San Mateo, Isabela – The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), through its Emerging Innovation for Growth Department (EIGD) in collaboration with the Municipality of San Mateo, Isabela, LEADS Agri, the Philippine Rice Research Institute Isabela, and Innovate-UK, organized a two-day learning event focused on low-carbon solutions.
The event, held on 19 to 20 February 2025 at the San Mateo Municipal Session Hall, brought together over 70 participants from various sectors of rice production, including farmers, harvest and postharvest service providers, members of irrigator associations, academe representatives, and local government officials across the province of Isabela.
Over 70 rice production stakeholders actively participate in the learning session and roundtable discussion in San Mateo, Isabela.
Titled "Transforming Rice Cultivation through Low Carbon Solutions," the event aimed to provide valuable insights into carbon credits and low-carbon farming practices, such as alternate wetting and drying and rice straw management techniques, which help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Rice Straw Biogas Hub (RSBH) project team led a discussion on rice straw management practices. Ms. Lichelle Dara Carlos, EIGD Program Specialist, emphasized the role of the RSBH initiative in developing technologies and policies focused on the effective utilization of rice straw. "Our goal is to develop technologies and policies for collecting and using rice straw to reduce GHG emissions. This can help honor our national commitment to climate change mitigation. As a vulnerable country, every step we take toward sustainability is a step toward safeguarding our future," Ms. Carlos said.
Ms. Lichelle Dara Carlos delivers her opening message, highlighting the role of rice straw management in climate mitigation.
Mr. Jay-Rness Ceria, Brand, Sales, and Marketing Manager from Straw Innovations Ltd., shared a lecture on rice straw collection and its importance in climate mitigation. Mr. Ceria cited the technologies currently being developed by the organization that could significantly contribute to efficient and effective rice straw management, potentially reducing the effects of climate change. Additionally, Mr. Ceria highlighted the company's current business-to-business model, which aims to benefit stakeholders while promoting their advocacy for low-emission rice farming and a circular economy.
Mr. Jay-Rness Ceria explains how rice production contributes to climate change and how management of rice straw could help mitigate the effects of global warming.
On the other hand, Dr. Luis Victor Jr., a biogas consultant for the RSBH project, delivered an informative lecture on biogas production through anaerobic digestion. Dr. Luis explained how rice straw could be integrated as a feedstock in a biodigester, along with other organic materials and animal manure. One of the key objectives of the project is to perfect the blend of organic materials and sludge for optimal biogas production.
Dr. Luis Victor Jr. discusses the technical know-how of biogas production and how rice straw could be utilized for biogas production.
Dr. Jessica Villanueva-Peyraube led a roundtable discussion (RTD), encouraging farmers in a meaningful dialogue by answering guide questions about uses, practices, ordinances, challenges, strategies, and value related to rice straw. Grouped by membership to organizations such as farmer cooperatives and irrigator associations, participants had a chance to express themselves based on their roles in the rice value chain.
Dr. Jessica Villanueva-Peyraube facilitates the roundtable discussion.
Each group was facilitated by representatives from the SEARCA team and Straw Innovations, Ltd.
Participants actively engage in the roundtable discussion.
Various representatives presented the groups' answers, allowing everyone to share the current practices and knowledge on rice farming. This provided the project team with better ideas on the implementation of rice straw management policies.
Some of the group representatives present their group's respective answers.
The initial result of the RTD suggests that the participants were aware of the negative repercussions of burning and leaving the rice straws in the field. Among the identified effects were pollution not only in the air but also in the soil. It was also recognized that mismanagement of rice straw poses environmental risks like climate change and health risks, such as respiratory illness and eye irritation, especially when burned. Dr. Villanueva-Peyraube elaborated that the activity was conducted to gauge the rice production stakeholders' perspective on potentially repurposing and recycling rice straws as a climate mitigation practice.
Since one of the goals of the RSBH project is to enable a climate-resilient environment through proper rice straw management, the discussion also tested the awareness and knowledge of the municipal ordinances and policies on farming practices with less GHG emissions. During the discussion, everyone mentioned that they were fully aware of the standing policies and regulations on the burning of agricultural wastes including rice straws and hulls.
Dr. Jonabel Collado, Sangguniang Bayan Member and Committee on Agriculture Chair, confirmed and reiterated the efforts of San Mateo in strictly implementing policies and ordinances on burning agricultural wastes, including rice straw.
Dr. Maria Victoria Espaldon, Work Package 6 Study Leader, expressed how surprised yet grateful she was for the active participation of the RTD partakers, who allotted their time to attend the discussion. Dr. Espaldon highlighted the multiple opportunities that arose from the discourse as it opens the door to helping the environment at the same time increasing income. However, she also pointed out that the challenges in adding value to the rice straw are the availability of ample supply and the changing cultural perspective in terms of the benefits of burning rice straws—with many still believing that burning improves soil quality. While there are available municipal policies, the challenge remains in its enforcement. She encouraged everyone to get involved in the enforcement through dissemination of information via accessible channels, such as social media and through word-of-mouth. "Perhaps through these efforts, we can help the barangay enforce the policies on 'no burning' of waste, including rice straw," Dr. Espaldon said.
Dr. Maria Victoria Espaldon emphasizes the importance of collaboration in technology sharing.
Dr. Espaldon also emphasized that while many technologies are readily available for stakeholders to utilize, the key to success lies in establishing a network to facilitate their distribution. "Technology is within our reach; what we need is to reorganize for its dissemination, and it relies on the cooperation of various groups and organizations," she further elaborated.
According to Dr. Collado, despite the availability of agricultural waste management and climate mitigation actions in the municipality, the RTD was an eye-opener on the benefits of proper rice straw management, in economic and environmental terms. The result of the discussion accounts for an institutionalization of the management of rice straw in the Municipality of San Mateo, "I would be proposing a new policy institutionalizing the management of rice straw in the Municipality of San Mateo, so that our discussion would not go to waste," she said.
Dr. Collado proposes the institutionalization of rice straw management in San Mateo, Isabela.
This activity was the third in a series, following two RTDs held in Laguna and Nueva Ecija. In these earlier sessions, participants from the rice sector in each region gathered to explore potential uses of rice straw in biogas production.
Each year, approximately 700 million metric tons of rice straw are produced globally, with two percent of this amount significantly contributing to GHG emissions. The insights gained from this event will provide valuable information for recommending policies and strategies to generate climate-friendly solutions in response to the escalating effects of climate change.