Super rice

Rice, the kitchen staple, provides about one fifth of the world's total calories, however its carbon footprint equals that of aviation. In addition to that, growing rice in oxygen deprived paddy fields emits methane, a very potent greenhouse gas. Water scarcity is also increasingly becoming a problem.

But there is a way to make rice cultivation more climate-friendly. Dr Smita Kurup from Rothamsted Research and her partners in India and the Phillipines, demonstate that rice can be cultivated in dry fields instead, with new, fast growing varieties planted directly in soil.

Back in the studio, Dr Tamsin Edwards, climate scientist and Society Fellow, considers the potential impact on our global carbon emissions.

Listen now on BBC Radio 4

What our expert says

We invited Professor Vincent Gauci, a Professorial Fellow in Geography and Environmental Sciences at the University of Birmingham, to offer some observations on the potential of low-carbon rice in reducing carbon emissions. His points take some of the themes of the programme a step further:

The statement that, on average, 0.3Gt/y of carbon emissions could be saved by 2030 if we undertook a complete conversion to Dry Seeded Rice is plausible. This approach also takes into account carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalents of other greenhouse gases like methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N20).

The intermittent drainage of rice paddies to avoid methane emissions is worth considering for rain fed rice. Farmers may be reluctant to drain their land for fear that they will not be able to top it back up. There’s also the potential downstream issue of where the water will go if all rice growing areas are turned over to dry seeded rice. One can’t look at the issue in isolation as flooded paddies are acting as large water reservoirs, delaying or redirecting flows that would otherwise go down the river. What are the consequences for downstream flood risk? Paddies are also often formed in low lying areas that are naturally wet. If the goal is to avert CH4 emissions this could be a challenge. Moreover, if dry seeding rice becomes commonplace, it could compete for land with other crops.