Challenges and opportunities for low-carbon rice production systems in Bangladesh

By Sharif Ahmed, Humnath Bhandari

Rice covers 11% of the world’s arable land and is responsible for approximately 1.5% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and around 10-12% of total agricultural emissions.

Bangladesh is one of the most rice-dependent countries (cultivates ~75% of its arable land) in the world. This creates a dual challenge of ensuring food security for a growing population while minimizing environmental impacts. The country has extensive rice cultivation covering approximately 11.5 million hectares (production ~39 million tons), significantly contributing to GHG emissions. Rice cultivation is responsible for approximately 18-22% of the overall human-caused emissions, where the total agricultural emission, including livestock, is around 28-30%. In the agricultural sector, methane gas (CH₄) is the major contributor to GHG emissions. Rice contributes around 62% of CH₄, while the contribution of rice to agricultural nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions is around 11-13%.

In 2018, Bangladesh introduced its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) implementation roadmap and action plan, pledging to cut GHG emissions by 27.56 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalent unconditionally, and by an additional 89.47 million tons conditionally, by 2030 compared to 2012 levels.

The total GHG emission of Bangladesh was estimated at 169.06 million tons in the base year, which is estimated to increase to around 409.41 million tons by 2030.

To tackle these emissions, the agricultural sector is looking at multiple strategies: reduction of emissions from rice fields, fertilizer use, enteric fermentation, and manure management. Among these, specific crop production strategies include upscaling Alternate Wetting and Drying in dry-season rice across approximately 150,000 hectares, rice varietal improvement for about 3.24 million hectares, and reducing nitrous oxide emissions from nitrogen-based fertilizer management to 836,000 hectares. Additionally, fertilizer management practices are being improved at 200,000 hectares, and efforts are being made to expand pulse cultivation to increase overall crop diversification.

Although Bangladesh contributes only a small share of global greenhouse gases, its rice sector has a disproportionate impact on methane emissions. Transitioning to low-carbon rice farming offers a path to sustainable agriculture, climate action, and improved livelihoods.