Organic and green agriculture are growing trends, and the Mekong Delta has significant potential to utilize a circular economic approach in agriculture. This model explicitly aims to transform agricultural byproducts, like rice straw, into products like organic fertilizer, animal feed, or even mushrooms.
Can Tho City, Vietnam (June 8, 2024) - Can Tho City Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), in collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), held a launching ceremony for the circular agricultural economic model from straw and visited the pilot model field of the "Sustainable Development of One Million Hectares of High Quality and Low-Emission Rice Associated with Green Growth in the Mekong River Delta By 2030".
IRRI officials, including Director General Dr. Yvonne Pinto and Chair of the Board of Trustees Dr. Cao Duc Phat, local officials, and hundreds of local farmers attended the event.
In her opening remarks, Dr. Yvonne Pinto emphasized that Vietnam is the third largest rice-exporting country in the world but is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Therefore, IRRI is committed to collaborating and sharing technology solutions to help farmers reduce costs, increase production profits, and aim for low-emission agriculture and green growth.
After the New Green Farm, IRRI successfully replicated the rice straw-based circular economy model at the Tien Thuan Agricultural and Service Cooperative in Thanh An commune. Accordingly, IRRI signed and handed over a self-propelled organic fertilizer mixer to the cooperative to help farmers process rice straw into organic fertilizer. IRRI also provided training on production techniques for cooperative members to develop a business model of organic fertilizer from straw.
Mr. Nguyen Cao Khai, Director of Tien Thuan Cooperative, excitedly shared that he believes that this model will change people's old farming habits and contribute to improving their income. At the same time, through training sessions and demonstrations, the farmers will receive answers from experts and clarify the benefits of producing organic fertilizer from rice straw, helping people confidently apply this model.
Mr. Tran Thai Nghiem, Deputy Director of Can Tho DARD, stressed that the locality will continue to promote the development and replication of the circular agricultural economic model, especially the management and use of rice production byproducts. At the same time, the locality will create conditions for farmers in districts in Can Tho City to grasp information and access technologies, equipment, and mechanical machinery for collecting and processing straws. Farmers can produce organic fertilizer and serve production to increase income and reduce emissions.
After the launching program, the participants visited the model farm under the 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice program. IRRI Scientist Dr. Nguyen Van Hung showcased mechanized direct seeding with fertilizer deep placement as a core feature of the One-Million-Ha program, highlighting its benefits for reducing seed rate, fertilizer use, and postharvest losses while increasing rice yield.
The participants also had a chance to visit the New Green Farm Cooperative. The cooperative successfully adopted straw recycling – leftover rice straw is transformed into organic fertilizer and used to cultivate mushrooms. This innovative indoor mushroom cultivation, supported by IRRI experts, boasts higher yields, reduces labor costs, and allows for multiple yearly harvests, making it more economical than traditional outdoor methods.
This activity is part of the Mekong-Republic of Korea Cooperation Fund-supported Rice Straw-based Circular Economy (RiceEco) and the CGIAR Initiatives on Excellence in Agronomy and the Asian Mega-Deltas.