Recently, (September 4) at the conference to review the implementation of the first 7 pilot models of the Project on Sustainable Development of 1 million hectares of high-quality , low-emission rice associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta by 2030 (Project), Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Tran Thanh Nam affirmed many times that the main goal of the Project is to reduce production costs and increase profits for people, not to sell carbon credits.
According to Deputy Minister Nam, in the past, many people misunderstood and discussed the true nature of the Project. "The mission of the Project is to develop methods to reduce costs as best as possible and increase profits for farmers, not to sell carbon credits. Therefore, the Project should not be "driven" to other purposes." - Deputy Minister Nam emphasized.
The Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development cited the 50-hectare pilot field of emission-reducing rice cultivation of Hung Loi Agricultural Cooperative in Long Duc Commune, Long Phu District (Soc Trang Province), where many farmers confirmed that the cost of rice production according to the model was only about 20 million VND/ha. The yield of 7 tons/ha, which was purchased by the enterprise at a price of 10,800 VND/kg, resulted in a profit of over 50 million VND/ha after deducting costs.
"We are very happy that rice farmers' income has increased. And the model has initially been successful when farmers' awareness has changed positively, farmers believe in and follow sustainable farming processes; are linked with businesses, and have inputs and outputs," said Deputy Minister Nam.
According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam, although carbon credits are not sold, pilot payments will be made to increase income for rice growers.
The Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development informed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is currently negotiating with the World Bank (WB) and the Transition Carbon Finance Fund (TCAF) to complete procedures related to the pilot payment of carbon credits. From there, a payment mechanism will be developed and submitted to the Government for approval. It is expected that in the Summer-Autumn crop of 2025 or Winter-Spring crop of 2025-2026, the pilot payment from the TCAF Fund will be about 20 million USD.
Deputy Minister Nam said that based on the initial results, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is coordinating with localities to expand the area of high-quality rice cultivation and reduce emissions in the upcoming winter-spring crop to increase farmers' income. It is expected to increase to 200,000 hectares by 2025.
