Photo is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]
Photo is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]

South Korea is advancing a project in Cambodia to cut methane emissions from rice paddies by alternately flooding and draining fields. The Korea Rural Community Corporation aims to introduce intermittent irrigation across 262 hectares of Cambodian paddies, targeting an annual reduction of 985 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂eq) in greenhouse gas emissions.

The corporation announced Thursday that it is launching the first country-level pilot under the Korea-ASEAN Cooperation on Methane Mitigation (AKCMM) program in Cambodia. The initiative is funded by the Korea-ASEAN Cooperation Fund (AKCF) under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is designed to support methane reduction across ASEAN member states.

The corporation is participating as an implementing agency in cooperation with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), which oversees the program. After receiving approval for the project plan last year, the corporation completed a local feasibility study and signed a pilot project contract this year. The project will run in Kampong Thom, Cambodia, through May 2027.

The core of the approach is changing how water is managed in rice paddies. When fields remain continuously flooded, oxygen levels drop and soil microorganisms produce methane as they break down organic matter. Intermittent irrigation — repeatedly flooding and draining the fields — reduces those conditions and cuts methane output.

Agriculture accounts for 23 percent of Cambodia's total greenhouse gas emissions. The Cambodian government has included a target in its 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0) to apply intermittent irrigation to 90,000 hectares of rice paddies.

The corporation, working alongside GGGI and Cambodia's General Directorate of Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, will apply intermittent irrigation to 262 hectares of paddies in Kampong Thom. Fields will be leveled to maintain consistent water depth, and water-level gauges and gas-measuring equipment will be installed to monitor water management and verify methane reductions.

A measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) system will also be established to track actual methane reductions. Farmers will submit farming logs and water management data through a mobile app. A satellite-based system will also be developed to confirm that farmers are properly managing water levels.

Support measures to encourage farmer participation will run alongside the technical work. Farmers who properly implement intermittent irrigation will receive incentives. The corporation also plans to conduct training for local farmers to build understanding of the new water management approach.

The corporation expects the project to cut 985 tCO₂eq of greenhouse gas emissions annually — equivalent to the amount absorbed by roughly 7,000 pine trees over a year.

Kwon Young-jun, head of the corporation's global business division, said the organization would "successfully advance the project through field-centered technology support and cooperation, and use this as a starting point to spread low-carbon agriculture across ASEAN nations and lead sustainable development."


adastra@heraldcorp.com