Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Strategies for Lowland Rice Cultivation under Common Farm Practices, and Accompanying Influencing Factors for Acceptability among Local Farmers in Myanmar

Abstract

The main purpose of the study was to determine agricultural rice establishment options with specific fertilizer application methods which produce less methane, and lower nitrous oxide emissions (Lower Global Warming Potential. Greenhouse Gases Index and Abatement cost) while still maintaining an acceptable rice yield. To do so, methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, and grain yields from rice fields were explored, under different farmer fertilizer application methods and two different crop establishment options currently practiced by local farmers, namely transplanted rice (TPR) and wet bed direct seeded rice (WDSR). Both were measured in field experiments. In this study, it was found that rice cultivation emitted CH4 and N2O at the rate of 3.23±0.94 mg/m2/h (ranging from 1.83-4.68) and 0.089±0.024 mg/m2/h (ranging from 0.073-0.135), respectively. In addition, TPR produced more CH4 and N2O than WDSR did across the different fertilizer methods at almost each growth stage throughout the growing period. Finally, the result was a pair of rice cultivation practices-including WDSR with urea nitrogen fertilizer application (WF1)-which show great potential for mitigating GHG emissions in the Myanmar agricultural sector. Lower GWP, GHGI, and AAC with acceptable productivity were all seen. Moreover, this study was designed to investigate influencing factors on acceptability of local farmers upon WF1. Some 36% of respondents among local farmers were willing to accept WF1 with conditions, while 30% acceptability was found in neutral respondents, not yet decided on practices of rice cultivation for coming seasons. According to multiple regression analysis, the influencing factors of farmers’ acceptability towards WF1 were their rice cultivation experience, the number of available agriculture information sources, and the total quantity of cultivated land for rice growing.