A Value added sustainable production opportunity out of rice straw to economically uplift rice farming communities

Abstract

In the Sri Lankan Agriculture Sector, rural rice cultivation farmers have found the best way of eliminating the highly generating rice straw by direct open field burning due to the high cost of straw collection and management, transportation cost, storage difficulties, shortage of rural labor, cost factors of organic fertilizer making, and lack of adequate methods and technology. These practices have created a number of environmental and social impacts. Increase of heat generation, emission of greenhouse gasses, causes damage to micro organisms in the upper soil layer and reduces microbial activities, soil deterioration, damages the air quality and negatively impacts on human health. This experimental project comprised two phases, material development phase and product design phase. The concept was, management through value addition. The project approach was to come up with an effective and creative management solution for the highly- generating rice straw and minimize the current practices by introducing a method to reutilize while coming up with a value addition for the rural rice farming community. The main aim of this project was to improve rural farmers’ livelihoods by fostering sustainable rice straw management into a sustainable paradigm. This experimental project focused on rice straw conversion into value-added material development which able to create a sustainable product solution for the market while creating a production opportunity for the rural community as a secondary income source. The final goal of the project was to economically uplift the rural farming lives by providing an additional income mainly for the non-cultivation period.