Thailand and Germany have successfully implemented climate action towards sustainable rice practices, according to the Thai-German Climate Programme- Agriculture project or "TGCP-Agriculture".
The five-year Thai-German Climate Programme has helped Thailand upscale low-emission rice farming following the COP27 climate mitigation plan, and in line with Thailand's Bio-Circular-Green economy model, participants say.
Speaking during the closing workshop of the Thai-German Climate Programme-Agriculture project recently, Rice Department deputy director-general Krit Uttamavetin said Thailand aimed to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2065 following the BCG economy concept.
This transformation needs to be just and beneficial for all, he said. "All stakeholders in the rice sector need access to technology and innovation, so they can enhance rice farming efficiency and productivity while helping reduce climate change impacts.
"Technology and innovations learned from the TGCP-Agriculture project during 2018-2022 have proven to increase in rice productivity and efficiency while reducing global warming in the rice sector," he said.
Nearly one million tonnes of CO2 equivalent were cut throughout the implementation period.
Over 30,000 researchers and farmers in the six Central provinces of Chai Nat, Sing Buri, Ang Thong, Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani and Suphan Buri, regarded as the nation's rice bowl, participated in training on addressing the climate impact by developing a monitoring system.
Such newly-introduced sustainable rice practice enables rice researchers to mitigate GHG emissions from rice farming while helping the sector adapt.
Reinhold Elges, GIZ Country Director for Thailand and Malaysia, said sustainable rice production will play an important role in the transformation of the economy towards decarbonisation.
"Germany will continue to help its Thai partners by setting a target to promote the adoption of sustainable rice farming and addressing the global climate crisis," he said.