Thai Rice NAMA initiative offers eco-friendly rice giveaway for farmers

Bangchak Corporation Limited has selected Thai Rice NAMA as a token of appreciation for customers on World Environment Day, in support of Thai farmers using innovative growing techniques to combat climate change. By fuelling vehicles for 900 baht, patrons can receive a free 200 gram pack of Thai Rice NAMA, worth 15 baht, from June 5 to 30 (or until stocks last) at participating Bangchak service stations in Bangkok. Visit www.bangchakmarketplace.com for a list of eligible locations.

Thai Rice NAMA is a product of the Ban Sap Wai community enterprise in Ta Dem Bang, Suphanburi Province, where a group of exemplary farmers employ the “Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD)” rice cultivation method, the first of its kind in Thailand. With the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, and the German international collaboration organisation in Thailand (GIZ Thailand), the farmers are part of the Thai Rice NAMA project which aims to improve agricultural productivity while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The community utilises technology to help grow rice, which reduces significant emissions of methane and nitrous oxide released into the atmosphere by around 30% compared to conventional rice farming methods. As a result, this innovative approach is referred to as “climate-friendly rice paddies.”

There have been a few recent developments in Thailand’s rice industry.

In September last year, it was reported that researchers had developed a new flood-resistant rice strain. The new strain, called Hom Le Noi, can grow in all climates, according to the chief of the team that developed it. The team is from the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology.

The team’s chief, Dr Theerayut Tuchinda, said that Hom Le Noi could also resist a number of natural threats. He said it could resist the brown planthopper, an invasive species that feeds on rice plants. It could also resist a bacterial leaf blight disease, he said.