Rice is an essential crop in Ghana. Several aspects of rice have been studied to increase its production; however, the environmental aspects, including impact on climate change, have not been studied well. There is therefore a gap in knowledge, and hence the need for continuous research. By accessing academic portals, such as Springer Open, InTech Open, Elsevier, and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology’s offline campus library, 61 academic publications including peer reviewed journals, books, working papers, reports, etc. were critically reviewed. It was found that there is a lack of data on how paddy rice production systems affect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly emissions estimation, geographical location, and crops. Regarding GHG emission estimation, the review identified the use of emission factors calibrated using temperate conditions which do not suit tropical conditions. On location, most research on rice GHG emissions have been carried out in Asia with little input from Africa. In regard to crops, there is paucity of in-situ emissions data from paddy fields in Ghana. Drawing on the review, a conceptual framework is developed using Ghana as reference point to guide the discussion on fertilizer application, water management rice cultivars, and soil for future development of adaptation strategies for rice emission reduction.

Data on greenhouse gas emission levels associated with fertilization applied in smallholder paddy rice farms in Ghana are scanty. The current study investigated fertilization types to determine their eco-friendliness on yield, Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Greenhouse Gas Intensity (GHGI) in a major rice season in the forest zone of Ghana. In total, five treatments were studied viz Farmer Practice (BAU); Biochar + Farmer Practice (BAU + BIO); Poultry Manure + Farmer Practice (BAU + M); Biochar + Poultry Manure + Farmer Practice (BAU + BIO + M); and Control (CT). Fluxes of methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) were measured using a static chamber-gas chromatography method. N₂O emissions at the end of the growing season were significantly different across treatments. BAU + BIO + M had highest N₂O flux mean of 0.38 kgNha⁻¹day⁻¹ (±0.18). BAU + M had the second highest N₂O flux of 0.27 kgNha⁻¹day⁻¹ (±0.08), but was not significantly different from BAU at p > 0.05. BAU+BIO recorded 0.20 kgNha⁻¹day⁻¹ (±0.12), lower and significantly different from BAU, BAU + M and BAU + BIO + M. CH₄ emissions across treatments were not significantly different. However, highest CH₄ flux was recorded in BAU+BIO at 4.76 kgCH₄ha⁻¹day⁻¹ (±4.87). GWP based on seasonal cumulative GHG emissions among treatments ranged from 5099.16 (±6878.43) to 20894.58 (±19645.04) for CH₄ and 756.28 (±763.44) to 27201.54 (±9223.51) kgCO₂eqha⁻¹Season⁻¹ for N₂O. The treatment with significantly higher yield and low emissions was BAU + M with a GHGI of 4.38 (±1.90) kgCO₂eqkg⁻¹.