By Lesly Goh
We just concluded an inspiring Big Bets on Rice Methane Convening at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center in Italy, bringing together philanthropies, researchers, farmers’ organizations, development institutions, climate leaders, and private sector agribusiness partners to tackle one of the world’s most underfunded climate opportunities: transforming rice ecosystem in terms of mitigation, adaptation and livelihood.
Rice cultivation generates greenhouse gas emissions comparable to the global aviation sector, while supporting the livelihoods and food security of more than 140 million smallholder farmers across Asia. Yet the sector remains fragmented, with too many pilots and too little coordinated investment. This convening focused on a critical question: How do we move from fragmented efforts to a shared strategy capable of delivering greater impact at scale?
We explored rice transformation through the following interventions:
✅ Research & development for methane reduction
✅ Policy reforms and enabling environments
✅ Farmer-centered, on-the-ground interventions
✅ Innovative finance and incentives to accelerate adoption and scale
For me personally, this was especially meaningful. The seeds for this convening were planted during my 2023 Rockefeller Bellagio Residency, where I began envisioning a multi-stakeholder global rice ecosystem. Over the years, it was encouraging to see leaders from across the rice value chain come together with a shared commitment to move from ideas to action.
Deep gratitude to The Rockefeller Foundation, the dedication of our co-organizers, and the esteemed participants for their leadership, open and constructive dialogue to collaborate on solutions that can benefit both people and the planet.
The opportunity ahead is enormous. Rice methane may be one of the most actionable climate solutions available today—but success will depend on our collective ability to build meaningful partnerships, align catalytic funding, and put farmers at the center of our solution.
