SINGAPORE [TAC] – The Global Methane Hub has launched a new globally coordinated research accelerator to fast-track innovations that reduce methane emissions from rice cultivation without compromising yields and profitability.
The Hub announced a US$25 million commitment towards the Rice Methane Innovation Accelerator during Singapore’s International Agri-Food Week, and the Global Climate-Smart Agriculture Conference in Brazil, two countries where rice plays a significant role in diets.
The Accelerator, which aims to raise at least $100 million in philanthropic, public and private sector funding, is dedicated to expanding the suite of current options for reducing emissions and will focus on four key areas of research: plant genetics and physiology, soil microbiome, agronomy and emissions measurement.
Rice is a vital staple food for half the global population, especially in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, making up to 70 percent of daily caloric intake for millions of people.
However, rice paddies, the dominant flooded system responsible for more than 90 percent of global rice production, are a significant source of methane emissions. The submerged conditions in rice paddies create an oxygen-free environment where specific soil microbes flourish. These microbes consume organic matter and produce methane as a byproduct, which is subsequently released into the atmosphere via the rice plants.
Rice paddies account for about eight percent of anthropogenic methane emissions and consume some 40 percent of the world’s irrigation water. It is estimated that rice methane emissions could increase seven percent by 2030.
Strategies like alternate wetting and drying, in which fields are intermittently drained, have been promoted as ways to save water and, more recently, reduce methane emissions.
Their effectiveness though is heavily dependent on local infrastructure, agronomic conditions, and the farmer’s capacity to implement them. As a result, these strategies have not delivered the necessary reductions at scale to significantly bend the curve of rice methane emissions.
“Methane is a powerful but short-lived greenhouse gas. Reducing methane emissions from all sectors is critical, not just for climate action but also for protecting global food security, and agriculture and rice farming is no exception,” said Hayden Montgomery, director of the Global Methane Hub’s Agriculture Program.
“But the transition to low-emissions agriculture cannot come at the expense of food production and livelihoods. The Rice Methane Innovation Accelerator aims to give farmers new, viable options, suitable for their growing conditions and cultures, to grow rice with lower methane emissions, while saving water and building resilience.”
The Accelerator strategy, expected to be released in early 2026, will develop a roadmap for improving the readiness and real-world performance of various solutions identified under the four key research areas for rice systems. The outputs should complement existing mitigation solutions including the current alternate wetting and drying method which can cut emissions by 30 to 70 percent.
The Accelerator is the Global Methane Hub’s second flagship research initiative under its agriculture program after its Enteric Fermentation Accelerator, which focuses on reducing livestock emissions.
