Carbon footprint assessment of rice cultivation of select rice farmers in Isabela, Philippines: A case study

Rice cultivation is the major source of GHG emission in the agriculture sector. Absence or insufficient actions to mitigate climate change can further impact the rice sector. Hence, there is a need to estimate carbon footprint in the major rice-farm activities. The main objective of this study was to assess the carbon footprint ha-1 generated by rice farmers. Case study and life-cycle assessment in rice production were employed. Data were gathered from household surveys and analyzed through descriptive statistics such as mean and ANOVA. Analysis revealed that the carbon footprint ha-1 generated by rice farmers during the dry season was 5,017.80 kg CO2e ha-1. The top three major sources of GHG emission in rice cultivation were soil emission, from rice cultivation, fertilizer, and fuel with 3,952.79 kg CO2e ha-1, 944.83 kg CO2e ha-1, and 52.83 kg CO2e ha-1, respectively. The different factors that showed significant difference in carbon footprint ha-1 generated by rice farmers were: quantity of fertilizer, quantity of insecticide, frequency of insecticide application, and cropping system. It has been demonstrated that GHG accounting provided metrics in carbon footprint and evidence for authorities to determine plans and initiatives, and to employ necessary interventions and mitigations to contribute in curtailing GHG emission and to minimize the impacts of climate change in the rice production sector. The findings suggest that the government can initiate localized plans and programs such as climate change education and skills training. Through this, rice farmers can strengthen their productivity and technical efficiency, and foster environmental efficiency. published by the International Journal of Agronomy and Agricultural Research | IJAAR