve biodiversity.

Key guides to support the successful implementation of sustainable rice cultivation include:

Guides

Sustainable rice cultivation offers a wide range of benefits across environmental, economic, and social dimensions.

Climate change mitigation benefits

Sustainable rice cultivation methods can play a key role in mitigating climate change:

• AWD and SRI systems can reduce methane emissions by 35-48% compared to conventional cultivation systems.
• Aerobic rice system can reduce methane emissions by up to 70%.
• Combined systems, such as dry seeding with AWD, have been found to reduce emissions by up to 90% compared to rice flooding methods.

Climate change adaptation benefits

Implementing sustainable rice cultivation practices can directly contribute to the following targets under the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience.

• Target 9a (Water & Sanitation): Techniques like AWD in rice fields significantly reduce water use consumption and improve water quality by minimizing runoff and agrochemical leaching. Improved water management and resilient agricultural practices can reduce strain on local water infrastructure and help maintain essential services during climate extremes.
• Target 9b (Food & Agriculture): Sustainable rice practices described above enhance food security by significantly increasing yields, stabilizing production, and making rice systems more resilient to climate shocks.
• Target 9c (Health): Reducing agrochemical use and improving water management in rice cultivation can lower exposure to harmful substances, decrease vector-borne disease risks, and support better nutrition through more reliable food supplies.
• Target 9d (Ecosystems): These practices reduce negative environmental impacts, such as methane emissions and excessive water use, and promote ecosystem-based adaptation and restoration, supporting biodiversity and healthier landscapes.
• Target 9f (Livelihoods): By increasing productivity, reducing input costs (e.g. less fertilizer use through residue mulching and water reduction) and improving resilience to climate variability, sustainable rice cultivation directly supports farmers’ incomes and rural livelihoods. In addition, women provide much of the labor input in rice-producing areas and as such, may yield more benefits from improved rice cultivation techniques that reduce labour intensity.
• Target 9g (Cultural heritage): Rice farming is deeply embedded in the cultural heritage of many societies. Sustainable practices help preserve traditional farming knowledge while integrating new, adaptive techniques, thus supporting the continuity of cultural practices.

Biodiversity benefits

Implementing sustainable rice cultivation practices can help to deliver on several KM-GBF targets, in particular: 

• Target 1 (Plan and Manage all Areas To Reduce Biodiversity Loss): Implementing sustainable rice production practices such as SRI, a holistic approach to rice management which places ecosystem health front and center, helps to ensure that agricultural decisions are made in line with ecological objectives and that potential negative impacts on biodiversity are mitigated.
• Target 2 (Restore 30% of all Degraded Ecosystems): Reducing the application of environmentally harmful inputs or exchanging them for organic ones – for example, the use of organic matter rather than chemicals during the weeding process – can help in the recovery of soil health and fertility, enhance biodiversity, and as a result, serve as a restoration practice in productive rice landscapes.
• Target 3 (Conserve 30% of Land, Waters and Seas): All measures under this policy option can contribute positively to the conservation of biodiversity by ensuring that rice production contributes to the maintenance and enhancement of ecosystems or, at a minimum, does not negatively impact them. This includes farm-level measures which directly reduce pressures on natural ecosystems as well as governance measures which create an enabling environment for more sustainable rice production in agricultural ecosystems. Mitigating the environmental impacts of rice cultivation could facilitate the establishment of new protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) or the expansion of existing ones in rice production areas, without compromising the livelihoods of people who depend on those areas for food and income.
• Target 7 (Reduce Pollution to Levels That Are Not Harmful to Biodiversity): Reducing the application of environmentally harmful inputs – specifically, chemical fertilizers and pesticides – can protect levels of soil carbon and biodiversity in rice landscapes.
• Target 10 (Enhance Biodiversity and Sustainability in Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fisheries, and Forestry): Sustainable rice cultivation approaches, as outlined under ‘Concrete Measures to Implement,’ contribute synergistically to enhancing biodiversity and sustainability in agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, and forestry. For example, SRI is an evidence-based method that not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions from rice production but also protects soils, enhances nutrient availability, and improves ecological resilience in rice-growing landscapes. Similarly, rice–fish systems promote biodiversity while supporting nutrient cycling within the ecosystem. The governance measures under this policy option – which include improved access by smallholders to agricultural machinery, finance and training, and the redirection of public subsidies towards organic inputs – also help to create an enabling environment for more sustainable rice production.
• Target 14 (Integrate Biodiversity in Decision-Making at Every Level): Promoting subsidy reform to avoid the excessive use of environmentally harmful inputs and support the use of quality organic inputs in rice production can help to embed sustainable food production into broader public finance dialogues, potentially encouraging more coordinated cross-sectoral spending and policy coherence.
• Target 18 (Reduce Harmful Incentives by at Least $500 Billion per Year, and Scale Up Positive Incentives for Biodiversity): Subsidy reform, as above, is the primary lever for removing the perverse incentives which support the continuation of emission-intensive and biodiversity-harmful rice production practices. Other, complementary measures help to create incentives for positive action, including the provision of training programmes and extension services on sustainable production techniques, and better availability of financial services for smallholder farmers.

Other sustainable development benefits

Improved irrigation and drainage systems in rice cultivation can contribute to nine different SDGs, according to RICE, a collaboration between the International Rice Research Institute, Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), and International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT):

• SDG 1 (No Poverty): Sustainable rice cultivation practices, such as adopting high-yielding rice varieties, improving rice value chains, and promoting better farming and diversified cropping systems, have collectively helped lift about 18 million rice producers and consumers out of poverty.
• SDG 2 (Zero Hunger): Around 26 million people have been alleviated from hunger and 18 million are now meeting their zinc needs thanks to climate-smart, stress-tolerant rice varieties, nutrient-rich rice grains, improved farming practices that boost yields, and better postharvest handling that reduces losses.
• SDG 5 (Gender Equality): Gender equity and empowerment in the rice sector have advanced through greater access for women to resources such as seeds, inputs, technologies, and knowledge; improved productivity and production that enhance their income share and purchasing power; and the introduction of labor-saving technologies that reduce the physical burden of farming activities.
• SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation): Water-use efficiency in rice fields has increased by approximately 15% through the development of rice varieties with enhanced water-use traits, adoption of water-saving technologies and cropping systems, reuse of water within rice ecosystems, and reduced agro-chemical pollution achieved through improved crop management practices.
• SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth): Youth participation in dynamic rice agri-businesses has increased through the introduction of innovative service-based business models, entrepreneurial training for young farmers, and the development and dissemination of mechanization solutions and ICT tools tailored to their needs.
• SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production): Resource-use efficiency and sustainability across the rice value chain have been improved through the implementation of sustainability guidelines and outreach models, the use of measurable impact indicators, and the adoption of best management practices that minimize environmental impact while maintaining economic viability.
• SDG 13 (Climate Action): Approximately 36 million farms have adopted climate-smart rice varieties and management practices, leading to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 57 megatons CO2 equivalent per year, through the use of resilient rice varieties, climate-smart technologies and advisory systems, water-saving methods that cut methane emissions by 30-40%, and carbon-sequestering crop husbandry techniques like charring and husk incorporation.
• SDG 15 (Life on Land): Rice genetic resources are globally conserved and shared through secure storage in gene banks, regulated access in line with the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, and the promotion of fair and equitable benefit-sharing from their use.

The success of sustainable rice cultivation efforts depends on their design and effective implementation, which can be hindered by both technical and non-technical challenges, including:

• Although AWD and aerobic rice cultivation methods have shown to have higher yields, in some parts of the world these have not been widely adopted due to the risk of yield reductions – compared to conventional methods – if practices are not optimally implemented.
• SRI requires farmers to have higher levels of knowledge and skills, particularly relating to transplanting, water management and nutrient management. This can be a barrier to adoption for some farmers.
• Water-saving practices such as AWD and direct seeding may increase the risk of weed infestations, since rice plants are initially smaller, and weeds can more easily compete for resources. This can necessitate higher additional farm-level investment needs for chemical, mechanical or biological weed control.
• Poor seed germination and sub-optimal plant population can cause low yields in direct seeding.
• Drainage has the unintended effect of increasing nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, but this is always offset by the reduction in methane emissions.
• Agroforestry can reduce yields when trees/shrubs compete with rice for light, water and nutrients or they impede mechanization of rice production.
• Rice-fish-systems: Sustainable crop management practices must be widely adopted in global rice production. However, the key challenge is producing more rice with fewer inputs and lower environmental costs to drive truly sustainable rice farming. While methodologies such as AWD, DSR, and the SRI offer valuable solutions, they should be seen as means to an end rather than the ultimate goal. Their adoption should be guided by site-specific suitability, considering multiple agronomic and socio-economic factors.

Incorporating the following strategies into a thorough and integrated approach for implementing sustainable rice cultivation can help minimize trade-offs and overcome implementation challenges:

• To prevent yield reductions in AWD it is important to continuously irrigate crops during and after the start of the reproductive phase of the crop (i.e. flowering to grain filling), when it is most sensitive to water shortage. 
• Farmers may need to increase weed control measures for aerobic rice cultivation, such as herbicides or manual weeding, to maintain yields. However, with correct implementation of AWD techniques, increases in such methods should still remain minimal.
• Targeted training and extension services should be implemented or strengthened to support farmers. 
• Integrated pest management, together with pest-resistant varieties and judicious use of pesticides, can reduce pesticide use and the overall loss due to pests.
• Excessive use of chemical fertilizers can be avoided by applying integrated nutrient management.
  • The integration of legume cover crops between main crops can help improve soil health.
  • Composting crop residues instead of burning them can help to reduce external input costs and improve soil health.
• Nutrient loss and nitrous oxide emissions and be reduced by applying site- and season-specific nutrient management (SSNM).
• Choose adequate tree/shrub species for agroforestry practices.

Robust monitoring tools, well-defined indicators, and comprehensive frameworks are essential for effectively tracking and evaluating the implementation and outcomes of sustainable rice cultivation practices, including progress, biodiversity, and climate-related impacts.

Indicators to monitor biodiversity outcomes

The Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity agreed to a comprehensive set of headline, component, and complementary indicators for tracking progress toward the targets of the KM-GBF. Some of these indicators could also be functional for monitoring the implementation of measures under this policy option, including:

Tools to monitor biodiversity outcomes

Tools to monitor climate outcomes

Implementing sustainable rice cultivation practices can reduce the cost of rice cultivation and increase farmers’ incomes. The International Rice Research Institute advises that if the goal is to calculate the highest mitigation impact-to-cost ratio to reach an NDC goal, it is necessary to include a project investment analyses that includes implementation costs for infrastructure development, capacity building (i.e. training of farmers), and expenses related to taking baseline measurements, monitoring, reporting and verifying farmer practices as well as the resulting emission reductions. Ultimately, implementation costs will vary by approach, local context, and may depend on the existence of irrigation or other agricultural technology. Examples of estimated implementation costs include:

• In a 2019 analysis of SRI implementation in Malaysia, researchers found SRI techniques had significant financial and food security benefits from increased profit and rice yield for farmers. SRI reduces cost by optimizing the use of inputs like seeds, synthetic fertilizers, and water, ultimately resulting in increased farmers’ profits.
• In one analysis, AWD, modified SRI and direct-seeded rice increased yield by 960kg/ha, 930 kg/ha and 770 kg/kg, respectively, which increased farmers’ income and decreased the cost of cultivation by up to USD 169/ha.
• A comprehensive study on the implementation costs of rice-fish farming reported that integrated systems average about USD 1,746 per hectare per year. While this is higher than the average cost for rice monoculture (USD 1,107/ha/year), primarily as a result of infrastructure modifications and additional inputs, the net benefit is substantially greater – on average, rice-fish systems generate a net profit of USD 2,228/ha/year, roughly three times higher than rice monoculture (about USD 550/ha/year).

Some key examples of the successful implementation of sustainable rice cultivation practices include:

• In Bohol Island, the Philippines, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), supported by the Japanese government, took a proactive approach to address a declining and unreliable water supply. Their solution involved the construction of a new dam. To optimize the use of irrigation water from this dam, the NIA implemented an AWD irrigation schedule for rice cultivation in 2006. The reliable flow of water, even in a surface-water system, has allowed the AWD intervention to be successful. Farmers have been able to cultivate a larger area with a 16% increase in irrigated land and, in some parts of the island, they have been able to plant two rice crops each year instead of one.
• In Vietnam, with support from FAO, the Plant Protection Department (PPD) began conducting SRI training in three provinces in 2003. Results showed that, on average, farmers who implemented SRI methods increased their income by USD 200 per hectare compared to conventional rice production methods. The increase in income is a result of both higher yields – 500 kilos or more per hectare – and savings on input purchases. By 2011, 1 million farmers had adopted SRI. The PPD reported that SRI adoption covered 16% of the rice land in the north, and 6% of the rice cropland in the country overall.
• The FCDO-funded, LINKS project in Northern Nigeria trained over 45,000 farmers on SRI practices. As a result, yields doubled, the cost of production fell by 26%, farmer profits increased by over six times, and GHG emissions decreased by 40%.
• The SRI-WAAPP project implemented between 2014 and 2016 in 13 ECOWAS trained 50,048 farmers (33% women) on SRI practices on both irrigated (40%) and rainfed lowland systems (60%). Average SRI yield for irrigated rice increased by 56% while, in rainfed lowland systems, SRI yields averaged +86% increase. Today, a follow up initiative is being implemented in the same area under the name of RICOWAS project.
• Examples of Other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) in rice landscapes include the Apatani Landscape in Arunachal Pradesh, India and Wakaba-Ward in Chiba City, Japan.

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