The significant role rice imports play in meeting the high demand for rice in most West African countries including Nigeria has made these countries to focus on increased rice production. Climate change is a vital environmental issue for sustainable development goals hence greenhouse gas emissions from paddy ecosystem is of great environmental concern. Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) is used in this study to ascertain the competitiveness and comparative advantage of rice production systems in the northern region of Nigeria. The study attempted to assess the economic cost of the systems by incorporating their carbon footprint in the PAM analysis using the Ex-Ante Carbon Balance Tool. Results of the PAM analysis implied all production systems have competitive advantage. However, the country has no comparative advantage in rice production using the irrigation system. Incorporating the Carbon footprint increased the systems DRC ratio by 21%. The irrigation system benefits more from Government’s distorting policies. The study recommends that Government expenditure be directed towards the development and promotion of improved rice production technologies. This would advance climate smart rice production leading to reduction in greenhouse gas emission and steady rice supply. This will in turn reduce the need for distorting policies and help stabilize price of rice.

Keywords: Rice Production Systems, Carbon-balance, Competitiveness, Comparative Advantage