TLL and Rize to Pioneer GHG Reduction Strategies for Sustainable Rice Farming in Indonesia

Jakarta, July 2025

Rize and Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory (TLL) have initiated large-scale field trials in Central Java to apply scalable, science-backed methods to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from rice cultivation while improving yields and soil health.

The trials are part of the broader Decarbonising Rice in Indonesia project, supported by the Philanthropy Asia Alliance (PAA) and executed in close partnership with Balai Besar Sumberdaya Lahan Pertanian (BSIP)-BRMP.

Background

Rice farming is both a vital source of food and a major contributor to global GHG emissions, particularly methane. In Indonesia, where rice is central to agricultural livelihoods, there remains limited baseline data on field-level emissions and few validated protocols to reduce them without compromising yield.

“Our collaboration with RIZE represents the next step in translating science into scalable, real-world solutions. Together, we are working to decarbonise rice production, one of the world’s most vital yet carbon-intensive crops, by combining innovation, knowledge, and cross-border partnerships for a more climate-resilient future.” – Peter Chia, CEO of Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory

The Rize - TLL project addresses this gap. Field trials will establish baseline emissions and test package of practices including:

• Climate-resilient rice varieties.

• Alternate water management methods.

• Soil fertigation and microbiota-based remediation.

Together, these interventions aim to reduce methane emissions by at least 20%, and increase yields by 5%, while generating critical evidence for future carbon finance mechanisms.

“Developing scalable emissions reduction solutions that are backed by deep science and field-tested with farmers is the best way to help achieve our climate goals,” said Dhruv Sawhney, CEO of Rize. “Rize and TLL collaborating together to help local Indonesian rice farmers presents us a great opportunity to build a state-of-the-art solution for emissions reduction - using our unique MRV solution, field experience, and the deep insights from TLL.”

Project Design and Methodology

The field trials will run over two full growing seasons from July 2025 to February 2027. The implementation includes:

• Weekly GHG sampling using immovable and movable chambers.

• Plot-level measurement of methane, nitrous oxide, and CO₂ emissions using lab-grade detection tools (FID, ECD, TCD).

• Multi-depth soil analysis and productivity monitoring.

• Comparative trials of traditional and low-emission practices.

Sampling, data analysis, and reporting will follow rigorous protocols developed by Rize and TLL and executed with BSIP’s local field support.

Organisational Contributions

• Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory (TLL) contributes its 25+ years of agrobiology expertise, climate-resilient rice breeding, and soil microbiome science.

• Rize leads on-the-ground implementation, data monitoring, farmer engagement, and project design. The methane emission data collected during this project will be used to validate Rize’s proprietary MRV (Measurement, Reporting, Verification) system for future carbon project applications.

• BSIP (BRMP) provides operational support for methane sample data collection and laboratory processing; and enables field access and regional coordination.

The project is funded through a grant awarded by the Philanthropy Asia Alliance (PAA) and involves close cooperation with BSIP (Balai Besar Sumberdaya Lahan Pertanian)-BRMP as implementation partners.

The project is led by Drs Srinivasan Ramachandran and Naweed Naqvi (TLL), with Sheetal Sharma (Head of Innovation & Carbon, Rize) and Pranav Nalawade (Lead - Carbon Projects, Rize).