Researchers make breakthrough in fight against invisible threat spewing out of global crop fields: 'A significant leap'

Bangladesh was identified as the 12th-largest global methane emitter by a 2021 Bloomberg report, which spurred the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute to open its first emission-tracking laboratory, as Mongabay detailed.

The lab was set up in 2024 at BRRI's regional office to gather real-time emission data from the country's rice crops, which account for 7% of the world's supply, per the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Its primary goal is to support the Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) method of production, which the report said has been piloted across the country for several years. This water management process allows for fields to be periodically dried.

Rice crops contribute around 8% of planet-warming agricultural emissions, per Asian Development Bank, and are particularly notorious for their output of methane, a heat-trapping gas that's 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide. In particular, flooded rice paddy fields account for 12% of man-made methane emissions.

This common production method keeps fields flooded to suppress weed growth, but decaying organic matter with little access to oxygen leads to methane production, according to data from ADB.

"Given the real-time GHG emission measurement facilities, we would not only analyze the impacts of AWD but also claim carbon credits someday," BRRI director general Mohammad Khalequzzaman told Mongabay.

Using machines made by biotech research company LI-COR Environmental, the researchers hope to gain a greater understanding of the emissions involved in AWD compared to the traditional flooding method, per the report.

Previously, they had to rely on manually collected data or default emission numbers set forth by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. However, the researchers felt that different agroecological zones and management practices deserved a closer look at their facility.

"This laboratory represents a significant leap from the manual measurement methods previously used, where emissions were assessed only once every seven days," Mohammad Ashik Iqbal Khan, regional chief of BRRI and principal scientific officer, said.

ADB's research data on rice production showed that AWD can reduce methane output by as much as 30 to 50%. The practice can also reduce water use by up to 20% while not impacting crop yields.

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This process is important in lowering global planet-warming emissions while also maintaining production levels. Rice supplies around 19% of calories to people around the globe, per a study published in GeoHealth, with half the world relying on it for over 25% of its daily intake.

Improving the sustainability of the farming process for this invaluable staple would improve food security and lessen its impact on the environment.

BRRI senior scientific officer S.M. Mofijul Islam expressed high hopes for their research going forward, saying, "By closely monitoring real-time methane emissions under various conditions, we can now refine AWD techniques to maximize their impact."

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