Developing sustainable rice value chains for smallholder farmers in Dong Thap from 2022 – 2035

This project introduces Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) as a climate-smart water management practice in rice farming in Dong Thap Province, a major rice-producing area of the Mekong Delta. The project aims to reduce methane emissions from rice cultivation, save irrigation water, and support sustainable rice production. It is being implemented by Rikolto in Vietnam acting on behalf of Livelihoods Carbon Fund (LCF3). The core technical intervention of the project is the application of AWD, a water-saving irrigation technique that reduces methane emissions in rice cultivation. Instead of keeping rice paddies continuously flooded, AWD involves allowing the field to dry intermittently, typically until the water level drops 15 cm below the soil surface, at which point irrigation is resumed with a shallow flood of 2–5 cm. This practice reduces the anaerobic conditions in the soil that are responsible for methane generation, without negatively affecting rice yields. To support this method, the project installs PVC monitoring tubes (commonly known as pani-pipes) in farmers’ fields. These tools allow farmers to visually monitor the water level in the soil and make informed irrigation dec