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| Vietnamese rice has many opportunities to increase value and affirm its position thanks to the 1 million hectares of high-quality rice project. Illustration |
Reduce input costs by 30%; reduce production costs by VND 9,500 billion
The Mekong Delta (MRD) with a natural area of 4,092,000 hectares, including 2,575,000 hectares of land used for agricultural production, is one of the main rice production regions of Vietnam. Rice output in the Mekong Delta in recent years has been stable at 24-25 million tons, accounting for over 55% of rice production and over 90% of the country’s rice export output, creating jobs and income for millions of agricultural households in the region.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Project “Sustainable development of 1 million hectares specializing in high-quality and low-emission rice cultivation associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta until 2030” has set a goal of reducing costs by 30% of input costs, contributing to reducing rice production costs for farmer households by about VND 9,500 billion. In addition, applying by-product treatment and recycling processes and building a low-emission rice brand will contribute to improving the value of the entire rice chain by over 40%, including the profit margin of rice growers, increased by 50%. Contribute to reducing over 10% of greenhouse gas emissions.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam affirmed that the one million hectares of high-quality rice project is considered a change for the rice industry when setting the goal of forming a large-scale concentrated raw material area with long-term stability, quality assurance, modern and synchronous production processes, meeting the goal of improving the value of the rice production chain. Thereby, the project helps improve farmers’ income, ensure food security and serve rice processing and export effectively; reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to climate change.
“To achieve the above goal, Vietnam needs to make great efforts, not only from the Government but also from the private sector, businesses, and direct producers. Among them, one of the key solutions prioritized for implementation is to promote investment attraction in the form of public-private partnerships in the coming time,” Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam emphasized.
Sustainable development is associated with green growth
According to Mr. Le Thanh Tung, Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), the one million hectares of high-quality rice project is not purely about improving infrastructure for production. The project also reorganizes the entire rice industry in the Mekong Delta, with the goal of reducing production costs, increasing the value of rice grains, lowering emissions and sustainably developing rural areas. One of the important points of the Project is the formation of cooperatives, farmer organizations, and close links between businesses. From there, rice can be consumed at a higher level in terms of value with long-term stability and increased income for producers. Therefore, the participation and coordination of businesses is essential.
Immediately after its launch, many businesses committed to accompanying the Project. According to the PAN Group, through its member units in the agricultural sector including Vinaseed, VFC, Vinarice, VinaAgrifood, the Group currently has important contributions in the rice value chain nationwide, especially in the Mekong Delta. With the perspective of developing sustainable agriculture associated with green growth, the Group is promoting the implementation of activities aimed at reducing emissions while increasing income for farmers.
Accordingly, over the past many years, the Group’s member units have actively participated in projects of the World Bank (Worldbank), the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV) … to respond to climate change and sustainable agricultural development in the Central Highlands and Mekong Delta.
The project supports farmers from inputs including quality seed sources; standard farming processes, to pest prevention and control solutions, and then associated with off-take and building trade brand for the final agricultural product. All are aimed at achieving the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the agricultural sector and improving farmer income in the area, plan to 2025, vision to 2030.