Vietnam to expand low-carbon rice farming

HO CHI MINH CITY, Oct. 14 (Xinhua): After a four-year pilot programme, the low-carbon rice farming model is being considered for expansion in Vietnam, local Vietnam News reported today, quoting sources from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) as saying.
Reducing greenhouse gases in agricultural production is currently a general trend in the world.
In Vietnam, MARD has carried out many programs and projects on adaptation to climate change.
From 2010 to 2012, a low-carbon rice farming project was implemented in southern An Giang province funded by the Environmental Defence Fund (EDF) and co-sponsored by the Institute of Mekong Delta Development Research Institute, the Hanoi Water Resources University and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of An Giang province.
The project's second phase (2012-2014) was deployed by 400 farmer households in Kien Giang and An Giang provinces, with a scale of 540 ha each crop.
Results revealed that the farmers reduced seed use by 50 per cent, fertilizers by 30 per cent, pesticides by 30 to 40 per cent, water by 40 to 50 per cent and labor by 20 to 30 per cent, but the productivity was increased by 10 to 15 per cent and farmers' incomes by 5 to 10 per cent.
Gas emissions were reduced per hectare per year by 7.7 tons in An Giang province and by 45 tons in Kien Giang province. In addition, clean, safe and environment-friendly products were produced, which are known as bio-rice.