In response to human population increase, the utilization of acid sulfate soils for rice cultivation is one option for increasing production. The main problems associated with such soils are their low pH values and their associated high content of exchangeable Al, which could be detrimental to crop growth. The application of soil amendments is one approach for mitigating this problem, and calcium silicate is an alternative soil amendment that could be used. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to ameliorate soil acidity in rice-cropped soil. The secondary objective was to study the effects of calcium silicate amendment on soil acidity, exchangeable Al, exchangeable Ca, and Si content. The soil was treated with 0, 1, 2, and 3 Mg ha⁻¹ of calcium silicate under submerged conditions and the soil treatments were sampled every 30 days throughout an incubation period of 120 days. Application of calcium silicate induced a positive effect on soil pH and exchangeable Al; soil pH increased from 2.9 (initial) to 3.5, while exchangeable Al was reduced from 4.26 (initial) to 0.82 cmol_c kg⁻¹. Furthermore, the exchangeable Ca and Si contents increased from 1.68 (initial) to 4.94 cmol_c kg⁻¹ and from 21.21 (initial) to 81.71 mg kg⁻¹, respectively. Therefore, it was noted that calcium silicate was effective at alleviating Al toxicity in acid sulfate, rice-cropped soil, yielding values below the critical level of 2 cmol_c kg⁻¹. In addition, application of calcium silicate showed an ameliorative effect as it increased soil pH and supplied substantial amounts of Ca and Si.

Food waste is a vast issue global, including in Malaysia. Food waste brings negative impacts, including increasing food production costs, impact on human health, and environmental degradation. Malaysian’s animal- and plant-based diet preferences affected the desired food waste decomposition method as most of the methods only allow plant-based material to be utilized as food waste compost. The objectives of this study were to understand Malaysians' awareness of food waste behaviour and the food waste component for the decomposition. Malaysians usually produce more plant-based food waste than animal-based food waste. Most Malaysians have a high awareness of causes and impact of food waste, but they lack action on food waste reduction. Bio-compost is believed to be the most effective method to manage food waste, and most of them were willing to have it at home. However, some of them are unwilling to have a compost pile at home because there is no time to take care of it.

| Bokashi is an organic fertilizer fermented with organic waste, beneficial microbes, and sugar. Bokashi improved soil’s physical, chemical, and biological properties and eventually enhanced plant growth and yield production. Bokashi enhances the plant’s initial and later growth performance, including seed germination, seedling survival rate, fruit diameter, fruit size, fresh and dry matter, chlorophyll content, leaves the area, leaves number, plant nutrient, sugar, total soluble solid, organic acid, and ascorbic acid. No doubt, plant growth performance is closed related to soil properties. Bokashi is proper organic waste management and is easy to be implemented by household size. Bokashi can turn waste into the next food nutrient and ensure food security.

In Malaysia, the main constraints of rice yield and productivity are infertile soils and poor management practices because these soils are characterized by low pH, low nutrient availability, low organic matter, and high exchangeable Al and Fe ions, due to high rainfall and hot temperatures. Thus, an incubation study was conducted to determine the optimum amount of calcium silicate (HmbG brand) to improve the soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), exchangeable Al, available P, and cation exchange capacity (CEC) of a paddy soil in Sabah, Malaysia. The Kelawat series (Typic Dystrudept) soil was incubated with calcium silicate at the application rates of 0 (T1), 1 (T2), 2 (T3), and 3 t ha⁻¹ (T4) using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) in triplicates for 30, 60, 90, and 120 days. The calcium silicate used significantly improved soil pH because of the release of SiO₄⁴⁻ and Ca²⁺ ions, which neutralized and immobilized H⁺ ions. Furthermore, the neutralizing effects of the amendment impeded Al hydrolysis by up to 57.4% and this resulted in an increase in the available P in the soil by 31.26% to 50.64%. The increased availability of P in the soil was also due to the high affinity of SiO₄⁴⁻ to desorb P from soil minerals and it is believed that SiO₄⁴⁻ can temporarily adsorb exchangeable base cations such as K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, and Na⁺. Moreover, applying calcium silicate at 3 t ha⁻¹ improved soil CEC by up to 54.84% compared to that of untreated soils (T1) because of increased pH and the number of negatively charged sites. The most suitable application rate of the calcium silicate was found to be 3 t ha⁻¹ (T4). These findings suggest that calcium silicate can improve soil productivity and agronomic efficiency in rice farming. Greenhouse and field trials are necessary to ascertain the effects of the recommended treatments of this incubation study on soil productivity, rice growth, and yield.