Field Crop 2025, Vol.8, No.3, 154-165 http://cropscipublisher.com/index.php/fc 160 6.2 Obstacles to farmers' acceptance and technology promotion Whether farmers are willing to use AWD is directly related to whether this technology can be widely promoted. Although AWD can indeed save water and money, it still encounters many obstacles in actual promotion. Some farmers are worried that their yields will drop, especially during the crucial growth period. When they see the fields dry, they feel insecure. Therefore, they still insist on the old method of flooding the land. This requires real demonstrations and training to gradually change their mindset. The irrigation system is also a problem. In areas where water is uniformly released, if no one coordinates, it is very difficult for individual households to alternate between dry and wet irrigation on their own. There are also technical operation thresholds. In some low-lying fields, drainage is already inconvenient, or farmers are not good at measuring water levels, so they are naturally not very willing to try. In fact, with some simple water measurement tools and the guidance of a technician, it's not difficult to learn. Another key point is the distribution of benefits: if the saved water cannot be converted into actual income, farmers' enthusiasm will be low, so incentives such as policy subsidies or water rights trading may be needed (Mahadi et al., 2018). Besides, the older generation of farmers are relatively conservative. However, if village cadres or large-scale grain producers take the lead in using it, the effect will be much better. Overall, the main obstacles are the lack of understanding among the public, the lack of supporting systems, and the absence of incentives (Alauddin et al., 2020). However, as long as farmers can see with their own eyes that "it saves money without reducing production", many people will still accept it. Only in this way can the water conservation and emission reduction goals of AWD be truly achieved. 6.3 The role of policies and international organizations in low-carbon agriculture For low-carbon agricultural technologies like AWD to be widely applied on a large scale, the support of governments and international organizations is truly crucial. In fact, the government has already done a lot. For instance, it has included AWD in the agricultural emission reduction plan. By formulating technical standards, conducting pilot projects, and providing subsidies, it has helped farmers install water level pipes and improve irrigation and drainage facilities. In some places, water price reforms and water rights trading have been carried out to enable farmers to earn more directly by saving water. Only in this way can people be more motivated to use water. The agricultural technology department has also been conducting training and demonstrations to enable more farmers to master this technology. International organizations like IRRI and FAO have long been promoting AWD in various countries. They have formulated operational guidelines, provided both technology and funds. Institutions such as the World Bank have also regarded AWD as an important indicator in agricultural loan projects (McKinley et al., 2020). All these have contributed to the promotion of AWD among different countries. If the reduction of emissions from rice fields can be included in the carbon market in the future, farmers can still earn some money from carbon sinks through AWD, and their enthusiasm will definitely be higher. Overall, with the joint efforts of policies, funds, markets and technologies, the risks for farmers to try new technologies have been reduced, and the environmental benefits of water conservation and emission reduction have been transformed into real economic driving forces (Trang et al., 2022). Only in this way can AWD gradually become the mainstream rice-growing method and promote the green transformation of agriculture. 7 Empirical Analysis of AWD Application in Southeast Asia 7.1 Research area and method design Southeast Asia is home to one of the world's largest rice varieties and is an important granary. However, it is also increasingly short of water and faces considerable pressure to reduce emissions. Take the Mekong Delta in Vietnam as an example. The rice fields have been flooded for a long time, which not only consumes a lot of water but also leads to a decreasing amount of groundwater and soil salinization. At the same time, methane emissions are also quite serious. To address these troubles, in recent years, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand have all conducted numerous demonstrations and trials of AWD, comparing its output, emissions and water-saving effects with the old methods that have always been flooded. These experiments spanned different seasons and locations. Some conducted precise measurements in small plots of land, while others directly compared large fields in collaboration with farmers. The results were closer to reality. Overall, AWD has performed well in water conservation and emission reduction, with almost no impact on production. Moreover, adjustments have been
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ4ODYzNA==