GIF makes its first investment in Myanmar.

GIF is pleased to announce that we have provided a grant of $500k to Proximity Designs, a social business in Myanmar offering a practical solution for farmers to clear rice stubble after harvest.

Proximity’s innovative approach promotes the use of a bio-decomposer to clear crop residues effectively, improving soil health and crop yields. This new practice completely eliminates the need for the traditional open-field burning practice, reducing a widespread source of annual carbon emissions.

In common with the 600 million smallholder farmers around the world, Myanmar’s rice farmers are on the global frontline of climate change, with erratic rainfall, droughts and flooding adversely impacting crop yields. High-quality soils are essential to improving resilience against such shocks, by securing food supply and offering pathways to increased income. However, the widespread practice of open-field burning significantly contributes to poor soil quality, whilst also harming human health through air pollution.

Globally, rice farmers burn their fields to remove crop residues from the previous harvest, and more than 300,000 Myanmar farmers burn rice stubble on open fields every year. For smallholder farmers, burning is the most common and convenient method, and often the only option to clear land for the next season. 

Proximity offers a solution called ‘No-Burn Rice Farming’, which decomposes stubble in fields in a short turnaround time, eliminating the need for open-field burning. The method involves combining two easily accessible materials: a microbial formulation or bio-decomposer, known as Effective Microorganisms (EM), and nitrogen fertiliser, which farmers purchase separately at a total cost of $27 per farm. Farmers then apply this liquid formulation to standing water in their stubble fields and allow the stubble to decompose within a two-week period. The practice promotes the transition to regenerative agriculture by reducing the amount of chemical inputs needed and restoring soil health, which leads to higher yields, less crops lost due to fewer pest and disease occurrences, while improving air quality. 

GIF’s grant will now help Proximity to deliver their solution to 46,000 rice farmers in Myanmar, build evidence on its effectiveness, and in the long-term, replicate this innovation in other rice-growing countries which are looking for practical farmer-friendly solutions.