Building a social innovation strategy for rice straw bioenergy in the Philippines and Vietnam
16 September 2020
New Tyndall research published on how to engage farmers in bioenergy development.
The Philippines and Vietnam face challenges with regards to rice straw burning, which has negative impacts on pollution, emissions and farmers’ health. A new paper published in the journal Energy Research and Social Science by Drs. Angela Mae Minas, Sarah Mander and Prof. Carly McLachlan highlights the importance of involving farmers and local communities in order to co-develop solutions for rice straw burning and maximise benefits from bioenergy development.
Rice farming communities in the Philippines and Vietnam may differ geo-culturally, however the paper shows that in both countries, farmers have supportive social networks. If strengthened, these networks can be platforms for social innovation.
Collaboration between policy actors, project implementers, technology developers and local communities can encourage social innovation and create an enabling environment for farmers to adopt bioenergy alternatives to rice straw burning.
Read the full paper at the link below: