Tackling emissions from agriculture: a perspective from the Mekong countries

The document identifies rice cultivation, animal husbandry, and synthetic fertilizers as the primary sources of on-farm emissions in the Greater Mekong Subregion, accounting for 63% of the region's 1.1 Gt CO2-eq emissions in 2020. It highlights barriers to the adoption of low-emission innovations, including food insecurity, knowledge gaps, lack of training, and insufficient policy support. The briefing proposes high-impact solutions such as the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), direct-seeded rice, precision livestock feeding, and site-specific nutrient management, while recommending policy interventions like targeted subsidies, verifiable emission targets, and the establishment of multi-stakeholder learning networks.

• In 2020, on-farm agricultural activities in the Mekong countries released approximately 1.1 Gt of CO2-eq, representing about 2% to 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Three categories account for 63% of these emissions: rice cultivation (25%), animal husbandry via enteric fermentation (23%), and synthetic fertilizer application (15%).
• Agricultural emissions in the Greater Mekong Subregion are dominated by non-CO2 gases, with methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) accounting for 54% and 32% of CO2 equivalent emissions, respectively.
• Several socio-economic and structural barriers hinder the adoption of low-emission agriculture, including food insecurity, cultural traditions, and a lack of evidence regarding local impacts. Additionally, the prevalence of small-scale farming—with 70–80% of farms under 2 hectares—makes it difficult to create the supply chain scale required for technologies like biochar.
• Policy barriers include a lack of concrete, verifiable targets in national strategies and a deficiency in dedicated financial support, such as grants or subsidies, for low-emission alternatives. Existing subsidies for fossil fuel consumption and nitrogen fertilizers often make carbon-intensive practices more competitive.
• High-impact solutions for rice cultivation include the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), which can reduce methane emissions by over 50%, and direct-seeded rice (DSR), which can reduce methane emissions by over 90%. In Vietnam's Mekong Delta, converting the 80% of rice straw currently burned in fields into biochar or animal fodder is suggested to reduce CO2 and methane emissions.
• Livestock emissions can be reduced by up to 30% through precision feeding, feed additives, and optimized breeding. However, the document notes that shifting to lower-emission nutrient sources, such as insects, fungi, or plant-based nutrition, would further address issues like deforestation and biodiversity loss.
• To mitigate nitrous oxide emissions from synthetic fertilizers, the document recommends site-specific nutrient management (SSNM), which can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% to 80%, as well as the use of organic fertilizers and nitrogen-fixing cover crops like legumes.
• Recommended policy actions to scale low-emission agriculture include financing location-specific research, implementing multi-stakeholder learning networks, adopting verifiable targets, and providing economic incentives such as tax breaks, zero-interest loans, and insurance safety nets for adopters.

APA

Bössner, S., & Mal, M. (2024). Tackling emissions from agriculture: a perspective from the Mekong countries. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/sei-brief-mekong-agriculture-emissions-boessner-2024-1.pdf

Chicago

Bössner, Stefan, and Mathieu Mal. Tackling emissions from agriculture: a perspective from the Mekong countries. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2024. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/sei-brief-mekong-agriculture-emissions-boessner-2024-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bössner |first1=Stefan |last2=Mal |first2=Mathieu |title=Tackling emissions from agriculture: a perspective from the Mekong countries |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=January 2024 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/sei-brief-mekong-agriculture-emissions-boessner-2024-1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bssner2024tackling, author = {Bössner, Stefan and Mal, Mathieu}, title = {{Tackling emissions from agriculture: a perspective from the Mekong countries}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2024}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/sei-brief-mekong-agriculture-emissions-boessner-2024-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }