Objectives and goals

Nowadays, a very serious problem in the cultivation of rice is the fate of the plant residues that remain in the rice fields after threshing. The usual practice adopted by rice farmers until recently was burning them. This practice creates significant problems such as air pollution and especially when more than half of the rice cultivation in K. Macedonia is located in a Natura 2000 area, the reduction of organic matter and beneficial soil microorganisms, while contributing to climate change through its effect greenhouse.

For this reason, OPEKEPE in 2015 established the conduct of controls for the implementation of Multiple Compliance, for the management of crop residues, where when burning without a permit is found, sanctions will be imposed on all aid. Thus, after the compliance of rice farmers, problems related to delayed assimilation of residues and occurrence of diseases arose. Therefore, any improvement in practice towards residue incorporation would have beneficial effects on the crop, such as rapid tissue biodegradation. Rice residues are rich in C, N, P, K, Pi etc. Thus, when these are quickly applied to the soil, its structure and physico-chemical properties are immediately improved, N losses are prevented, the release of gases, while the use of inorganic synthetic fertilizers can be significantly reduced.