Grant to improve crop production in Bangladesh and Indonesia

Arcadia Biosciences has been awarded a five-year, $4.5 million grant from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to develop salt-tolerant rice and measure greenhouse gas emissions from conventional rice fields in Bangladesh and nitrogen use efficient (NUE) crops in Indonesia. Arcadia’s activities will contribute to Feed the Future, the US government’s global hunger and food security initiative.

It’s estimated that between $15 billion and $20 billion in global crop yields are lost annually due to the effects of salt-impacted soil and water. In Bangladesh, salinity reduces crop productivity on an estimated 1 million ha along the country’s coastal areas, where saltwater intrusion is an ever-present and growing problem. An estimated 53% of the coastal areas are affected by salinity. Average rice yields in salt-impacted areas of Bangladesh are estimated at between 2.5 and 3 t/ha, compared to 4 t/ha in more favourable soils.

Rice is central to Bangladesh’s economy and agriculture, accounting for nearly 18% of its GDP and providing about 70% of an average citizen’s total calories. Rice-growing areas total about 10 million ha and account for 75% of the country’s total agricultural land, and 93% of its cereal crop hectares. The rice sector is the country’s most important provider of rural employment. 

As part of the grant, Arcadia will also measure the greenhouse gas emissions of NUE rice fields in Indonesia and conventional rice fields in Bangladesh. Globally, agriculture is the second-leading industrial source of greenhouse gas emissions; accounting for more emissions than the transportation sector.

The use of nitrogen fertiliser is a key driver of agricultural emissions. But Arcadia’s NUE technology has been demonstrated in more than 20 field trials in five crops and multiple growing regions to significantly reduce fertiliser use - and therefore greenhouse gas emissions - while maintaining high yield levels. The greenhouse gas measurement work that will be done through the USAID grant will help refine methodologies that could allow farmers to gain carbon credits from reduced fertiliser use.

In addition to on-the-ground work in Bangladesh and Indonesia, Arcadia will work alongside researchers from those countries in the company’s California research facilities and various field trials.

“USAID projects have had a measurable impact in the development of crops that improve food security in developing countries. Under this latest grant, our work in rice will further the USAID mission and can help growers in Bangladesh produce more food on the same amount of land,” said Eric Rey, President and CEO of Arcadia.

“Our efforts in Indonesia can help reduce global dependence on nitrogen fertiliser, making growers more productive using fewer resources and with a lower carbon footprint. We anticipate that farmers in developing and developed countries will be increasingly able to earn credits for reduced carbon emissions and simultaneously improve farm economics and the environment.”

Dr Julie Howard, USAID’s Chief Scientist in the Bureau for Food Security and Senior Advisor to the Administrator on Agricultural Research, Extension and Education, said, “We are facing the huge global challenge of feeding a world population that is expected to increase by a third by the year 2050. That means finding innovative ways to increase crop production on less land in an unpredictable climate.

“USAID is proud to work with partners like Arcadia and agricultural scientists in developing countries as we strive, together, to contribute to the growth and resilience of the food supply of tomorrow.”