Results achieved
According to the 1 -year preliminary report on the implementation of the Scheme of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (NNMT), 7 central pilot models in 5 provinces of Kien Giang, Soc Trang, Tra Vinh, Dong Thap and Can Tho helped reduce production costs from 8.2 - 24.2%, thanks to 30-50% reduction of seed, saving 30-70kg of fertilizer/ha, reducing 1-4 times of spraying water protection and cutting 30% of irrigation water. At the same time, the yield increased by 2.4 - 7%, helping to raise farmers' income by 12-50%, equivalent to profits increasing from 4 - 7.6 million VND/ha compared to traditional farming.
More importantly, the model has contributed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with an average reduction of 2 - 12 tons of CO2 equivalent per hectare.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Huong, Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) acknowledged that despite initial positive results, the implementation of the Project still encountered many difficulties. In particular, awareness of the Project is not uniform among localities; there is still a heavy focus on carbon credits without focusing on sustainable production; investment resources for the Project are still limited;...
Permanent Vice Chairman of Can Tho City People's Committee Duong Tan Hien said that the city has more than 70,000 hectares of rice fields, of which 48,000 hectares belong to the 1 million hectare rice project, concentrated in the 3 districts of Thoi Lai, Co Do and Vinh Thanh. The implementation is still facing difficulties due to unsynchronized infrastructure, straw collection has not met the needs and the connection between farmers and cooperatives is still limited.
Removing difficulties in capital sources
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, it is expected that in 2025, the area applied to the emission reduction farming process will reach 312,743 hectares.
Mr. Dao Minh Tu - Permanent Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam - analyzed that the story of expanding the Project under current conditions should be viewed as an overview. The stages of processing, distributing, purchasing, and exporting should be resolved more stably and harmoniously.
Currently, the resources for implementing the Project include 4 sources: State capital (land use for infrastructure, irrigation, transportation), ODA capital, enterprise and people's capital, Bank capital. Regarding the Bank's capital, Mr. Dao Minh Tu said that the State Bank of Vietnam is ready with enough resources, and the preferential lending policy has also been implemented, but so far there has not been much disbursement.
"We still need to see where there are any problems to resolve them soon. On that basis, the State Bank of Vietnam recommends that localities soon announce the area of the project and the ingredients participating in the linkage chain to enjoy the State's preferential policies" - Mr. Dao Minh Tu said.
Concluding the Conference, Party Central Committee member and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Do Duc Duy suggested that localities, relevant ministries and branches focus on coordination, proactively implementing tasks simultaneously, contributing to promoting the Project to be truly effective, creating clear changes in the coming period.
The Minister requested localities to urgently approve the Project/Project, issue support policies according to their authority and actual conditions to implement the Project. At the same time, expand sustainable farming areas according to the roadmap, identify cultivation areas and buffer zones suitable for each ecological region and consumption market.
Localities need to arrange funding for implementation from 2025 onwards, prioritizing upgrading in-field irrigation, developing cost-effective irrigation models, improving warehouse infrastructure, logistics and supporting emission reduction models. These contents need to be included in the 2026-2030 medium-term public investment plan.
"Request the State Bank of Vietnam to direct credit institutions to arrange sufficient preferential capital, creating favorable conditions for businesses, cooperatives and farmers to access loans to implement a model of high-quality, low-emission rice production" - Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Do Duc Duy suggested.
