Low-carbon rice: Lower costs, lower emissions, higher profits in Mekong Delta

Breakthroughs in technique and productivity

On September 20 in Soc Trang Ward, Can Tho City, the National Agricultural Extension Center and Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company held a conference to review the project “Building a Low-Emission Rice Cultivation Model for Sustainable Development of Export Rice Material Areas in the Mekong Delta” for the 2024–2025 period. After two years, the project concluded with notable achievements in technical, environmental, and economic aspects, contributing significantly to the government’s program of developing one million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice.

According to the final report, the project was carried out on 600 hectares across eight cooperatives in Can Tho, Dong Thap, An Giang, and Vinh Long, involving around 250 farming households. The entire area adopted a package of advanced techniques: mechanized sparse seeding, balanced nutrient management, alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation, integrated pest management (IPM), and mechanical collection and treatment of rice straw.

Farmers reduced seed use from 120–150 kg/ha to just 70 kg/ha, saving more than VND 1 million (US$40) per hectare in input costs. Fertilizer use, particularly nitrogen, dropped by over 40 kg/ha, while pesticide applications fell by 15–20 percent. Average production costs decreased by VND 3.6 million/ha, while profits rose by roughly VND 6.2 million/ha compared to conventional farming.

Yields remained stable, even higher than control fields. The 2024–2025 winter–spring crop reached 8.14 tons/ha, and the 2025 summer–autumn crop 6.84 tons/ha, both exceeding the target of 6.2 tons/ha. Field results clearly confirmed the model’s effectiveness.

Lower emissions, higher value

The project also delivered environmental benefits by cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) at Thanh Xuan Cooperative in An Giang showed emissions dropped from a baseline of 23.03 tons of CO2 equivalent per hectare to 5.93 tons - a 48.38 percent reduction. This outcome underscores the effectiveness of AWD irrigation, circular straw management, and efficient fertilizer use.

Overall, the model achieved an average yield of 7.49 tons/ha across two crops, 0.33 tons higher than conventional farming. Production costs fell to VND 23.39 million/ha, down by VND 3.6 million. Average profits reached VND 31.96 million/ha, an increase of VND 6.21 million. Importantly, 100 percent of rice straw was collected mechanically, eliminating open-field burning. Some models reported emission cuts of nearly 12 tons CO2/ha, while six cooperative–enterprise partnerships were formed, extending value chains and securing better selling prices for farmers.

Mai Nam, Deputy Director of Can Tho’s Agricultural Extension and Services Center, said the project had enabled farmers to access advanced production methods that reduced emissions while maintaining yields. Many households in Can Tho embraced the model and applied it beyond the project’s scope.

In An Giang, Le Van Dung, Deputy Director of the provincial Agricultural Extension Center, emphasized: “We will expand the model across cooperatives and connect with enterprises for product purchasing, giving farmers greater confidence in production."

Ho The Huy, Deputy Marketing Director of Binh Dien Fertilizer and project leader, noted that farmers adopting the model increased their incomes by nearly 20 percent compared to conventional farming.

Huynh Kim Dinh, Deputy Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center, stressed that the most important outcome was not the 600 hectares under the project but its ripple effects. Many farmers outside the project area learned and applied the techniques themselves, achieving tangible results.

“We recommend scaling up the model, strengthening training, building value-chain linkages, and using digital tools to manage emissions. This is the sustainable path for Vietnamese rice,” Dinh said.

She added that the success of the project contributes to building the image of Vietnamese rice as environmentally responsible, enhancing its credibility in global markets where strict standards on emissions, safety, and sustainability are increasingly enforced.

The conference confirmed that low-emission rice cultivation models in the Mekong Delta not only bring economic gains to farmers but also advance the goals of green agriculture, climate resilience, and compliance with the demands of export markets.