The Greater Mekong Subregion spans six countries: China, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam. In 2021, these countries produced around 40% of the world’s rice. But agriculture in the region, which includes cultivation of other important crops such as cassava and sugar cane as well as animal husbandry, generate a significant and rising amount of greenhouse gas emissions.

This brief draws on some of the most recent research in this area to identify barriers to the adoption of low-emission agriculture, discuss high-potential and high-impact solutions, and recommends policies to support their uptake.

Key messages

• Agriculture is culturally and economically important for the Greater Mekong Subregion and is also responsible for a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions.
• To complement wider climate change mitigation efforts, there is a need for innovation in the agricultural sector to reduce carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions.
• The three main causes of on-farm emissions in the GMS are rice cultivation (25%), animal husbandry (23% enteric fermentation), and synthetic fertilizer application (15%).
• While many innovative solutions already exist for reducing emissions from these activities, a lack of awareness and capacity, and insufficient support from policy frameworks, are holding back their adoption.
• For low-emission innovations in the agricultural sector to reach the necessary scale, it is vital to increase their economic attractiveness, to strengthen knowledge about their impacts and ensure they meet the needs of adopters and contribute to livelihoods and well being.