Project Period: Q1/2024 – Q4/2028
Thai Rice GCF
Thai Rice: Strengthening Climate-Smart Rice Farming
Rice is deeply ingrained in Thai identity. Over five million households in Thailand are involved in rice farming, which forms the backbone of rural livelihoods and the economy.
As one of the world’s top rice exporters, Thailand plays a key role in global food security, with approximately 70 million rai (11 million hectares) of rice farmland sustaining more than 3.5 billion people worldwide who consume rice as a daily staple.
Rice farming must confront unique challenges in the context of climate change. Covering more than half of Thailand’s agricultural land, rice farming accounts for 51% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the agriculture sector. The practice of extended flooding of paddy fields leads to emissions of methane, a GHG that is more potent than carbon dioxide. Emissions also result from the inefficient use of fertiliser and mismanagement of biomass residues, among other practices.
The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods, and changes in temperature and rainfall have direct impacts on rice yields, leading to harvest losses and affecting farmers’ means of subsistence and livelihoods.
The ‘Thai Rice: Strengthening Climate-Smart Rice Farming’ project brings together public, private, financial and research institutions to scale solutions that tackle these challenges. Through a paradigm shift to make climate-smart agricultural practices the norm, we can increase productivity and reduce GHG emissions from rice farming while increasing incomes and strengthening the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.
Our Goals
To transition smallholder rice farming in Thailand to low-emission and climate-resilient pathways through the adoption of climate-smart technologies and practices at scale.
Areas of Implementation
The project areas cover 21 provinces in Thailand, including:
Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Buriram, Ubon Ratchathani, Roi Et, Surin, Si Sa Ket, Kalasin, Chai Nat, Ang Thong, Pathum Thani, Sing Buri, Ayuthaya, Suphanburi, Uthai Thani, Nakhon Sawan, Kamphaeng Phet, Phitsanulok, Phichit, Lop Buri
Approaches
The project implementation works according to the following approaches:
- Empowering Farmers
Strengthening extension services and building smallholder farmers’ capacity to adopt climate-smart practices that enhance productivity, boost incomes, and improve food security despite climate change.
- Scaling Up Farmer-Support Services
Expanding access to climate-smart technologies, service providers, and financial products, ensuring farmers can efficiently transition to low-emission, resilient rice farming.
- Strengthening an Enabling Environment
Enhancing institutional and market mechanisms to drive long-term adoption of climate-smart rice farming, engaging value chain actors to sustain efforts beyond the project’s duration.
Expected Outcomes
- Greenhouse gas reduction: 2.44 MtCO2e
- 253,400 rice farmers invest in and apply climate-smart technologies and practices
- 10% increase in annual farming income
- 40% increase in the average empowerment score for climate-smart female farmers
- 20% reduction in the use of fertilisers, pesticides and other agricultural chemicals
- 60-80% reduction in smoke (air pollution) from rice straw and stubble burning
Financed by
- Green Climate Fund (GCF)
- German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the develoPPP programme
- International private sector partners, including Ebro Foods, Mars Food, Olam Agri, and PepsiCo
- In-kind contributions from the project’s Executing Entities (EE)
Executing Entities & Implementing Partners
- Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC)
- Rice Department (RD)
- Department of Agricultural Extension (DoAE)
- Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC)
- Office of Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP)
- International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
