Vietnam prioritizes green agriculture

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Phung Duc Tien expressed this view at the opening of the forum "The role of private sector in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture and the food systems in Vietnam", April 13.

Low-emission products will dominate global agricultural and trade markets – Image for illustration purpose

The forum was attended by Vice President of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Asia - Pacific region - Alfonso Garcia Mora.

Mr. Phung Duc Tien highly appreciated IFC's commitments in supporting MARD to increase the private sector's contribution to modern, highly competitive and environmentally friendly agriculture. In particular, Deputy Minister Tien also shared his view: "Low-carbon agriculture is one of the top priorities of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in order to contribute to the implementation of Vietnam's commitment at COP26 to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050".

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien affirmed that along with sustainable development, the trend of green production and consumption with low-emission will dominate the global agricultural and trade market. Therefore, in order to integrate into the agricultural economy, Vietnam needs to take bold and visionary steps to transition to a green, low-emission and sustainable food systems. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is orienting to develop policies on managing environmentally-friendly use of natural resources, focusing on Vietnam's two major carbon-emitting industries, livestock and rice production.

The reality in agricultural development in Vietnam is facing many challenges to reduce emissions, prevent livestock’s diseases, preserve biosecurity, maintain food safety, etc. These are challenges not only of production for domestic market, but also of export promotion to high-end markets. To tackle these challenges, the agricultural industry is currently moving towards the application of digital technology in agriculture, focusing on smallholder farmers.

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien suggested IFC provide: (1) financial support and technical support in reducing livestock emissions as a resource to implement solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in livestock; (2) support in building and operating an online database on measurement, reporting, assessment of GHG emission reduction and GHG inventory in livestock; (3) support in building and implementing technical guidelines for greenhouse gas emission control in the agriculture and rural development sector, including the livestock sector.

Mr. Phung Duc Tien added that Vietnam has now completed the biogas program proposal for the livestock industry according to COP26 commitments. This is one of the top priorities of the livestock industry because of the influence and effectiveness of the program, helping to solve the problem of environmental pollution, to create clean energy sources and to be able to sell credits to generate income for the farmers and for the country’s budget.

At the forum, Mr. Alfonso Garcia Mora affirmed that IFC and World Bank are committed to supporting MARD in implementing the new program and implementing IFC's recommendations, including encouraging the adoption of eco-friendly techniques, environmental reforms to deploy digital solutions in the agricultural sector, improving access to finance for high-tech, large-scale production, adopting sustainable technology and international standards. 

Mr. Alfonso Garcia Mora also acknowledged that with the country’s vision, Vietnam has taken early important steps to support the transition of the agricultural sector towards green and low carbon through technical assistance, financial advice and support services.

Do Huong
Chinhphu.vn