These days, the old farmers of Cay Trom Agricultural Service and Trade Cooperative in Hung Dien A commune (Vinh Hung, Long An) are preparing a plan to participate in the Project to produce 1 million hectares of high-quality rice of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Mr. Bui Van Tuan, Director of the Cooperative, said that from 7 initial members, the Cooperative now has 63 members and 103 associate members with a production area of over 500 hectares.
In recent years, households that are members of the cooperative only need to invest in production according to the correct process, reduce the amount of fertilizer and pesticides, and will receive an additional purchase price of 50-300 VND/kg of rice according to the cooperative's evaluation scale. Thanks to that, 80% of the cooperative's rice area is produced according to the plan and orders of businesses for export to the European market.
In 2022, the cooperative's revenue from rice alone will reach 17 billion VND. With stable rice prices at a high level, producing 3 rice crops, 1 hectare of rice can bring in a profit of about 90-100 million VND/year.
In the future, the cooperative will switch to producing rice to reduce emissions according to the 1 million hectares of high-quality rice project. Accordingly, in addition to controlling the amount of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, etc., water use must also be strictly managed and advanced technical processes must be applied to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"The cooperative aims for the '1 must, 6 reductions' model. That is, in addition to reducing seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, water,... we also have to reduce emissions," said Mr. Tuan. Compared to other crops, he affirmed that income from rice is not high. But if production follows new standards, carbon credits can be sold, and the added value of rice grains can be increased, then rice cultivation will certainly not be inferior to other crops.
Recently, Dong Thap province has registered with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development an area of rice production that ensures carbon credit payment in 2024 on an area of more than 51,900 hectares.
To date, 12 localities in the Mekong Delta have registered to participate with a total area of more than 1 million hectares of high-quality rice.
The formation of 1 million hectares of high-quality specialized rice areas is associated with the reorganization of the production system according to the value chain, the application of sustainable farming processes, the improvement of income and living standards of rice growers, ensuring food security; improving the quality and reputation of Vietnamese rice products and moving towards a transparent, responsible and sustainable rice industry. In particular, sustainable farming measures will contribute to reducing carbon emissions in the face of climate change challenges that are taking place globally.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that from the 2023-2024 Winter-Spring crop, about 180,000 hectares will be deployed. By 2025, the deployment will be expanded and reach 300,000-500,000 hectares. In the 2026-2030 period, an additional 100,000 hectares will be added each year to reach 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice in the Mekong Delta.
According to industry experts, this specialized area can be considered a model for emission-reducing rice production that Vietnam is the first country in the world to implement.
In this project, technical packages are proposed to promote water management through alternate wet and dry irrigation and optimal application of rice production inputs through techniques that require the use of certified varieties, reduction of varieties, reduction of water, reduction of fertilizers, reduction of pesticides and reduction of post-harvest losses.
Mr. Nguyen Duy Thuan, General Director of Loc Troi Group Joint Stock Company, said that when Vietnam announced the project, the world immediately calculated that these 1 million hectares would bring about 9 million tons of high-quality rice for export in one year.
This source of high-quality rice will contribute to improving our country’s competitiveness in the international market. Because, to gain market share, Vietnamese rice must compete in terms of price, quality, food hygiene and safety, brand and reputation.
In terms of economics, according to Mr. Le Thanh Tung - Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), with an area of 1 million hectares according to the project, production costs will be reduced by about 20%, equivalent to about 9,500 billion VND/year. If applying sustainable farming processes, the selling price of rice can increase by about 10%, earning more than 7,000 billion VND/year.
Thus, the rice industry has an additional 16,000 billion VND/year, equivalent to 500 million USD. That is not to mention the added value factors in the process of building a rice brand to reduce emissions, he said.
It is worth noting that farmers not only get rice but also have the opportunity to sell carbon credits through producing high-quality rice that reduces emissions, contributing to Vietnam's commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
Experts explain that each country, organization, and individual will have a certain amount of carbon emission quota. In case the quota is not fully used, it can be sold back to the country or organization whose emissions exceed the permitted quota.
The World Bank estimates that a 1 million hectare high-quality rice growing area in the Mekong Delta, once established, could reduce 10 million tons of carbon, earning about 100 million USD/year.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said that the main solution to help ensure profits for farmers at over 40% by 2025 and over 50% by 2030 is to sell carbon credits from low-emission rice production. The World Bank has committed to buying carbon credits at $10/ton. That means 1 hectare of rice can earn $100 from selling carbon credits.
Therefore, building a Vietnamese rice brand that reduces emissions will bring more profits to rice growers. At the same time, promoting the exploitation and use of waste and by-products from rice plants to increase value and economic efficiency, Deputy Minister Nam emphasized.
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