With a grand unveiling in the late summer of 2018, the Thai Rice NAMA (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action) project stepped out onto the global stage. This is a joint venture, coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture in Thailand and GIZ, the German agency dedicated to international cooperation. A massive investment of 14.9 million euros, translating roughly to an astounding 565 million baht, was committed to this landmark initiative.
This ambitious scheme unfolded across six provinces selected as pilot areas including Chai Nat, Pathum Thani, Singburi, Suphanburi, Ayutthaya, and Ang Thong. These provinces provide vital farmland covering more than 2.8 million rai (equivalent to 448,000 riveting hectares) and host approximately 100,000 households.
Wichai Paksa, who astutely serves as the assistant director of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives'(BAAC)’s personal loans division, revealed on a charming Saturday that the project’s funds have been boosted by an additional 8 million euros for another year.
The hardworking team orchestrating this project is setting their sights on expanding to three more provinces — Kamphaeng Phet, Lopburi, and Nakhon Ratchasima. BAAC and GIZ have poured their energy into motivating rice farmers to adopt practices to mitigate global warming. These include slashing production costs through high-tech land levelling instruments, revolving between water-saturated and dry farming techniques, employing location-specific fertilisers, and curbing the burning of agricultural waste.
All of these interventions, Paksa illuminates, pave the way towards a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions – up to 30%! More than just an environmental boon, these initiatives also bear fruit in the economic sphere – increasing crop output, enhancing the quality of rice, and fattening farmers’ wallets.
Additional incentives have been dangled in front of those connected with the agricultural sector. BAAC is now presenting subsidies to both farmers and agricultural service providers who align with the Thai Rice NAMA project and shoulder join to reduce greenhouse emissions.
As a tantalising example, Paksa points to farmers in Suphanburi. Thanks to precision laser land-levelling technology, they’re reaping the financial rewards from substantial reductions in water-pumping costs. Despite the fact that this technology hasn’t significantly ramped up productivity, it does something equally valuable. Decreasing costs and inherently multiplying profits.
Paksa proudly announced that the project has been of momentous benefit to more than 25,000 farmers in the short span from 2018 and 2021. The fruits of their labour? A gargantuan reduction in greenhouse gas emissions—over 305,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, to be exact.
Rice cultivation, although recognised globally as a cornerstone of food security, is notoriously responsible for a massive chunk (up to 55%) of greenhouse gas emissions. This is because rice paddies are notorious breeding grounds for methane emissions. This greenhouse gas, which consists of both carbon dioxide and methane is far from innocent. In fact, methane fuels global warming at a rate 28 times more aggressive than carbon dioxide. This project, undoubtedly, marks a significant stride in combating this alarming reality.
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