Rapid assessment in Prey Veng to guide site and plot selection for biodiversity study 

The rapid assessment is a preparatory activity to the field study aimed at developing scientific evidence on the biodiversity impacts of rice straw burning and adding rice straw-based fertilizer. The rapid assessment was situated in the Prey Veng Province, Cambodia from May to June 2023. The assessment included Group discussions with farmers, GIS mapping guided on selected as well as farmer group discussion on selected plot

 • Soil – nutrient sample analysis and measurements

• Rice straw management

• Water management

• Nutrient and energy balance (agronomic inputs and outputs including rice and by-products)

• GHG measurements and LCA"

Further, a field demonstration for One Million Hectares of High-Quality and Low-Emission Rice Program, associated with Green Growth in the Mekong River Delta was introduced. Approximately 50 hectares (Ha) for each province, namely:  Can Tho province ,  about 50 ha, and Soc Trang province,  about 50 ha. 15 farmer members of the cooperative in Can Tho province and 46 farmer members of the cooperative in Soc Trang province participated from May to September 2024 by applying Technical Guidelines and Manual on High-Quality and Low-Emission Rice Production in the Mekong River Delta (including rice straw management section.

A Training and demonstration activity entitled “Mechanized Rice Straw Composting and launching of Circular Economy Based on Rice Straw" was held in Tien Thuan cooperative, Vinh Thanh district, Can Tho province, Viet Nam. The first training was on 29 May 2024 with the participation of 90 farmers. The Launching of the circular economy rice straw based was on 8 June 2024. At the training, the presenter introduced the technical guidelines and hands-on techniques to produce rice straw compost and demonstrated mechanized rice straw composting.

Policy dialogue Event in Hau Giang, Vietnam on July 13-14, 2024: Launch of technical guideline and handbook on Rice-Straw Management towards Circular and Low Emission Agriculture in the Mekong River Delta and Field Demonstration on Sustainable innovations for rice straw collection and handling

Panel Discussion on Policy and international support on rice straw management for the proposed initiative: “Sustainable Development of One Million Hectares of Specialized High Quality and Low Carbon Rice Production Areas under the Green Growth Agenda in the Mekong Delta Region up to 2030. The dialogue was aimed at:

1. discussing rice straw management options

2. Introducing technical Guidelines and Handbook on rice straw management toward circular and low-emission agriculture 

3. showcasing the technologies of rice straw collection and handling (composting, animal feed)

The policy dialogue Event was attended by 174 participants, while the field demonstration was attended by 315 farmers and 174 participants of the policy dialogue