Vietnam's agricultural land is no longer fertile, to the point of exhaustion.

Too much inorganic fertilizer causes soil degradation - Photo: QUANG DINH

Mr. Vu Thang - Deputy Head of the Fertilizer Management Department (Plant Protection Department), issued a worrying warning at the conference to deploy the project to improve soil health and manage plant nutrition by 2030, with a vision to 2050, organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on October 18.

Too much inorganic fertilizer

Mr. Thang cited a 2021 investigation by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment showing that 11.8 million hectares of land were degraded, including more than 4 million hectares of agricultural land.

The degradation with the risk of desertification is happening rapidly and has the most severe impact in the Northwest, Central Highlands and South Central Coast regions.

"The quality of agricultural land in Vietnam is at an alarming level, and soil health has reached a point of exhaustion. The organic content in cultivated land in many areas has decreased to below 1%, the content of macronutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the soil is at a depleted level, and the acidity of the soil has increased, as shown by the soil pH value fluctuating only from 4.2-5," Mr. Thang cited.

Ms. Tran Thi Hoa - Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production, commented that the current serious decline in fertility of cultivated land is due to the great impact of subjective factors such as farming practices, growing many crops a year, using too much inorganic fertilizer, and using little organic fertilizer.

"In the Central Highlands, where a lot of coffee and pepper are grown, the soil quality has changed in an unfavorable direction. The average carbon content in the soil is only 1.2-1.5%, while in natural forest land it is 5.14%, and the content of easily absorbed phosphate and potassium in the soil is also 7-10 times higher... The cause is due to many years of cultivation and overuse of inorganic fertilizers," Ms. Hoa pointed out specifically.

Ms. Hoa recommends that in the coming time, it is necessary to study solutions to protect and develop diverse microorganisms in the soil, thereby finding solutions to improve the microbial system, to increase porosity, and improve the long-term "health" of the soil.

Research and perfect high-tech farming processes, apply sustainable farming models such as intercropping, crop rotation including legumes to prevent erosion, limit weeds and pests.

Conference on implementing the project to improve soil health and plant nutrition management by 2030, vision 2050 - Photo: C. TUỆ

Farmers use too much inorganic fertilizers

A representative of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dong Thap province said that the province has completed a ministerial-level project on building a database and soil nutrient map. Therefore, Dong Thap province wants the ministry to update this data into the soil nutrient map.

"To effectively implement the project of 1 million hectares of high-quality rice, creating a nutrient map for rice-growing land is very important. Therefore, I hope the ministry will soon implement this content" - said a representative of Dong Thap province.

Mr. Phung Ha, Chairman of the Vietnam Fertilizer Association, said that farmers are currently using too much inorganic fertilizer in agricultural production, especially in rice cultivation. According to a research result, on 1 hectare of rice cultivation in the Mekong Delta region, about 700 kg of inorganic fertilizer is used, in the Red River Delta it is about 600 kg. Meanwhile, in China, only about 290-310 kg is used.

The task for the fertilizer industry is to reduce and increase organic fertilizers. However, this is not enough, if inorganic fertilizers are used inappropriately, it will affect crop yields.

"The project also mentions the use of highly effective fertilizers (slow-release fertilizers, multi-functional fertilizers), but we have not seen any mechanism to implement this. In the future, if we pass the 5% VAT on fertilizer products, there will be motivation and encouragement for investors to invest in high-tech fertilizer projects and new generation fertilizers," said Mr. Ha.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Trung emphasized that the role of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and local agencies is very important in the issue of soil health. The ministry also directed specialized agencies to coordinate with experts and localities to implement the project.

"The project's goal is to increase land use value and effectively manage plant nutrition, thereby contributing to the restructuring of the agricultural sector and building new rural areas," said Mr. Trung.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dat-nong-nghiep-viet-nam-het-phi-nhieu-den-muc-suy-kiet-20241018131314369.htm