Vietnam plans to expand low-emission rice production
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Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed extending its low-emission rice cultivation scheme across the entire Mekong Delta region.
After three years, the scheme had already covered over 420,000 hectares by linking production to consumption and using farming techniques that lower costs and emissions. The country has begun exporting this “green, low-emission Vietnamese rice” to Japan, Australia, and Singapore. However, the ministry identified challenges including policy gaps, infrastructure needs, and access to funding as obstacles to further growth.
To address these, officials submitted revisions to the government to broaden the program from one million to 1.6 million hectares and to open participation to all cooperatives, farmers, businesses, and international partners. Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep stated the goal is not to alter the scheme’s objectives, but to move from pilot programs to widespread implementation.
He emphasized that success will be measured by improvements in rice quality, farmer incomes, production efficiency, emission reductions, and overall competitiveness, with farmers, businesses, and technology playing central roles. Australia has already supported the effort through its ‘Transforming Rice Value Chains’ project, which has impacted approximately 240,000 hectares.
