Abstract
Rice cultivation is essential to Myanmar’s rural economy, but large-scale production results in substantial stubble, often burned to quickly prepare fields for the next planting. Farmers prefer burning as it is fast, cheap, and helps control pests. Consequently, this practice is widespread in Myanmar and other countries (Kanabkaew & Kim Oanh, 2011; Abdurrahman et al., 2020).
Yet, burning rice stubble carries high social and environmental costs. It can degrade soil structure, reduce organic matter (Sanchez et al., 2005), waste valuable biomass (Reicosky & Wilts, 2005), and pollute the air with greenhouse gases (Oanh et al., 2018). Alternatives that manage crop residues instead of burning can mitigate these issues and provide economic benefits.
Various options have been proposed, including reusing residues for economic purposes (e.g., mushroom cultivation, animal feed) and conservation agriculture practices (e.g., zero tillage, mulching). Though potentially profitable (Shyamsundar et al., 2019), these methods have not fully replaced burning due to practical challenges and lack of incentives for farmers (Oanh et al., 2013).
Understanding farmers' perceptions and responses to alternatives can aid in designing incentives to shift away from burning. This study utilizes efforts by Proximity Design, a social business working to promote climate resilient agricultural technologies in Myanmar, to promote a no-burn method in Myanmar, employing an Effective Microbial solution to decompose stubble. A randomized evaluation, in collaboration with Proximity Design, will assess the impact of this no-burn technology on various outcomes such as yield and fertilizer usage.