SMART GHG mobile application: A New Agriculture Tracking of Low-Carbon Rice Production in Thailand's Local Community

Rice fields and several activities in rice cultivation processes are a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The activities of rice straw burning, field preparation by tractor, irrigation by water pump, planting by machine, flooding during rice growing season, fertilization, and harvest by machine lead to different environmental impacts. This study aimed to assess the GHG emissions and carbon footprint (C-footprint) of rice cultivation in the local community in Thailand. The SMART GHG mobile application (SGA) was used to calculate GHG emissions in each cultivation activity and the C-footprint of paddy rice production. Activity data was obtained from 71 farmer households with 134 ha of cultivated areas in Muang Chang Sub-district of Nan province, Suantaeng Sub-district of Suphanburi province and Nakham Sub-district of Nakorn Phanom provinces. From the data input of the application, GHG emissions from rice cultivation practice accounted for 5.99 t CO₂e/ha. The emission of CH₄ during cultivation was the highest (83.4% of the net total) while the emission from fertilization, field preparation by machine, harvest by machine, and residue burning shared by 5.4, 4.4, 3.8 and 2.0% of the net total, respectively. The mobile application can also report C-footprint of rice yields in Muang Chang, Suantaeng and Nakham Sub-districts by 1.77, 1.10 and 1.09 kg CO2e/kg yield. It was found that the SGA can track and demonstrate well analysis of seasonal GHG emissions and C-footprint, which can develop to be a baseline and emission reduction for low-carbon rice production of Thailand.