Low-emission rice in Vinh Long: From smallholders to sector-wide strategy

Promoting high-quality, low-emission rice production

By early March 2026, Vinh Long province had implemented 5,088 hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice, reaching 63.6% of its annual target. Beyond expanding the farming area, the models have begun to demonstrate clear efficiency gains, both increasing profits and reducing emissions, laying the groundwork for greener rice production.

According to the local agricultural sector, the models recorded profit increases ranging from 14% to over 30% compared with traditional farming, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 20%. This is considered a positive signal in implementing the scheme to develop one million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice across the Mekong Delta.

One notable model is being implemented at Hau Thanh Cooperative (Long Ho commune) on a scale of around 100 hectares. The 2025 - 2026 winter-spring crop marked the first season the cooperative applied this model, yet the average yield still reached 7.5 tons per hectare, while input costs decreased significantly.

According to Nguyen Thi Minh Yen, a representative of the cooperative, the core solution is applying the “alternate wetting and drying” method combined with sensors to monitor field water levels. This approach not only saves water but also helps reduce emissions during cultivation. “When the water level drops to around 15 - 20 cm, we irrigate again,” she said.

Seeding density has also been reduced from approximately 15 kilograms per cong (Vietnamese measurement, equal to 1,000 square meters) to 10 - 12 kilograms per cong. The application of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) for row seeding, pesticide spraying, and fertilizer spreading helps distribute inputs more evenly, reduce pesticide use, and limit losses.

Thanks to the synchronized application of technical measures and technology, rice plants grow well with strong stems, less lodging, and uniform grains. The selling price is VND 3,000 - 4,000 per gia (Vietnamese old measurement, equal to 40 liters), higher than the market average, reaching VND 123,000 - 124,000 per gia, helping improve farmers’ economic returns.

Beyond immediate economic benefits, the model also opens opportunities to access the carbon credit market. The cooperative is currently receiving training to gradually calculate emissions and move toward participating in this market, thereby increasing the value of its rice products.

In line with the crop production emissions-reduction scheme

The development of low-emission rice models in Vinh Long is not an isolated effort but part of a sector-wide transition roadmap. The province has issued a plan to implement the Low-Emission Crop Production Project for the 2025 - 2035 period, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 15% by 2035 while developing a “low-emission” product label and gradually participating in the carbon credit market.

Looking toward 2050, the crop production sector is expected to develop in an ecological and modern direction, organizing production along circular value chains and strongly applying digital technology and smart agriculture to ensure efficient resource use and effective emissions control.

Practical results have become increasingly evident with each crop season. Profits have increased from 14% to over 33%, equivalent to VND 5-7 million per hectare, while emissions have been reduced by 20–23%.

However, the scaling-up process still faces several bottlenecks, such as small and fragmented production scales, a lack of suitable seeding equipment, and irrigation infrastructure in some areas that does not yet meet the technical requirements for alternate wetting and drying irrigation.

At a meeting with local authorities, Chau Van Hoa, Vice Chairman of the Vinh Long Provincial People’s Committee, emphasized the need to implement synchronized solutions to ensure progress and achieve the set targets. The long-term goal is to develop clean, organic, high-tech, and green agriculture aligned with both domestic and export market demands.

Accordingly, the province will continue to improve production-consumption linkages, invite enterprises to enter into product purchase contracts, accelerate digital transformation, build brands and traceability systems for low-emission rice, and strengthen technical training, while replicating models and gradually bringing products into the carbon credit market.

From cooperative-level models to province-wide orientation, Vinh Long is gradually forming zones of high-quality, low-emission rice. This is not only a solution to enhance the value of rice grains but also an important pathway for green agricultural transformation and climate change adaptation in the Mekong Delta.

Low-emission rice models have demonstrated clear effectiveness over successive seasons. In the 2024 -2025 winter-spring crop, yields reached 6.8-7.5 tons per hectare, profits increased by about 14% (equivalent to VND 5.1 - 6.5 million per hectare), and emissions were reduced by over 20%. In the 2025 summer-autumn crop, yields reached 6.4-6.8 tons per hectare, profits rose by 21-34%, and emissions fell by 21-23%. In the 2025 autumn-winter crop, yields reached 5.8-6.0 tons per hectare, and profits increased by over 33% (around VND 7 million per hectare), indicating a clear trend toward improved efficiency.

By early March 2026, 23 out of 40 communes and wards in the province had joined the low-emission rice scheme. Among them, 18 communes had cooperatives and cooperative groups operating, with a total of 70 organizations and 6,390 members. The average scale reached 85 hectares per cooperative or cooperative group.

$ 1 = VND 26.338 - Source: Vietcombank.