There will be criteria for farmers to do agriculture towards the Net Zero target.

Low-emission strawberry farming can also sell carbon credits

At the forum “Chairman of Vietnam Farmers’ Union – Minister of Natural Resources and Environment listens to farmers speak”, today (November 24), Mr. Nguyen Quoc Huy – Director of Tam Dao Mushroom Cooperative (Vinh Phuc) said that the Cooperative is investing in developing raw material areas for growing mulberry for silkworm farming in some mountainous provinces such as: Lao Cai, Tuyen Quang, Yen Bai and Cao Bang.

According to him, mulberry is a long-standing crop in Vietnam. Mulberry is a leafy plant but always maintains a minimum of 5 leaves at the end of the season so the surface is always covered with green.

Mulberry cultivation currently brings in revenue of up to 300 million VND/year, after deducting expenses, the remaining is 180 million VND/year. The cooperative is also working with many provinces to export products to the world, so our silk and silk opportunities are very potential, especially in the Indian market.

Minister Do Duc Duy answers questions related to carbon credits in agriculture. Photo: Dan Viet

Notably, the use of chemical fertilizers is very limited throughout the entire process of growing mulberry and raising silkworms. “Even to achieve long-term effectiveness, we do not use pesticides, so the level of environmental protection is very good.” Mr. Huy affirmed and raised the issue of “can large mulberry growing areas be measured and certified for carbon credits?”.

Responding to the above question, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Do Duc Duy said that "developing mulberry growing areas and aiming to be granted and sold carbon credits" is a very good way.

According to Minister Do Duc Duy, currently the demand for developing mulberry cultivation for silkworm rearing is large, not only domestically but also internationally. Especially in the northern mountainous areas such as Yen Bai, Lao Cai, Vinh Phuc..., the conversion from ineffective rice fields to mulberry cultivation for silkworm rearing has brought about very high economic efficiency. It is estimated that the income can be from 250 million to 300 million VND/ha/year. This crop can grow on hills and sloping land, bringing very good economic efficiency to farmers.

In particular, Yen Bai also attracts large-scale silk factories and produces high-quality silk for export to many countries around the world.

“If we invest more, use organic fertilizers, biological pesticides, etc. to grow mulberry, the emissions will be very low and there is potential to sell carbon credits. In the near future, we will support localities and people. We aim to develop carbon certification methods for mulberry growing areas, contributing to achieving the Net Zero target by 2050,” Minister Do Duc Duy emphasized.

He also suggested that not only mulberry cultivation but also many other areas in agriculture can be carbon certified and achieve the Net Zero target by 2050.

There will be criteria to guide farmers in agriculture towards the Net Zero goal. Photo: Hoang Ha

There will be criteria to guide farmers.

Mr. Tang The Cuong - Director of the Department of Climate Change (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) said that agricultural production adapting to climate change is receiving great attention from ministries, sectors and localities. Currently, the Government and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development are implementing many solutions to reduce emissions in agriculture.

In the total greenhouse gas emission structure, the largest emission is energy accounting for 62%, followed by agriculture. Therefore, the importance of the agricultural sector in reducing emissions plays a very important role.

Regarding the implementation of greenhouse gas emission reduction, according to Mr. Cuong, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has had very positive solutions. Specifically, the ministry has issued a plan to reduce emissions by 2030, including agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and land. Along with that, it has strongly implemented the issuance of regulations to guide the implementation of emission reduction, especially in the forestry sector, which is issuing carbon credits.

Currently, international partners are paying close attention to our country's forest potential when net emissions in this sector are negative. Vietnam has successfully transferred 10.3 million forest carbon credits (10.3 million tons of CO2) through the World Bank at a unit price of 5 USD/ton, earning 51.5 million USD (about 1,200 billion VND). The Director of the Department of Climate Change said that this is the first step in the potential for trading forest carbon credits.

In addition to the forestry sector, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is coordinating with the World Bank and partners to implement the Project of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission specialized rice in the Mekong Delta. After 2 years of implementation, we have achieved very positive results.

“To support farmers in agricultural production to adapt to climate change, reduce emissions and move towards the Net Zero target, the Department of Climate Change will advise the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to gradually develop specific guidelines for people to implement. I hope that farmers and agricultural enterprises will work together to turn unfamiliar issues into familiar ones,” said Mr. Cuong.

With a transaction value of 250 billion USD/year, what should Vietnam do to participate in the carbon credit market? The global carbon credit trading scale will reach 250 billion USD per year by 2030. So, what should Vietnam do to quickly participate in this market?

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/se-co-tieu-chi-cho-nong-dan-lam-nong-nghiep-huong-toi-muc-tieu-net-zero-2345136.html