Thai Rice: Strengthening Climate-Smart Rice Farming

Rice is Thailand’s most important food crop, accounting for roughly half of the country’s agricultural land and employing more than 18 million smallholder farmers. Methane from flooded rice fields and CO2 emissions from the annual burning of rice straw, however, make up a significant portion of the country’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. At the same time, many smallholder farmers struggle to cope with climate change-induced fluctuations in rainfall patterns that have multiplied floods and drought, damaging farmers’ crops and threatening livelihoods. 

The Thai Rice project is the first GCF project to focus solely on transforming rice production systems with a focus on circular economy solutions. Globally, rice food systems account for GHG emissions equivalent to those of the aviation sector. This project will support Thai rice farmers and service providers in the adoption of a series of climate-smart technologies and practices and deliver farmer-friendly financial products to sustainably manage rice farming. The intervention is projected to significantly decrease methane emissions and water-usage from rice farming in Thailand, while also boosting farmers’ overall climate resilience. The project will also allow for Thai rice-farmers to recycle their rice straw into new products and create new local market opportunities.