'Extreme Events' from Climate Change Could Threaten Global Rice Production, Warns IRRI Scientist

Oryza.com - In an exclusive interview to Oryza, Dr. Reiner Wassman, coordinator of the Climate Change Research at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) clearly highlights the importance of the impact of climate change on rice production in various countries and possible means of its mitigation. He also talks about the importance of technology in adapting to climate change phenomenon. Various issues on climate change in his works...

IRRI expands tech that cuts farmer’s water expense, greenhouse gas emission

by Melody M. Aguiba
August 19, 2014

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is expanding use of alternate wetting and drying (AWD) technology among Angat farmers to help cut irrigation expense and reduce emission of methane to the environment.

Partners convene to steer climate change activities to next level

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and its partner institutes in the Greenhouse Gas Mitigation in Irrigated Rice Paddies in Southeast Asia (MIRSA-2 Project) and the Paddy Rice Research Group (PRRG) of the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA) held their annual meetings at IRRI headquarters on August 18-19 and 21, respectively, to discuss their climate change agendas for reducing the emissions of greenhouse gasses that cause climate change.

The MIRSA-2 Project

Launched in 2013, MIRSA-2 is a 5-year research project that aims to develop an improved water management in rice-cropping systems in Southeast Asia using the alternate wetting and drying (AWD) technology. Researches in several Asian countries have shown that AWD can reduce the emission of methane, a greenhouse gas, from irrigated rice paddies by 30% compared with the conventional farming practice. The National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, Japan oversees the overall execution of the MIRSA-2 project, while IRRI provides technical support and synthesis of data.

Concurrent with the AsiaFlux Workshop 2014, the project highlighted the results and lessons learned from the first season AWD experimental field trials in four MIRSA sites. Additionally, a proposal for a structured MIRSA database system and formulation of guidelines for measurement, reporting and verification of GHG emission reductions with the adoption of AWD in irrigated paddies were discussed. Ultimately, the MIRSA-2 Project aims to create an implementation guideline on techniques to reduce GHG emissions from irrigated paddy rice fields and set up an information infrastructure to share the findings of participating members.

Kazuyuki Inubushi, the designated adviser of the MIRSA project by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan, represented the project donor. Dr. Inubushi met with delegates from the project’s partner research and academic institutions including Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry, Vietnam; Indonesian Agricultural Environment Research Institute (IAERI), Indonesia; Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment/King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand; Prachin Buri Rice Research Center, Thailand, and the Philippine Rice Research Institute.

The Global Research Alliance

In the same week GRA held a meeting to discuss the five action plans set by PRRG.

The action plan includes hastening efforts to: 1) standardize measurement techniques; 2) create a database of publications and experts; 3) increase country participation; 4) set-up a pilot multi-country experiment; and 5) build a network for mitigation and adaptation synergies.

Research activity reports were presented by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Chiba University, IAERI, and IRRI. IRRI is a collaborative partner in the Alliance’s PPRG which focuses on reducing the GHG emissions of paddy rice cultivation systems while improving efficiency production. Ms. Deborah Knox, GRA secretariat, also presented an overview of the Alliance, while Dr. Kazuyuki Yagi, co-chair of the PRRG, presented an overview of the PRRG.

The 2014 Asia sub-group meeting of the PRRG was attended by representatives from Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Vietnam as well as representatives from member countries in Latin America.

Launched in 2009, the GRA brings more than 30 member countries from all regions of the world together to find ways to grow more food without growing greenhouse gas emissions.

Rice fields emit greenhouse gases say agriculturalists

Staff Correspondent

While rice production may get affected due to the impacts of climate change, rice farming itself is a contributor to climate change as a substantial source of greenhouse gases (GHGs), agricultural scientists said yesterday.

They recommended that farmers use new irrigation technologies--Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) and Fertiliser Deep Placement (FDP) in rice farming to mitigate GHG emissions.

These observations came at a two-day workshop on "GHG emissions from rice fields: Mitigation options from FDP and AWD", organised by International Fertilizer Development Centre (IFDC) at Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council in the capital. Dr Reiner Wassmann, senior scientist at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), presented a keynote paper on “Assessing the suitability of mitigation options in rice production derived from bio-physical considerations and stakeholder perceptions”.

He discussed the benefits of the adoption of AWD, a technology for water-saving with the aim to reduce GHG emissions in rice fields. Around 21 percent of the total GHG emissions in Bangladesh occur in rice fields, he said.

“Various altered crop management strategies have been suggested, ranging from the selection of potentiality low-emitting rice cultivars to proper post-harvest management, but AWD is still the most promising option,” he said.

IFDC is researching methods to mitigate GHG emissions that result from lowland rice farming in Bangladesh.

Rice farms account for 85 percent of Bangladesh's agricultural land and emit carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide greenhouse gases. Moreover, inefficient fertiliser use in rice cultivation increases nitrous oxide and nitric oxide emissions.

Yam Kanta Gaihre, deputy chief of the Accelerating Agriculture Productivity Improvement at IFDC, presented a paper on “Assessing the impacts of urea deep placement (UDP) on GHG emissions and mitigation potential under continuous rice cropping system”.

UDP is a rising popular technology that can drastically cut nitrogen losses up to 35 percent and increases rice yield up to 20 percent, he said.

Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury inaugurated the workshop as chief guest.


(Repost from The Daily Star, Bangladesh)

Bangladesh Rice Farmers Can Earn Carbon Credits, Say Researchers

Oryza.com - Agricultural researchers from the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have recommended Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) and Fertilizer Deep Placement (FDP)/Urea Deep Placement (UDP) techniques to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from rice fields in Bangladesh, according to local sources.

Read more

Use less urea for green Bangladesh, says Matia

Staff Correspondent

Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury urged the farmers of the country to adopt Urea Deep Placement (UDP) Technology in the rice field for making the country greener and safer from the global warming.

She also said if UDP technology is adopted widely then it can reduce the urea usage in the field drastically as well as increase the rice yielding up to 15 per cent.

Agriculture Minister said it as the chief guest at a national workshop organised by International Fertilizer Development Centre (IFDC) under the Accelerating Agriculture Productivity Improvement (AAPI) project on "Mitigation of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions through Urea Deep Placement (UDP) Technology from Rice Field" at Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) on Tuesday.

She added we are the worst victim of climate change and the emissions of GHG make us more vulnerable to nature. She suggested for continuing and expanding GHG emissions mitigation research in diversified crops and cropping patterns. Secretary of Agriculture Ministry Dr S M Nazmul Islam and USAID Mission Director Ms Janina Jaruzelski were present as the special guests while Executive Chairman of BARC Dr Md Kamal Uddin chaired the inaugural session of the workshop.

Senior Scientist and Coordinator of Rice and Climate Change Consortium of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Dr Reiner Wassmann presented the keynote paper entitled "Assessing the Suitability of Mitigation Options in Rice Production Derived from Bio-physical Considerations and Stakeholders' Perceptions" and AAPI Deputy Chief of Party Dr Yam Kanta Gaihre presented the workshop paper entitled "Assessing the Impacts of Urea Deep Placement on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Mitigation Potential under Continuous Rice Cropping Systems" while Resident Representative of IFDC Bangladesh and Project Coordinator and Chief of Party of the AAPI project Ms Ishrat Jahan provided an overview of the AAPI-GHG project in the workshop.

Dr Reiner in his presentation stated the benefits of adopting water saving irrigation technology - Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) in rice production.

Dr Yam highlighted the mitigation options of GHG emissions from rice field using UDP technology. He mentioned that nitrous oxide has 298 times higher potential for global warming than carbon dioxide. He claimed that UDP and AWD are climate smart technologies and adoption of those technologies could significantly mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from rice agriculture.

Ms Ishrat highlighted that UDP technology reduced nitrogen losses as ammonia volatilization and emissions of greenhouse gas nitrous oxide compared with broadcast application of urea.

About 300 participants from home and abroad attended the workshop and the project was funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

(Repost from The Daily Observer, Bangladesh)

IRRI and ASIAFLUX hold workshop on how to sustain balance in ecosystem

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Asiaflux co-organized a short training course and workshop where scientists, academicians and entrepreneurs shared scientific knowledge to ensure sustainability of life on earth through flux monitoring.  Guided by the theme Bridging Atmospheric Flux Monitoring to National and International Climate Change Initiatives, Asiaflux Workshop 2014 was  held on 18-23 August at IRRI headquarters.

Dr. Akira Miyata, chair of Asiaflux and director of the Agro-Meteorology Division of the National Institute for Agro-Environmental Studies, explained that IRRI was the apt choice for the activity with its extensive and long history of methane flux study. Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. IRRI is also recognized as one of the focal points for research of crop science in the world, thus, providing the best platform to promote flux studies in tropical ecosystems in monsoon Asia.

In his opening speech, Robert Zeigler, director general of IRRI, stated that the Institute has long been working on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from rice fields.  “We look at changes in rice-based systems in Asia,” Dr. Zeigler said. “We need all the tools at our disposal to try to understand how our interventions affect other aspects of system performance and their impact on the environment.”

Meanwhile, Reiner Wassmann, head of IRRI’s climate change research, emphasized that, apart from the provision of tools and information to assess GHG and mitigation programs,  how to engage the stakeholders to ensure practicality of results is another important concern.

Prior to the conference, a two-day training course was conducted by staff from Campbell Scientific. It focused on the basics and principles of the Eddy Covariance System (ECS), a system to measure carbon dioxide, methane, and heat fluxes between soil and plants and atmosphere. The participants also had a hands-on experience in setting up various ECS and basic programming of the software that runs the ECS.

Asiaflux 2014 was supported by the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research, Campbell Scientific, National Institute for Agro-Environmental Science and the National Institute. Dr. Wassman and Ma. Carmelita Alberto, associate scientist at the Crop and Environmental Sciences Division, were in charge of the preparations and activity implementation of the workshop.

Asiaflux is a regional research network bringing together scientists from university and institution in Asia to study the exchanges of carbon dioxide, water vapor, and energy between land-based ecosystems and the atmosphere. The organization conducts flux monitoring and data management in Asia, international workshops/conferences, and trainings, and information sharing.

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