Circular agriculture unlocks immense potential for green growth

Viet Nam’s agriculture is facing a dual challenge: increasing value and securing farmers’ livelihoods while conserving resources and reducing emissions. Decision No. 222/QD-TTg identifies agriculture, forestry, and fisheries as priority sectors for the circular economy and sets a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions intensity per unit of GDP by at least 15% by 2030 compared with 2014.

How can agricultural by-products be turned into resources, green models be scaled beyond the pilot stage, and real benefits be delivered to farmers? Vietnam Agriculture and Nature Newspaper spoke with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Hong Quan, Director of the Institute for Circular Economy Development Research at Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (ICED), about these issues.

Significant potential

Sir, amid the global trend toward green and low-emission agriculture, what advantages does Vietnam have, and what bottlenecks need to be addressed to accelerate the transition?

Green and low-emission agriculture is becoming an increasingly clear global trend. However, even in countries with advanced agricultural sectors, the transition toward greener practices remains uneven. The United States has large-scale, highly intensive agriculture, but not all production models are green. The Netherlands is an agricultural powerhouse, yet its transition toward greener practices also has limitations. Many ecological farming models have emerged, but they have not yet reached sufficient scale to play a dominant role.

Meanwhile, global demand for green products is growing, but supply has yet to keep pace. This presents significant potential for developing countries such as Viet Nam. We have advantages in terms of natural conditions, a tropical climate, and diverse land resources. If we pursue the right direction, Viet Nam can fully develop high-value products that meet both domestic and export market demand.

However, the biggest challenge is that green agriculture cannot stop at the cultivation stage. It must be organized across the entire value chain, from land, water, fertilizers, and production inputs to farming, processing, distribution, and markets.

At present, much of the responsibility for the transition is falling on producers, while farmers cannot do it alone. If green products are produced without stable markets or fail to command a price that reflects their added value, it will be difficult to create incentives for farmers to invest.

In addition, policies and implementation mechanisms remain insufficiently coordinated. In some places, the circular economy is still narrowly viewed as a matter of waste management, whereas it should be understood as a way of organizing the entire value chain and multiple sectors simultaneously. Without cross-sector coordination, models will remain fragmented, making it difficult to attract businesses and scale them up.

How can science and technology and the circular economy help unlock value from agricultural by-products, sir?

First, it is important to understand that the circular economy is not simply about collecting, recycling, or treating waste at the end of a process. We need to look at the entire value chain, from raw materials, production, processing, distribution, and consumption to disposal, and then return resources to the production cycle.

Achieving Net Zero emissions cannot rely solely on renewable energy. We also need to change the way we produce and consume, use resources more efficiently, reduce waste, and restore ecosystems. In agriculture, the circular economy can make production greener while reducing costs and creating competitive advantages through innovation.

Agricultural by-products are an important link in this process. If they are simply chopped up or composted into organic or microbial fertilizers, the added value is often low and insufficient to create incentives for investment. With the application of science and technology, by-products from shrimp, pangasius, pineapple, jackfruit, and many other agricultural products can be transformed into higher-value products.

For example, Viet Nam Food (VNF) has applied technology to develop a range of high-value products from shrimp by-products and waste, earning numerous international awards. VOX Cool, a startup originating from the University of Oxford, has introduced advanced cooling technology to the seafood sector in Ninh Thuan.

However, farmers find it difficult to invest in technology and develop markets on their own. Businesses, particularly science and technology enterprises, need to be involved. In the initial stages, the State should provide support for infrastructure, research, testing, financing, and market connections. Industrial parks and clusters could also integrate circular agriculture models with processing, turning by-products from one process into inputs for another.

When reduced input costs, new by-products, and carbon credit opportunities are combined, a “multi-value” ecosystem can be created that attracts investment capital. The circular economy is also a tool for supporting the implementation of ESG standards covering environmental, social, and governance factors, enabling businesses to quantify emissions reductions and strengthen their substantive competitiveness.

Where does Viet Nam’s agricultural sector have the greatest potential for emissions reductions, and which technical solutions should be prioritized?

The potential lies across the entire production chain. Land, water, fertilizers, and production inputs need to be managed efficiently and appropriately for specific production conditions. Biological products, environmentally friendly materials, and clean, organic, and ecological farming models also need more systematic investment.

Biotechnology, green technology, digital technology, and new materials should be combined with monitoring and measurement systems. Data will help determine resource use, emissions levels, and the effectiveness of the transition.

The post-harvest stage is also crucial. Even if production is green, significant losses during storage, transportation, and processing still mean that resources are being wasted. Cooling, storage, and logistics technologies can help reduce losses and increase the value of agricultural products.

Viet Nam also has many promising ecological production models, such as shrimp-rice and shrimp-mangrove systems in the Mekong Delta. The value of these models lies not only in the shrimp or rice they produce, but also in their ability to maintain ecosystems, reduce input use, and generate green value. The market needs to recognize these benefits and share them with producers.

Institutions must pave the way

The National Action Plan on the Circular Economy has been approved. What institutional and policy changes are needed to prevent practical models from continuing to get stuck?

The circular economy is highly cross-sectoral. Agriculture is linked to land, water, and the environment, while also involving science and technology, finance, investment, trade, production inputs, and markets. This challenge cannot be assigned entirely to a single ministry or department.

First, the national plan needs to be translated into specific action programs for each ministry, sector, and locality. It is necessary to clearly identify priority areas, the number of participating businesses and pilot models, resources saved, emissions reduced, and added value generated. These indicators should be digitized and integrated into a shared platform to monitor, supervise, and evaluate implementation effectiveness.

At the same time, coordination between central and local authorities needs to be strengthened, pilot projects with businesses should be implemented, and green finance should be mobilized. Resources from the National Environmental Protection Fund and other funds, such as the Science, Technology and Innovation Investment Fund, should be integrated into specific projects involving solid waste management, circular farming, and by-product processing.

Another important solution is a controlled testing mechanism, or sandbox. The circular economy still faces numerous legal barriers, so a safe space should be created for innovative businesses and startups to test new business models. For example, a “Living Lab” could be established in Ho Chi Minh City to turn organic waste into resources for urban agriculture.

The State should also strengthen its role as a “buyer” and market creator, addressing major challenges ranging from agricultural by-products, logistics, and biotechnology to public procurement of green and clean products, such as supplies for schools and public institutions. Once market demand becomes clear, businesses will be more willing to invest, and farmers will have stronger incentives to transition.

What needs to be done to change the awareness of students, farmers, and businesses and ensure that policies are translated into practice?

Raising awareness is fundamental, but it is not simple. Well-structured interdisciplinary education programs need to be developed from primary and secondary education through to universities.

For businesses and farmers, short-term training courses and practical certification programs on green standards should be provided in a substantive way, without creating additional administrative burdens. More importantly, training must go hand in hand with specific support policies. When people and businesses clearly see the benefits of circular agriculture while receiving support from the State and other actors across the value chain, they will have stronger incentives to make a deeper and more sustainable transition.

To achieve sustainable development, I would like to emphasize: “The future is green, the future is circular; otherwise, we will have no future.”

Thank you very much, sir!