More Rice for Less Methane? This Singapore Lab Is Already Seeing Success with Regional Farmers
Why It Matters
Reducing methane from rice cultivation cuts a potent greenhouse gas while increasing yields, directly supporting climate goals and food security in Asia.
Key Takeaways
- •Singapore lab uses sensor‑controlled intermittent irrigation to cut rice methane
- •Maintaining soil oxygen at 5 cm depth suppresses methanogenic bacteria
- •Custom fertilizer cocktail complements water management for higher yields
- •Farmers' resistance is main barrier; early adopters emerge in Indonesia
- •Scalable model aims to expand across India, Laos, Southeast Asia
Summary
The video highlights a Singapore‑based research team that has engineered a combined irrigation and fertilizer system to curb methane emissions from rice paddies while boosting yields. By installing a simple pipe sensor that monitors water depth, the team re‑irrigates fields when levels drop to 15 cm and restores them to a 5 cm threshold, allowing oxygen to penetrate the soil and suppress methane‑producing microbes.
The approach couples this precise water management with a proprietary fertilizer cocktail, delivering nutrients more efficiently and further enhancing productivity. Early field trials in Indonesia, India and Laos have shown measurable reductions in methane output and modest yield gains, demonstrating the technology’s dual environmental and economic benefits.
A key moment in the interview is the researcher’s description: “When the water level falls to 15 cm, we re‑irrigate… bring it to 5 cm level. Oxygen entering the soil reduces the bacteria that produce methane.” Farmers who have witnessed the results are beginning to question traditional flood‑irrigation practices and ask why the new fields outperform their own.
If scaled across the region, the method could lower rice‑related greenhouse‑gas emissions by millions of tonnes, support climate‑friendly agriculture policies, and help meet the food demands of a growing global population.
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