MAE to scale up high-quality, low-emission rice production nationwide

Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep shared this statement at the technical meeting with international organizations and units of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment on the developing One Million Hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice in the Mekong Delta, held in August 13.

The project’s existing targets will remain unchanged. However, implementation will not be limited to the areas already registered, but will be gradually expanded, laying the foundation for high-quality, low-emission production practices across the Mekong Delta and, ultimately, in localities nationwide.

At the same time, the initiative aims to connect available resources into a unified system, supported by a coordination mechanism, integrated data, green finance, and greater participation from businesses and markets for low-emission products.

Unify system from different projects

According to Dinh Thi Kim Dung, Chief of the Partnership and Project Coordination Office at IRRI, during 2024-2025, IRRI worked with the Plant Production and Protection Department and other units to develop and update farming protocols for high-quality, low-emission rice production. The organization also participated in eight of the Ministry’s 11 pilot models implemented across six Mekong Delta provinces and cities.

Initial results have been encouraging, but the pilot models have also exposed bottlenecks when scaling up. Feedback from localities indicates that many areas lack seeders and equipment to collect and process rice straw. Some rice-growing areas are not yet suitable for precision mechanization. Flooding, heavy rains, and high tides also make it difficult to apply certain technical requirements uniformly across different areas. For carbon credits, the baseline and MRV need to account for conditions at individual cooperatives as well as weather factors to avoid miscalculating the amount of emissions reduced.

This has prompted a shift in the approach to support. Rather than continuing to create more small-scale pilot models, IRRI plans to work with the Ministry’s agencies and six localities to build capacity for around 250 communes during 2026-2027, while helping cooperatives transition from pilot models to concentrated raw-material production areas.

According to Dung, another notable development is the growing proactive participation of the private sector. In Can Tho, Dong Thap and An Giang, several companies have approached IRRI after seeing the results of the pilot models, proposing to work with cooperatives to expand raw-material production areas to 300-500 hectares and seeking technical support for the process.

“Resources for scaling up production no longer come solely from the state budget,” Dung said. Once businesses see the potential to establish concentrated raw-material areas, the challenge increasingly shifts toward developing standards, data systems and mechanisms that allow private capital to work alongside public investment and international support.

In line with this approach, IRRI is focusing on developing a digital system to monitor compliance with rice cultivation protocols. Data will be collected from farmers and cooperatives, including evidence of on-farm practices, enabling identification of which requirements have been met and which remain outstanding. The information can also help pinpoint infrastructure bottlenecks, such as water management capacity in individual areas.

IRRI is also developing a digital map that is expected to integrate data on soils, varieties, water, climate, farming practices, planting-area codes, and climate change adaptation recommendations. The tool is intended to be expanded to 250 communes in six localities covered by the project.

However, Dung acknowledged that the resources of any single organization are limited. If each partner continues to develop its own system or implement separate activities, resources could become fragmented. IRRI therefore proposed that the Ministry take on a coordinating role, integrating the resources and solutions of international organizations to pursue common objectives.

New support for rice farmers

Alongside IRRI, FAO is one of Viet Nam’s long-standing partners, supporting the country’s agricultural sector through activities ranging from crop health, soil management, agricultural extension and cooperatives to traceability, green finance and MRV.

Vinod Ahuja, FAO Representative in Viet Nam, said that many partners are currently collecting data on emissions, rice production and soil nutrients. The challenge is to develop a harmonized approach that connects these data streams rather than leaving them in separate systems. Otherwise, Viet Nam could have a large volume of field-level data but still face difficulties in consolidating it into reliable national-level results and using it for international reporting. FAO is ready to work with the Ministry to explore ways to connect these datasets.

In addition to technical support, FAO is working with Viet Nam to develop a proposal to mobilize resources from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to support the transition toward low-emission and climate-resilient rice production. The funding is expected to exceed $200 million over five years, with a target of reducing approximately 500,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

Notably, cooperatives, small and medium-sized enterprises, farmer organizations and other actors across the value chain are also included in the framework, creating conditions for private capital to complement public resources. Ahuja proposed incorporating this initiative into the overall coordination mechanism of the one-million-hectare high-quality, low-emission rice project, rather than managing it as a standalone project.

This experience was shared by the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV). Roxanne Abdulali, Head of Agriculture and Food at SNV Viet Nam, said the organization is particularly interested in the ultimate value that farmers receive from participating in such programs. Accordingly, a monitoring system that SNV previously worked with in Australia also measured the profit margins of farming households. This provides a basis for assessing whether higher selling prices or the benefits generated by low-emission production are actually reaching farmers.

SNV also proposed that the MRV system for the next phase of the one-million-hectare rice project should be designed at multiple levels. If the goal is certification for international markets, the data needs to be sufficiently detailed to allow traceability down to the household level. Such transparency becomes even more important if Viet Nam seeks to access higher-value segments of the carbon market.

A gateway to the circular economy

Another area of support recommended by Hoang Thanh, Project Officer at the Delegation of the European Union to Viet Nam, is promoting the circular economy in low-emission production. The EU has approved a grant of approximately €11.5 million, and the parties are finalizing the relevant documents for implementation.

The project has two main objectives. First, it will review and identify key policy barriers and strengthen the capacity of management agencies to create a more enabling environment for the circular economy in agriculture. Second, it will promote the adoption of circular practices through pilot models, capacity building and the development of local business models.

In the rice value chain, the project is expected to be implemented in Can Tho, with activities directly linked to the one-million-hectare high-quality, low-emission rice project. These include assessing circular economy solutions, developing commune-level pilot models, supporting low-emission production, training officials and farmers, strengthening traceability and digital transformation, and developing business models to mobilize additional resources.

According to Thanh, the project could support the management and value creation of agricultural by-products, improve soil health, pilot MRV systems linked to traceability and data digitization, and connect circular business models with finance and markets. The EU hopes the approval process can be accelerated so that the project can begin implementation in 2027.

Commitment to a flexible and open mechanism

In response to proposals from international organizations, Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep said the approach to the one-million-hectare rice project in the next phase will shift toward greater scale and flexibility. Expanding the participating groups and geographical coverage is therefore expected to bring changes to the way the project is organized.

According to Deputy Minister Hiep, the registration process for individual farmers or localities to participate remains relatively cumbersome. Under the new approach, the focus will no longer be on determining who is “participating in the project”, but rather on promoting the new production methods on a broader scale so that “everyone can adopt them.”

This means differences in soil conditions, irrigation infrastructure, cropping patterns, and other ecological factors will become decisive in determining how technical practices are applied. Hiep noted that the production protocol used for more than 420,000 hectares cannot simply be applied to the next 600,000 hectares, as originally targeted by the project. Likewise, high-quality, low-emission rice cannot be produced in coastal Ca Mau in the same way as in An Giang.

The Ministry plans to develop region- and subregion-specific technical packages, covering everything from varieties and cultivation practices to processing and marketing. This will also provide a basis for directing international support toward specific needs, rather than continuing to spread resources across individual pilot models.

Another requirement set out by the Deputy Minister is the development of a shared database that integrates information on production, carbon credits, planting-area codes, and traceability. International organizations, businesses and management agencies need mechanisms to regularly share and update information, helping prevent each project from developing its own separate system. This will also provide a foundation for technical results, MRV and data from different programs to be used jointly as production expands.

Regarding international resources, Hiep called for a shift from individual organizations implementing separate activities toward coordination based on their respective strengths. While programs supporting Viet Nam may differ in their objectives and funding sources, they should be brought together around common priorities, including technical packages, data, value chains, the circular economy, green finance and markets.

The financing approach is also expected to become more flexible. Rather than relying on a single common loan source, the central government will use domestic resources for tasks falling under the Ministry’s responsibilities. Local governments can mobilize their own budgets or other appropriate funding sources. For small-scale infrastructure serving production areas, Hiep said the policy direction is to prioritize public investment and limit reliance on loan financing.

However, funding and carbon credits are not considered the ultimate goals. According to leaders of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, Viet Nam will continue to pursue carbon credits, but the priority is to use emissions reduction results to demonstrate responsible production practices. If carbon credits can be sold and generate additional income for farmers, that would be an added benefit.

The more direct value, however, must come from the rice itself. Deputy Minister Hiep said Viet Nam needs to build a “green Vietnamese rice” brand capable of generating higher value than conventional products. This also places new requirements on international support. Assistance should not stop at technical solutions for reducing emissions, but must connect production with businesses, finance and markets.

The open approach adopted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has received strong support from international partners implementing technical assistance packages for the project. IRRI, FAO, UNDP, the EU, Australia, Canada, JICA, GIZ, SNV, Oxfam, IFAD and many other international partners committed significant resources at the meeting.

These resources will support sustainable cultivation practices, MRV implementation, traceability, the development of linkages among businesses, cooperatives and farmers, circular economy initiatives that make use of agricultural by-products, improved market access and higher value for high-quality, low-emission rice, enhanced access to green and carbon finance, and the development of a shared database that is accurate, complete, clean, up-to-date and usable.

Deputy Minister Hiep agreed with international partners on the need to establish a common coordination mechanism to ensure that international projects are prepared and implemented as effectively as possible, tailored to specific target groups and local conditions, with the ultimate goal of developing a high-quality, low-emission rice sector for Viet Nam.

According to Nguyen Thi Thu Huong, Deputy Director of the Plant Production and Protection Department, as of August 2026, more than 420,000 hectares had adopted all or part of the sustainable rice cultivation protocol, reaching nearly 90% of the target for the current phase. More than 175,000 farming households have registered to participate. However, only nearly 68,000 hectares, or around 15%, fully meet all the criteria.

Results from the pilot models demonstrate the economic potential of this approach. Compared with conventional farming, seed use is reduced by 30-50%, chemical fertilizer use by 20-30%, and pesticide applications by two to three times per crop, while irrigation water use falls by 20-40%. Yields increase by around 5–12%, while profits rise by VND1.5-9.3 million per hectare per crop. Initial results also show average emissions reductions of 3-4 tonnes of CO2e per hectare per crop.

$ 1 = VND 26,250 - Source: Vietcombank.