LAHORE: In a bid to slash agricultural water consumption by nearly a third and cut methane emissions almost by half, the rice sector is moving to adopt climatesmart farming techniques that can allow local growers to unlock lucrative international carbon marlcets.

The initiative gained momentum during a stakeholder consultation held in Gujranwala, bringing together hundreds of farmers, researchers, industry executives, and senior government officials, including chief guest Gujranwala Commissioner Muhammad Ali and guest of honour Global Change Impact Studies Centre (GCISC) Executive Director Arif Goheer.

Supported by the Supporting Preparedness for Article 6 Cooperation (SPAR6C) programme and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), the project is proposed for implementation by Galaxy Agrinomix and the Pakistan Basmati Heritage Foundation (PBHF), targeting formal registration under the internationallyrecognised gold standard to leverage carbon finance under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

At the core of the proposed transformation is the alternate wetting and drying (AWD), a precise watermanagement method where rice fields undergo controlled periods of drying rather than continuous flooding.

Technical experts, including Dr Imran Sheikh, Shazma Amin, and Dr Amjad Bashir explained that farmers can utilise simple perforated field tubes to monitor underground water tables and irrigate only when necessary, while taking care to 1(eep fields flooded during the critical flowering stage.