Clear shifts toward low-emission rice farming

From pilot models to changing production mindsets

No longer stopping at small-scale demonstration models, the Project for sustainable development of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission specialized rice is creating strong spillover effects in An Giang. Initial results demonstrate that this direction not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions but also helps farmers lower costs, raise incomes, and, step by step, establish modern rice raw material zones for export.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment of An Giang Province, in 2025, the locality registered 142,255 hectares under the Project, aiming toward over 351,000 hectares by 2030. To date, over 150,500 hectares have applied emission reduction criteria, nearly 109,000 hectares achieved four sustainable farming criteria, and over 43,400 hectares fully implemented five criteria, including reduced seed, reduced fertilizer, reduced crop protection chemicals, rational irrigation, and post-harvest straw collection.

In parallel, the province deployed 55 demonstration models covering nearly 1,500 hectares alongside numerous expanded models across localities. Models in former An Giang alone recorded an average production cost reduction of over 4.1 million VND/ha, yield increases of nearly 0.8 tons/ha, and profits higher than control plots by approximately 9.3 million VND/ha.

Entering the 2025–2026 Winter-Spring crop, An Giang continued to invest over 38 billion VND deploying high-quality, low-emission rice models across key regions. Farmers received partial support for seeds, fertilizers, and crop protection chemicals, while synchronously applying "1 Must, 5 Reductions" protocols, alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation, certified seed usage, and production mechanization.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tam, a farmer in Can Dang Commune, stated that previously, dense sowing and heavy fertilization led to high costs with unstable efficiency. Upon participating in the model, he reduced seed rates, fertilizers, and crop protection chemicals while maintaining guaranteed yields and achieving higher profits than before.

Linking value chains, expanding low-emission fields

The Project's efficiency lies not only in cost reduction or yield increases, but also in transforming production organization methods. Cooperatives serve as bridges connecting farmers with enterprises, step by step forming large raw material zones that support traceability and exports.

At Son Hoa Agricultural Cooperative (Oc Eo Commune), Mr. Phan Thanh Bac, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Cooperative Director, stated that the unit currently has 361 members, including 330 linked members. Annually, the cooperative organizes linked production and consumption for approximately 1,800 hectares of rice with nearly 100 participating households. Enterprises supply input materials and guarantee off-take of products, giving farmers peace of mind during production. Thanks to applying synchronized technical and production solutions, costs decreased by about 10%, with profits rising by 10-12% compared to before.

Mr. Phan Van Ut Chot, a member of Son Hoa Cooperative farming 6 hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice in the 2026 Summer-Autumn crop, shared: "Thanks to applying digital tech and mechanization, I cut down a lot of manual labor and no longer come into direct contact with pesticides, machines handle most of it. Rice yields remain high while the environment is cleaner, so locals feel very reassured and are joining the cooperative in increasingly larger numbers."

Sharing the same joy, Mr. Le Thanh Tam, a cooperative member participating in Son Hoa Cooperative for over 2 years, delightedly expressed: "Since joining the cooperative, I received technical training such as "1 Must, 5 Reductions" and applied complete mechanization from land preparation to harvest, cutting costs significantly compared to traditional farming before. Thanks to that, produced items achieve high quality with enterprises stepping in to guarantee off-taking, making profits rise markedly through every crop."

Under agricultural sector orientations, An Giang will continue expanding areas participating in the Project in a concentrated direction, forming large-scale commodity production zones instead of fragmented development. The focus centers on consolidating areas that already yielded good results, while selecting localities possessing favorable conditions in irrigation, mechanization, and consumption linkages to replicate. As areas expand, protocols for seed reduction, fertilizer reduction, rational pesticide use, water-saving irrigation, and straw management will be applied more synchronously.

Expanding low-emission rice zones also creates conditions for cooperatives to elevate their production organization capacity, enabling enterprises to proactively build raw material zones and control quality directly from the fields. This is an important foundation for An Giang to step by step establish standardized rice zones with traceability, meeting increasingly high requirements from domestic and export markets. Thereby, the value of rice grains is elevated not only through yields, but also through green, low-emission, and climate-resilient production processes.

According to Mr. Tran Thanh Hiep, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of An Giang Province, in the coming time, the province will continue to review and select regions with suitable conditions to expand the Project's implementation area. The agricultural sector emphasizes replicating effective models, strengthening technical training, supporting cooperatives, and promoting linkages with enterprises. The goal is to establish a stable, high-quality, low-emission rice raw material zone, thereby elevating rice grain value and farmer incomes.