Building Partnerships for Innovative Rice Straw Management: Key to a Greener Future

KLUANG, Malaysia (25-26 October 2024) - Experts from governments, non-government organizations, academia, and industry convened to share challenges on rice straw management, their initiatives, and policies; and identify research gaps, necessary policy interventions, and best practices for knowledge sharing across countries. They also explored the potential of rice straw, often seen as a waste, into valuable resources like bio-pellets at the Kluang Pilot Plant of the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development - Oil Palm Trunk (SATREPS-OPT) project, led by the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS). Fourteen international participants from Cambodia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Japan joined this event co-organized by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). This event was part of the "Development of rice cropping systems toward carbon neutrality and food security in ASEAN countries" project (MAFF Japan-IRRI project) which is being implemented by IRRI and funded by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. It is aligned with Innovation Package 2: Climate Neutrality and Circular Agriculture in the ASEAN-CGIAR Innovate for Food and Nutrition Security Regional Program.

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Rice straw management remains challenging in major rice-producing countries across Asia. Many farmers still burn rice straw or incorporate them into flooded fields, resulting in increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, air pollution, and loss of nutrients and biodiversity.

Farmers often resort to burning rice straw due to its low market price, limited demand, and few options to add value. Another challenge is the limited access to balers needed for efficient collection, as manual labor is not feasible given the high effort required. Additionally, the short fallow period before the next planting season makes handling rice straw even more difficult. However, growing awareness of the health impacts of burning rice straw and its contribution to GHG emissions is encouraging sustainable alternatives, such as using rice straw for mushroom production, compost, livestock feed, biochar, biodegradable packaging, and bio-pellets. The rising demand for bio-pellets made from rice straw as a renewable energy source is opening new market opportunities. These alternatives not only provide economic benefits but also reduce pollution and improve air quality.

During the visit to the Kluang Pilot Plant, JIRCAS scientist Dr. Akihiko Kosugi and his partner in Malaysia demonstrated the process of converting OPTs into bio-pellets. He also showcased bio-pellets made from rice straw in preliminary testing. Participants expressed interest in this work and gained valuable insights into the process and applications of bio-pellet production.

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During the first day of the two-day workshop, participants from Cambodia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, and IRRI presented the challenges, initiatives and policies on rice straw management, while Dr. Keiichi Hayashi, JIRCAS Director of Environment Program provided an overview of the SATREPS-OPT project. The second day focused on research gaps, policy interventions, and knowledge sharing. Identified research areas include monitoring rice straw burning through remote sensing, conducting standardized cost-benefit analyses for straw utilization solutions, using microbiomes for faster rice straw decomposition, studying ways to improve access to balers, and assessing the long-term impact of straw removal on soil health. Suggested policy interventions focus on raising awareness about rice straw management, implementing capacity-building programs, and providing incentives, such as subsidies for balers, to support farmers and service providers in adopting sustainable rice straw practices. For knowledge sharing, the participants suggested creating a consortium and a global platform on rice straw management, as well as engaging non-agricultural sectors, including energy and environment.

"Rice straw can be a global source of energy - a great opportunity for sustainable fuel that we are not yet taking advantage of," said Dr. Abdul Ghafoor, Professor at the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology of the University of University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan. "This has been an eye-opener for us. We thought Southeast Asia is ahead of South Asia in terms of rice straw management. But we all face the same problem and opportunities. We need to involve more people and other regions and come up with an action plan," added Dr. Takashi Yamano, Principal Economist at ADB.

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"Building strong partnerships across sectors and countries is essential to developing and scaling sustainable solutions for rice straw management and achieving carbon neutrality in ASEAN's rice systems," said Dr. Kazuki Saito, Senior Scientist at IRRI and Principal Investigator of the MAFF Japan-IRRI project.