Smart Net-Zero

January 6, 2025 | The Nation |

Thailand’s Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry is promoting low-carbon rice cultivation to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, advance its climate goals, and enhance global market competitiveness. Agriculture is Thailand’s second-largest GHG-emitting sector, with methane from rice cultivation accounting for 40% of its agricultural emissions. To mitigate this, the Rice Department is expanding wet-and-dry rice cultivation, a water management practice that can cut emissions by 30%, benefiting 3,300 farmers across 22 provinces. Additionally, Thailand is scaling up microbial-based rice straw management to replace burning, further reducing emissions and improving soil fertility. With 10 million rai (1.6 million hectares) of low-carbon rice now cultivated in the Chao Phraya River basin, Thailand is making steady progress toward carbon neutrality by 2050, while supporting farmer livelihoods and driving a low-carbon economy.