Dutch farmers test rice crop to save sinking peatlands
A pilot project between Amsterdam and The Hague sees Dutch farmers harvest rice in a field that has never grown the grain before.
Climate change enables new crops
Warming temperatures allow Dutch agriculture to expand into wine production and now rice cultivation. This shift occurs in polders located two meters below sea level where canals crisscross the landscape. Previously unthinkable for such a wet temperate country, this experiment marks a significant agricultural transition.
Project aims to fix peat
Researchers hope that growing rice will help address pressing environmental challenges related to drying soil. Peat soils are currently sinking as they lose moisture, which pushes parts of the low-lying Netherlands ever lower. The pilot scheme consists of 0.6 hectares with organizers hoping to produce around three tonnes of short-grain rice.
Local association supports trial
Philippe Terheggen chairs the Land van Ons association that has provided the fields for this harvest. He noted that growing rice in the Netherlands would never have been thought possible twenty years ago. The team is working with around 30 different rice cultivars from as far afield as Russia.
All 2 outlets report consistently
No differences in figures, names or dates across these reports.
- Phys.org
- Dawn
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