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Government agencies, researchers, agricultural cooperatives, farmers, and private-sector partners gathered to showcase major strides in scaling high-quality, low-emission rice production under Vietnam’s One Million Hectares of High-quality and Low-emission Rice (1Mha) Programme. The field event, hosted at Kien Thanh Agricultural and Services Cooperative, was jointly organized by the Can Tho Department of Agriculture and Environment, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and the Vietnam Rice Industry Association (VIETRISA).

The gathering signaled a decisive shift in Vietnam’s agricultural agenda: transitioning from initial pilot models toward large-scale, organized, and data-driven production zones. As part of this strategy, Can Tho City is targeting the development of approximately 170,000 hectares dedicated to high-quality, low-emission rice farming.

At the Kien Thanh Cooperative, local farmers demonstrated a precision nutrient management package that combines advanced mechanization, improved seeding practices, and sustainable low-emission techniques. The demonstration proved that significantly cutting operational inputs can directly coexist with high crop productivity and improved farmer profitability.

Dr. Nguyen Van Hung, a Senior Scientist at IRRI, reported a successful model that reduced seeding rates by 42%. This saved about 59 kilograms of seed and cut costs by VND 760,000 (USD 29) per hectare, while also eliminating two pesticide applications. Despite using fewer inputs, the trial achieved an estimated yield of 7.87 tonnes per hectare. It also lowered total production costs by VND 3.5 million (USD 134) per hectare and increased net profits by VND 7.2 million (USD 275) per hectare compared to control fields. Dr. Hung believes these results show the clear potential of integrated low-emission practices to provide environmental and economic benefits on a large scale.

Reinforcing these findings, Mr. Huynh Van Dung, Chairman of Kien Thanh Agricultural and Services Cooperative, emphasized how the initiative accelerated mechanization, curtailed input costs, and increased farmer profits by around 30% compared to non-participating farms in the area. Mr. Dung stressed the critical role of private-sector partnerships in supplying high-quality inputs and securing market access for growers, noting that the cooperative plans to deepen these commercial ties as it expands its low-emission acreage.

The success observed at Kien Thanh reflects broad progress across the municipality. Ms. Nguyen Thanh Thuy, Deputy Head of the Crop Production and Plant Protection Sub-Department under Can Tho’s Department of Agriculture and Environment, confirmed that citywide models have slashed seeding rates by 40 to 50%, nitrogen fertilizer use by over 30%, pesticide applications by two to three rounds, and irrigation water consumption by 30 to 40%. These resource savings translated into profit gains of VND 1.3 (USD 50) to VND 6.5 million (USD 248) per hectare for local farming households, while simultaneously driving down agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.

Building on these achievements, Can Tho City is accelerating the expansion of large-scale, high-quality, low-emission rice production zones and raw-material hubs supported by digital monitoring technologies for transparent supply chain management. The city is aligning its production with the national "Vietnam Green – Low-Emission Rice" standard while exploring future opportunities to connect participating farmers to carbon credit markets.

Source : irri