ECO-RICE - Environmental Project of the Rice Straw

The farmers of the Albufera of Valencia have burned for years the rice straw that they cultivate in this Nature Park. In order to avoid the contaminant gases produced during this process, the City Council of Valencia, from its department dedicated to the big city lake, proposes the Eco-Rice (“Sustainable management of the rice straw”) project included in the LIFE Environment programme.

Eco-Rice is the continuation of the Biocompost project. This project reduced the emissions of gas of greenhouse effect thanks to the production of compost with rice straw and mud of water treatment plant.

Biocompost checked that also if the compost was a possible alternative, the management was really complicated. This is the Eco-Rice mission. The project has created a series of innovative mechanisms which form an intelligent system of collection-transport-treatment. This way, the Eco-Rice objective is the collection of the rice straw without charges for the farmer, just as the creation of a Transectorial Valorisation Centre which will look for companies that could find in the rice straw a resource for their processes.

Moreover, Eco-Rice also offers as alternative solution to the burning of the rice straw the use of the same straw for the production of organic fibre blanket. With all these measures, Eco-Rice gets three beneficial aspects for the environment: to reduce the emission of gas of greenhouse effect, to improve the public knowledge with respect of the traditional culture of the rice and conserve the landscapes in process of desertification by means of the technology developed in the project.

The Fundación Comunidad Valenciana Region Europea participates in the Eco-Rice project together with the department of Devesa/Albufera of Valencia City Council, the Ministry of Territory and Habitation of Valencian Region Government, PROJAR, Mª Francisca Francés, INNOVE VERDA, FUVAMA and Consell Agrari (Department of Agricultura of Valencia City Council).

The Fundación Comunidad Valenciana-Región Europea is a non-profit foundation and strengthens the participation of the Valencian Region in the European Union’s policies and actions. It also promotes a better knowledge of these actions and policies. The objective of the Foundation is to promote the participation of all the sectors present in the Valencian Region in the European Union’s policies and to promote a better.

More information:
http://www.eco-rice.net
http://www.uegva.info

Países

Spain