Climate finance - NetZero targets and opportunities for farmers

From Baku, Azerbaijan, while the COP29 Conference continues to aim to mobilize global finance to support countries in adapting to climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, in the Mekong Delta, there are farmers receiving "hot" rewards for growing rice that reduces emissions.

At the end of the 2024 summer-autumn rice crop, what Mr. Chung Tan Em and many farmers in Kien Binh commune, Kien Luong district, Kien Giang province could not have expected was that he would be rewarded... with money for applying a new model - growing rice to reduce emissions.

The amount of 43 million VND, equivalent to the emission of 116 tons of CO2e on a 29-hectare field of only Japanese rice (DS1), was handed to him. The amount of money could be equal to the profit a farmer gets from cultivating 1-2 hectares, depending on when the rice price is high or low.

Along with Mr. Tan Em, farmer Le Huynh Huu Nghi in Kien Luong district also received more than 21 million VND from growing rice to reduce emissions, with a total area of ​​more than 11 hectares, and 6 households in Hon Dat district (Kien Giang province) also received from 2.6 to 7.2 million VND in bonuses.

So, what did these farmers do that for the first time in their life of growing rice, full of ups and downs and hardships, they received such a large sum of money for a seemingly vague concept: Reducing emissions.

Very simply, they just need to apply the "alternating flooding and drying" farming process, paying attention to draining the fields as much as possible while still ensuring that the rice plants can absorb nutrients to grow; combined with the use of biological products to help the rice roots stick firmly, making the plants strong, limiting falling - a model that participating farmers all evaluate as "much healthier" than traditional farming methods because everything has been monitored and supervised by satellite.

For the first time, farmers in Kien Luong district, Kien Giang province have received a large sum of money thanks to applying a rice growing process that reduces emissions. Photo: Huynh Xay

It is known that households in Kien Giang have participated in growing rice to reduce emissions according to the process of Net Zero Carbon Company in collaboration with BSB Nanotech Company, piloting on a total area of ​​71 hectares in Hon Dat and Kien Luong districts of Kien Giang province.

Meanwhile, according to a report by the Department of Forestry (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), an estimated 70,000 forest owners have benefited from the forest carbon credit exchange agreement that Vietnam and representatives of the World Bank signed in 2020 with a financial amount of 51.5 million USD to transfer 10.3 million tons of CO2.

Clearly, the opportunity for farmers to tap into climate finance (mobilizing financial resources to support efforts to mitigate, adapt to, and build resilience to climate change) is real and huge, with the UN-backed market potentially worth $250 billion a year by 2030 and cutting 5 billion tons of carbon a year, according to the International Emissions Trading Association.

According to Mr. Vu Tan Phuong - Director of the Office of Sustainable Forest Management Certification - Vietnam Forestry Science Institute, each year the forestry sector emits 30 million tons of carbon (CO2), if we calculate the amount absorbed, we are emitting negative 40 million tons of CO2. If each year we can increase carbon absorption from forests through improving the productivity and quality of depleted forests and planted forests, thereby collecting 60-70 million tons of CO2 credits/year - that is a "gold mine".

From Baku, Azerbaijan, on the sidelines of the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Tho, Director of the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) said: "The focus of the COP29 conference is to mobilize global finance to support countries in adapting and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The conference has achieved many significant successes, especially the commitment of G20 countries to provide financial support to developing countries to reduce emissions and promote green development."

Author of the article - journalist Anh Tho, Nong thon ngay nay newspaper/Dan Viet

Therein lies the opportunity for farmers!

But to take advantage of it, what should farmers do? According to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Dinh Tho, people should start by changing their farming methods, because according to statistics, the amount of emissions in rice production currently accounts for 40%, livestock farming accounts for 20%, the rest belongs to other fields. This shows the great potential of Vietnamese agriculture in creating carbon credits and contributing to comprehensive emission reduction.

To achieve this goal, traditional wet rice farming methods need to be replaced with wet-dry farming, requiring farmers to keep daily emissions logs and adopt sustainable production solutions. Because just a change in thinking and production methods can create a revolution.

"I would like to emphasize that agriculture is the sector that plays a key role in Vietnam's emissions reduction efforts. The sustainable development of this sector will greatly determine whether we can achieve international commitments on emissions reduction and green development in the coming time," said Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tho.

Emission reduction production is a "keyword" that many farmers are interested in, and today's new farmers understand that it is the only way to sustainable development. Therefore, among thousands of questions, recommendations, and proposals sent to the Forum of the President of the Vietnam Farmers' Union - Minister of Natural Resources and Environment listening to farmers, what farmers are most interested in is how to apply emission reduction models and solutions to unlock land resources, creating conditions for land accumulation for large models? Today's farmers are also not afraid to invest in machinery and technology to meet market demands, because in fact, in Thai Binh, Hai Phong, Nam Dinh, ... there have appeared large-scale farms producing hundreds of hectares of rice fields, with all kinds of modern agricultural machinery in hand.

What is most needed now is that farmers need guidance and support from associations and functional sectors to be able to access green production models, circular production, and be guided to keep a diary of emission reductions to have a basis for measuring the amount of carbon credits absorbed; and have the opportunity to accumulate land to expand large-scale production.

Statistics show that Vietnam is among the top 5 most promising countries in terms of carbon credits. In particular, in the agricultural sector, each year our country can sell tens of millions of tons of CO2 if it participates in the carbon credit market, ensuring the goal of environmental protection as well as contributing to the NetZero commitment by 2050.

The opportunity is there, according to experts, the issue that needs to be addressed now is to build a complete legal framework, create conditions to attract investment and effectively operate the domestic carbon credit market. Because this not only contributes to reducing emissions but also opens up opportunities for sustainable development for the agricultural sector, creating conditions for farmers to access modern, sustainable farming methods: Green production to absorb green finance.

Source: https://danviet.vn/tai-chinh-khi-hau-muc-tieu-netzero-va-co-hoi-cua-nong-dan-20241122150509433.htm