Burning of straw residue leads to air pollution and other adverse consequences, and is a serious concern in many countries in the Asia-Pacific region. This brief highlights the overall results and recommendations from a project on agricultural machinery-based solutions to address burning of straw residue in three countries in South and Southeast Asia, namely Cambodia, Indonesia and Nepal. The project was jointly implemented during 2021-2023 by ESCAP’s Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization (CSAM) and Environment and Development Division (EDD) with financial support from the China-ESCAP Cooperation Programme. The brief is part of a series of four briefs.

Acknowledgements: This brief was developed by Dr. Carly Reddington, Associate Professor, University of Leeds (U.K.), also drawing upon inputs from Ms. Abigail Smith, as part of work commissioned by ESCAP’s Sustainable Urban Development Section of the Environment and Development Division and the Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization.