Can Tho promotes high-quality rice sector to Zambia

On March 10, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Can Tho City, Tran Chi Hung, received a delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Finance and National Planning of Zambia, who came to visit and learn from Vietnam’s agricultural transformation experience.

The visit was an opportunity for Can Tho City to introduce and promote to the world the highlights of Vietnam’s high-quality, low-emission rice sector, with Can Tho as a representative locality.

Sharing with the delegation, Tran Chi Hung said that rice is currently a key commodity in Can Tho City, playing an important role in the local agricultural economy. The city has been promoting modern production organization with close linkages between farmers, cooperatives, and enterprises.

One important direction is implementing the project across 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice. According to the leadership of Can Tho City, participation in the project has helped the locality promote the use of high-quality rice varieties, reduce seeding rates, cut fertilizer and pesticide use, and strengthen water management and mechanization in production.

These solutions not only improve economic efficiency but also help build a green agricultural sector, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help the country fulfill its commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

In addition, Can Tho has also promoted the development of circular economy models in agriculture. A notable example is the use of agricultural by-products, especially rice straw after harvest, to produce mushrooms, organic fertilizers and other value-added products. These models help farmers generate additional income while improving the efficiency of resource use in rice production.

However, according to the city’s leadership, the transition toward green and sustainable agriculture still faces several challenges, particularly the need for investment in technology, improvement of cooperative management capacity and development of stable markets for high-quality agricultural products.

Therefore, Can Tho City hopes to continue strengthening cooperation with international organizations, development partners and countries to exchange experiences, promote science and technology transfer and develop sustainable agricultural models adaptable to climate change.

Providing information to the delegation, Reuben Mtolo Phiri, Zambia's Minister of Agriculture, said the delegation was particularly interested in Vietnam’s experience in developing the rice sector.

According to him, Zambia is also a rice-growing country but productivity remains very low. Minister Reuben Mtolo Phiri shared: “If compared, rice yield per hectare of cooperatives in Can Tho City is 20 times higher than in Zambia. The purpose of this visit is for our experts to learn rice cultivation methods and understand rice output and market channels of cooperatives.”

On the same day, the Zambian national delegation visited rice cultivation models at Thinh Phat Cooperative and Tien Thuan Cooperative in Thanh Quoi Commune. These two cooperatives are located in the Bac Cai San three-crop rice production area covering nearly 10,000 hectares, where synchronized infrastructure has been invested, including dyke systems, electric pumping stations and in-field transportation networks.

At the cooperatives, the Zambian delegation learned about many advanced production models such as low-emission rice cultivation techniques, the application of digital technology for the Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system, production and consumption linkage models between farmers and enterprises, farmer-managed irrigation solutions and rice straw recycling models after harvest.

These models help farmers and cooperatives conduct synchronized sowing, limit pests and diseases and facilitate harvesting. The closed production system also shortens water-pumping and drainage times, improving proactive flood and inundation control capacity.

The cultivation process under the project on 1 million hectares of high-quality rice also helps cooperatives reduce seeding rates by 50%, nitrogen fertilizer use by 30% and plant protection chemical spraying by 2–3 times, while saving 30–40% of irrigation water. As a result, production costs decrease by about VND 1.1 million per hectare, while profits increase by VND 1.3–6.5 million per hectare.

Beyond economic benefits, the model also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2–12 tons of CO2 per hectare, thanks to lower use of agricultural inputs and reduced burning of rice straw.

Through production linkages and the application of circular economy models, cooperatives are gradually building sustainable rice value chains, aiming to develop high-quality, low-emission rice areas while increasing farmers’ incomes.

South-South Cooperation WG (Viet Nam MAE) is the focal point for cooperative exchanges with African countries, including Zambia.

* $1 = VND 26.311 - Source: Vietcombank.