A system of rice intensification (SRI) technique developed by Jesuit priest, Henri de Lalanié is producing bumper crops and reducing emissions of a grain responsible for 1.5% of greenhouse gases in Thailand. The technique involves planting far fewer seeds than usual, using organic matter as a fertiliser and keeping the rice plants alternately wet and dry rather than flooded. Giving plants more oxygen, minimising the competition between them and strictly controlling the water they receive is thought to make them stronger and more resilient to flood and drought. The pilot project in Thailand is to see if it is possible to grow more rice with less water, which will subsequently be able to support the world’s 145 million small rice farmers, and could also greatly reduce global warming emissions from agriculture. The project, backed by the German and Thai governments and by some of the world’s largest rice traders and food companies, has seen 3,000 other farmers in this corner of Thailand’s “rice basket” near the Cambodian border trained to grow sustainable rice.

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