Scientists plant rice paddy field near Leiden in sustainable farming test

Researchers from Wageningen University & Research and Leiden University planted about 3,000 rice plants in a pasture near Leiden to test whether rice is a feasible alternative for livestock on peat soil. They want to test whether rice could be a middle ground for sustainable peatland management, in which water levels can rise higher, but food can still be produced.

According to the researchers, rice could be an interesting crop for the Netherlands. It grows very well on flooded land, halting peat mineralization and soil subsidence. Higher groundwater levels could limit seawater intrusion and salinization. Wet paddy fields can also provide a habitat for aquatic species like dragonflies and amphibians, increasing biodiversity.

The scientists picked a rice variety that was recently successfully introduced in northern Switzerland, which has a similar climate to the Netherlands. If all goes well, they hope to harvest the rice at the end of September.

“In northern Switzerland, rice is grown by different farmers in peat areas. This turned out to be a win-win for biodiversity and farmers. So there seems to be great potential in the Netherlands with a similar climate but much larger peatlands,” researcher Julian Helfenstein said.

The questions the scientists hope to answer include where it would make sense to grow rice, whether rice can be harvested while the fields remain flooded, and whether farming in the peatlands - currently dominated by dairy production - can transition to rice-based agriculture. They’ll also look at the effect rice farming has on greenhouse gas emissions, phosphorus leakage from saturated peatlands, water regulation, and biodiversity conservation.

The experiment is carried out in the Polderlab, a piece of farmland near Leiden owned by the Land van Ons citizen cooperative.