From coffee tree to reflection on crop production

Over the past years, the agricultural sector has affirmed its vital role, achieving a significant position regionally and globally, with cultivation consistently demonstrating a vital role.

When talking about cultivation, we must mention its three core factors: economic, social, and environmental. Cultivation consistently accounts for a large proportion, contributing about 50% of the agricultural sector's GDP, and this figure was even higher previously. The second factor is the social aspect. Most Vietnamese farmers are involved in cultivation; if a family does not have a field, they at least have a garden. Therefore, the vast majority of our country's farmers engage in cultivation activities and derive income from them. The third factor is the environment.

Cultivation occupies a vast space. The current cultivated land area is approximately 12 million hectares, the largest within the entire agricultural production system. Cultivation activities thus have a profound impact on the environment, from the quality of soil, water, and air to biodiversity and ecological landscape.

If we manage and preserve it well, the environment remains safe; conversely, it will negatively impact the environment. Consequently, cultivation has a wide-ranging effect on the spatial area and the country's surface territory.

In recent times, I have observed that the cultivation sector has experienced rapid, sustainable, and effective development. Our generation has witnessed a comprehensive transformation. Before the 90s of the last century, the country still suffered from food shortages and relied on aid. Step by step, we have ensured food security in all situations.

Vietnamese agricultural exports have made us one of the major nations, with rice production growing hand in hand with increased productivity and quality. Currently, the rice cultivation area is over 3.9 million hectares, but the sown area is over 7 million hectares because we stably produce 2 - 3 crops per year, with an average yield of over 6 tons/hectare/crop. Notably, the quality of Vietnamese rice is steadily improving, as evidenced by its export prices. The economic efficiency of the cultivation sector, especially rice, is clear evidence of this success.

The second crop is coffee, one of the key industrial crops and a symbol of Vietnamese commodity agriculture's success in international integration. Coffee was introduced during the French colonial period, in 1857. After the country's reunification in 1975, the Party and the State adopted a policy and focused investment on coffee development in the Central Highlands. Overcoming countless difficulties and challenges, we have now established a large coffee cultivation area, spanning over 700 thousand hectares.

The success of Vietnamese coffee comes not only from expanding the area but mainly from a methodical development orientation and sector organization, the application of scientific and technological advances, and the adoption of certified production for international integration.

The outlook for Viet Nam's coffee industry is very bright. Viet Nam's coffee productivity is currently leading the world with about 3 tonnes of green beans per hectare (the global average is 0.9 tonnes/ha). Vietnamese coffee cultivation has made significant progress, especially over the last 10 years, when we successfully implemented the coffee replanting program. In the first 9 months of 2025 alone, coffee exports reached $7.2 billion, and the estimated figure for the whole year is expected to reach $9 billion- a phenomenal achievement. Previously, we only dared to dream and hope for the figure of $3.5 billion, but now we have left that number far behind.

The third category is fruit trees. Over an extended period, the fruit tree sector has persistently transformed its variety structure through grafting for improvement and replanting, diversifying harvest times, and promoting deep processing. About 10 years ago, fruit exports reached approximately $1.4 billion; now, after the first 9 months of 2025, that figure stands at $6.5 billion. The last three months of the year coincide with the Tet holiday season, when many types of fruit reach harvest time, which will push export figures much higher. I estimate that this entire year will exceed $8 billion.

I always think that not every field is perfect, but cultivation in particular is very sustainable, fundamental, methodical, and increasingly has less impact on the environment. At the same time, we have successfully implemented long-term environmental responsibility for the cultivation sector.

Looking back at the cultivation sector, I believe we have always had a development orientation that is suitable for each period, along with a system of highly innovative, feasible, and effective policies and mechanisms. From these significant policies, we proceed to realize them through specific programs and projects. Rice cultivation began with the Contract 10 mechanism, which liberated farmers, followed by investment in building irrigation systems and investing in research and development of new high-yield, high-quality varieties.

In 2013, upon implementing the agricultural sector restructuring project, two important commodity sectors, rice and coffee, were selected to carry out the Sustainable Agriculture Transformation Project (Vnsat Project), funded by the World Bank.

The rice component was focused on the Mekong Delta, selecting 8 out of 13 provinces for project implementation, investing in infrastructure, building value chains, and perfecting cultivation technical packages based on simple measures like "3 Reductions, 3 Increases" and "1 Must Do, 5 Reductions." This contributed to transforming the rice commodity sector towards productivity, efficiency, and sustainability, laying the foundation for the current sustainable development project for one million hectares of high-quality, low-emission specialized rice cultivation.

The coffee component was deployed across all five Central Highlands provinces, focusing on supporting the replanting scheme, developing specialty coffee, and landscape coffee. This helped increase coffee productivity from 2.1 tonnes to 3 tonnes per hectare over the past decade.

Secondly, the role of science and technology is key. In the cultivation sector, we have a system of specialized, crop-focused research institutes stretching across the country, with a rich history and a strong, experienced, dedicated, and passionate team of researchers. The spirit of succession is particularly high; step by step, the younger generation inherits from the previous one, carefully absorbing and learning from global knowledge to build its own knowledge system. We are confident and proud to have selected and created leading varieties of rice, coffee, rubber, tea, etc., in the region and the world, along with cultivation measures and complete technical packages as we have today.

Recently, two projects, Reducing Emissions in the Cultivation Sector and Enhancing Soil and Crop Health, were approved. Prior to that, on December 30, 2023, the Prime Minister signed the strategy for developing the cultivation sector until 2030, with a vision to 2050. These are the specific orientations and policies guiding the cultivation sector in the new period. Our approach is not just from an economic perspective but also focuses on the cultivation sector's responsibility for sustainable environmental protection. Less than one month after the cultivation emission reduction project was issued, the draft action plan was already formulated, demonstrating the immense determination of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment in implementing the orientation towards green, sustainable, and low-emission agricultural development.

The top priority in the action plan is to develop and issue a technical package for transfer to local areas. This is a crucial foundation that enables provinces and cities to quickly implement practical actions in the fields. Immediately, the technical package should focus on key crop groups, which will both help create a large impact and be convenient for replication. The technical package needs to inherit the verified results from previous programs and projects.

When implementing models locally, training and communication activities must be integrated from the beginning to help farmers understand, trust, and be ready to adopt them. The model must be designed so that, once established, it can immediately transform production at scale. The goal is that by 2050, 100% of Viet Nam's key crops will apply emission-reducing cultivation measures.

I remember when we first started implementing the coffee replanting project, it was pretty overwhelming. The Ministry set a goal to replant about 120,000 hectares of poor-quality, low-yield, and unhealthy coffee trees. However, in the early stages, there was no comprehensive technical package, and the newly issued temporary replanting process was not implemented effectively, resulting in a high plant mortality rate after transplanting. Even two to three years after planting, the trees were still attacked and damaged by nematodes.

Despite the difficulties, we did not give up. We focused on research and gradually perfected the process, from improving the size of nursery bags for seedlings to ensure sufficient and balanced nutrition, to renovating old soil, increasing organic fertilizer use, and implementing soil detoxification measures.

Concurrently, a series of contents and tasks were deployed: evaluating varieties, analyzing soil to find the root causes, and then proposing solutions regarding varieties and seedlings; planting rotationally or intercropping with legumes to improve and sanitize the soil. Where coffee plants were still healthy, grafting was used to improve them. Dak Lak and Gia Lai focused on new planting, while Lam Dong implemented improved grafting.

After a few years, we successfully developed and transferred replanting technical procedures suitable for each region and locality, yielding results beyond expectations. To date, we have completed replanting over 200,000 hectares with new, high-yield, high-quality coffee varieties, surpassing the set plan target.

Or consider the shift in intercropping practices on coffee farms. When the movement gained traction, localities competed to intercrop coffee farms with pepper, avocado, and durian. This led to unsatisfactory results for both intercrops and coffee farms because the spacing density did not follow a standard procedure, leading to pest and disease spread and low yields.

The Ministry then assigned the Western Highlands Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute (WASI) to research and issue standardized procedures for intercropping avocado, pepper, and durian in coffee farms for uniform application. Consequently, coffee, pepper, and durian have yielded impressive results today.

This shows that we always respect practical laws, including natural and social conditions, as well as production levels and farmers' readiness. In agriculture, one must rely particularly on science, otherwise, success will be tough. Once we have the right orientation and a solid scientific basis, what is needed is persistence, steadfastness, decisiveness, and flexible handling.

Speaking of decisiveness, we can mention the story of rice: since late 2015, when we anticipated saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta (MND), we implemented several measures, and localities also made efforts to build temporary dams, store water, and divert water. However, that year still resulted in the loss of over 1 million tons of rice due to an unprecedented spell of drought and saltwater intrusion.

By 2019-2020, El Niño returned, even more severely. Before organizing the Winter-Spring 2019-2020 production conference for the MND provinces, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) directed the establishment of a task force comprising Ministry leaders, the Department of Crop Production, the Plant Protection Department, the National Agricultural Extension Center, the Directorate of Water Resources, and relevant research institutes to work with each province to grasp the situation and propose production plans to cope with the saltwater intrusion. The cultivation practice here is to sow rice in multiple periods: early, middle, and late crops. Furthermore, the sowing schedules vary between coastal and upstream areas.

At that time, we thought the saltwater intrusion was severe in February and March, mainly affecting the coastal areas about 50 km inland most severely. So why don't we sow earlier, so that by the time the saltwater intrusion hits, the harvest is already complete? That year, we made a decision that was certainly based on science but also very bold: we unanimously decided to advance the sowing schedule for 400,000 hectares of rice across 8 coastal provinces in the Mekong Delta, approximately 50 km from the coast. Normally, this area would be sown in November, but that year, the decision was to complete the sowing within October.

After sowing, my colleagues and I frequently checked and found that the rice was developing very well. Notably, before Tet (Lunar New Year), when we visited, the farmers were starting to harvest. Following that year, even without severe saltwater intrusion, we continued to implement the practice of advancing the sowing schedule. This was not only effective but also provided time to prepare for the Summer-Autumn crop. We didn't lose anything; we didn't have to invest extra, only listen and gather all the information. We listened to the water conditions, the weather, the varieties, the techniques, and the pests and diseases... to make the right decisions.

Another contributing factor is the role of Vietnamese farmers. With their hardworking and innovative nature, many practical models show that our farmers are very resourceful. They are not only skilled at application but also demonstrate excellent farm management and governance capabilities tied to environmental and social responsibility. Farmers are increasingly aware of soil enrichment, leading to fewer instances of land degradation and severe diseases.

I have visited durian gardens in Tien Giang Province, where farmers are fluent in the techniques; they know exactly where to prune and how to care for each tree, all based on scientific principles. The same applies to saltwater intrusion - the locals have their own "lessons" (solutions). Coffee trees are not only productive but are also part of landscape coffee models that incorporate shade trees. These methods not only help reduce emissions but also increase the capacity to absorb greenhouse gases. When a standard technical package is provided, the farmers are very quick and responsive.

Furthermore, the role of businesses and associations in production and processing linkages has provided the impetus for the cultivation sector to move in the right direction, increasingly asserting its role as a commodity-producing agriculture.

Looking ahead, we expect certain crops to create breakthroughs in the cultivation sector, such as bananas and pineapples. These are traditional crops but have great potential and much room for growth, especially if we promote the application of science and technology and build value chains led by large, reputable enterprises.

To achieve today's results, we cannot overlook the critical role of international cooperation. Very early on, we established deep cooperative relationships, leveraging highly effective assistance from many countries and international organizations in human resource training, strengthening research and technology transfer capacity, infrastructure investment, and agricultural product trade.

Viet Nam has a diverse climate and natural conditions. This characteristic gives us a rich ecosystem of crops, with varieties including tropical, temperate, and subtropical plants. In the coming time, instead of extensive development, we should invest in in-depth development, enhancing productivity, quality, and efficiency, and always meeting the three factors: economy, environment, and society.

The strategic direction is very clear. We still have significant growth potential. Rice will maintain a stable and flexible cultivation area of 3.5 million hectares, but needs continued improvement in value and efficiency. The potential for intensive investment and development of industrial crops and fruit trees remains huge, with the advantages of high export value, stable production cycles, the ability to integrate modern technology in deep processing, traceability, and emission reduction. This will be the driving force behind Vietnamese agriculture's continued breakthrough.