00:00Rice feeds 4 billion people every day.
00:18Growing enough to feed 56% of the world's population has always been a challenge.
00:24Now there's another, cutting its carbon footprint.
00:32Rice is responsible for 10% of the world's methane emissions.
00:38It is a big number, isn't it?
00:40Yes, it is a big number.
00:41We have to put into context as well that rice is growing on almost 160 million hectares.
00:49Dr Adno Radnelson works with hundreds of rice scientists here at IRRI, the International
00:55Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, finding climate solutions for farmers.
01:01Dr Yvonne Pinto is the Director General.
01:05What are the priorities here?
01:06Is climate change number one?
01:08I would say climate change is certainly number one right now.
01:11I think the, I'm speaking as someone who's sitting in an island nation or a network of
01:17islands, the number of climate related shocks and their severity is increasing and it's
01:25really impacting everybody.
01:29IRRI's agronomists devise farming methods to reduce rice's emissions, while its plant
01:34breeders develop new varieties for hotter, wetter, saltier and drier conditions caused
01:40by climate change.
01:42It's a good responsibility.
01:43Everybody needs to take that responsibility, right?
01:46I feel happy to carry it, I have no problem.
01:50Actually I'm fortunate to carry it, so I'm happy.
01:56Growing rice produces the three most potent greenhouse gases – methane, CH4, nitrous
02:03oxide, NTO, and carbon dioxide, CO2.
02:08The main culprit, methane, is emitted by bacteria living in oxygen-free, flooded soils.
02:16Nitrous oxide from fertiliser and CO2 from burning rice stubble.
02:21Dr Radnilson's projects target all three gases.
02:27In this trial, emissions are captured every 30 minutes.
02:32We estimate how much methane is inside and emitted from the plant, how much nitrous oxide
02:39is emitted and how much CO2 as well at the same time.
02:43Her team's proven a decades-old water-saving practice of alternate wetting and drying of
02:48paddy soils lowers emissions.
02:51It's ranged between 30 to 70 per cent, and in average we say it's 50 per cent.
02:58But that's already quite significant, right?
03:0030 per cent of reduction, that's our target by 2030.
03:04And then when you get to 70 per cent, that's way more than what we can expect.
03:09It's now a leading tool in climate mitigation.
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