THE Philippines generates annually least 13 million tons of dayami (rice straw), a valuable biomass resource that can be converted into soil amendments, food or feed inputs and bioenergy. To translate this potential into socioeconomic opportunities while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the pioneering Dayami Hub concept was introduced by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) during the Agrifuture Conference and Exhibition 2025 on Sept. 23-24.
Lichelle Dara Carlos, SEARCA's Emerging Innovation for Growth Department program specialist, presented the Dayami Hub as a national strategy to address rice straw burning, mitigate GHG emissions and diversify farmer income sources.
The concept aims to raise the rice straw utilization rate from 14 percent to 70 percent by eliminating open-field burning and reducing decomposition in flooded fields — practices linked to increased methane emissions, health risks and soil nutrient loss.
This transition unlocks economic value that would otherwise be lost through burning. Key components of the hub include rice straw collection machinery and services, processing facilities that create products such as compost and biochar for soil health, substrate for mushroom cultivation, animal fodder and bioenergy (such as biogas for household fuel or electricity). Processing residues, like spent straw from mushroom production or digestate from biogas, are returned to fields as compost and fertilizer.
Also discussed was the importance of rapid on-field microbial composting for mountainous areas. Brett Shields, Food and Agriculture Organization chief technical adviser, remarked that "when the fire is low, methane production is high" and noted that while open burning has declined in the Philippines, improper rice straw incorporation can still drive up emissions.
The Dayami Hub addresses these challenges by promoting sustainable straw utilization.
Organized by the German Agricultural Society (DLG Asia Pacific), the Thai agricultural conference gathered over 300 participants from government agencies, private enterprises, innovation entities and sustainability groups from more than 20 countries across Southeast Asia and beyond.
It also became a venue to share regional perspectives. Thailand's Department of Agricultural Extension called for non-burning agriculture to combat global warming and reduce particulate pollution, recommending increased utilization of agricultural waste and support for perennial and alternative crops.
On the other hand, the Thailand Development Research Institute introduced policy packages to curb rice stubble burning, such as subsidies, tillage services, social mobilization and rewards for fire-free villages.
The Warm Heart Foundation shared initiatives like training smallholder farmers to make and use biochar, a soil-enhancing product from agricultural waste. Towing Co. Ltd. demonstrated Soratan, a microbial biochar-based soil improver. Qube Renewables showcased a biodigester converting rice straw into biogas.