Project of 1 million hectares of high-quality rice: Agricultural revolution for the Mekong Delta

(Chinhphu.vn) - On September 15, in An Giang, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment held a conference to summarize the model of high-quality, low-emission specialized rice production in the 2025 Summer-Autumn crop in the Mekong Delta.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Thanh Nam speaks at the conference - Photo: VGP/LS

Effective start for new farming model

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Huong, Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), since the beginning of the year, the Ministry has organized meetings and surveyed localities to deploy 11 models of high-quality, low-emission rice production in 5 provinces of the Mekong Delta, within the 1 million hectare Project.

The objective is to evaluate the emission-reducing rice cultivation process and test the MRV process in the Summer-Autumn crop of 2025 to gain experience and perfect the process before seeking approval. The Ministry has also coordinated with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the World Bank to train technical staff on the MRV process, collect baseline data from farmers, map fields and monitor water levels.

Specific results of the 2025 Summer-Autumn crop models show a 50-65% reduction in seeds; an average 31.3% reduction in fertilizer; a 1-3-fold reduction in the number of times pesticides are sprayed; 7/10 models ensure 2 water withdrawals; 4/11 models successfully drain water 3 times; 100% of models collect straw from the fields.

Assessing the implementation of the Project's objectives, the scale reached 354,839 ha/180,000 ha, reaching 197%; on sustainable farming: Reduce sowing seeds from 70-100 kg/ha; reduce 20% of nitrogen fertilizer and irrigation water and 100% of the area applies at least 01 criterion in the process; VietGAP has 7,493 ha, organic 246 ha, food safety 5,659 ha.

Regarding production reorganization: 100% of farmers are organized into cooperatives, with input and consumption linkages, mechanization: 100% of land preparation and sowing (drones, row sowing...), over 200,000 households apply at least 1 criterion in the process, environmental protection and green growth reach 70% of straw collection in the Winter-Spring crop, income increases by 13.4% or more; 5,269 hectares are certified as low-emission Green Vietnamese Rice equivalent to 19,200 tons of rice.

An Giang: Bright spot in project implementation

Vice Chairman of An Giang Provincial People's Committee Ngo Cong Thuc said: In 2025, An Giang's agricultural production will continue to be maintained stably and develop well. Accordingly, the growth rate of the agricultural sector in the first 9 months is estimated at 3.71% and the whole year is likely to reach 3.96%, making an important contribution to An Giang's economic growth rate (GRDP) for the whole year of 2025 at 8.5%.

After the merger, An Giang is the leading province in the country in terms of area and rice output with great potential for development. Regarding the rice production industry, in 2025 An Giang will produce more than 1.3 million hectares of rice production area (an increase of 2.8 thousand hectares over the same period), with an estimated rice output of about 8.8 million tons.

According to the province's new draft plan, An Giang province will have about 351,000 hectares of rice participating in the Project, accounting for more than 35% of the rice area implementing the Project in Decision No. 1490/QD-TTg dated November 27, 2023 of the Prime Minister approving the Project "Sustainable development of one million hectares of high-quality and low-emission rice cultivation associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta region by 2030".

In the recent Summer-Autumn crop, An Giang piloted two rice production models according to the 1 million ha process in Binh Thanh Dong and Tan Hoi communes, bringing positive results. Implementing this model helped reduce costs by an average of 4.12 million VND/ha, increase productivity by 0.78 tons/ha, and increase profits by 5-8 million VND/ha compared to the control; the model helped reduce emissions by 7.56-8.11 tons of CO₂ equivalent/ha.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Hung: IRRI has directly provided technical support for 9/11 pilot models with a total area of ​​over 450 hectares, creating a solid scientific foundation with the potential to replicate nationwide in the near future - Photo: VGP/LS

Speaking at the conference, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Van Hung, senior expert of IRRI, said: IRRI plays a key role in the 2024-2025 period of the 1 million hectares of high-quality rice project in 6 Mekong Delta provinces including Can Tho, Vinh Long, Dong Thap, An Giang, Ca Mau, Tay Ninh. With a strong commitment to strategic cooperation, IRRI has directly provided technical support for 9/11 pilot models with a total area of ​​over 450 hectares, not only creating a solid scientific foundation but also demonstrating the potential for nationwide replication in the near future.

Based on lessons learned from practice, IRRI shares three strategic cooperation directions for the coming time.

That is, perfecting the scientific data system through integrating field experience with information from 10,000 farmers, while standardizing the 6-step technical farming process to optimize the ability to adapt to climate change.

Developing a digital tool ecosystem with the EasyFarm application connecting the value chain, the Vietnamese rice platform integrating AI-Chatbot to support farmers, and the ViRiCert certification system to evaluate low-emission green rice.

Deploying the MRV system through advanced SPOT monitoring technology, while improving the capacity of local measurement, reporting and appraisal staff, towards the goal of building smart and sustainable agriculture.

Mr. Pham Thai Binh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Company (Can Tho) emphasized: "The 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice project is a breakthrough solution for the rice industry to develop stably and sustainably. Implementing the project in the production linkage between enterprises and farmers also increases income for farmers and enterprises".

According to Mr. Binh, after nearly 2 years of pilot implementation, rice cultivation in Vietnam has reduced input costs by 30%, while increasing productivity by at least 10% (500-1,000 kg/ha), increasing farmers' income by an average of 10 million VND/ha/year for 2 crops. He proposed that the Government soon approve projects under the Project so that businesses, cooperatives and farmers have a basis for association, and banks have a basis for lending capital.

Chairman of Loc Troi Group Huynh Van Thon shared at the Conference - Photo: VGP/LS

Changing mindset, towards sustainability

Sharing at the conference, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Loc Troi Group Huynh Van Thon commented: "After July 1, when the two-level government was organized, businesses and people realized that the government was closer to the people. This promoted the close connection between the government, businesses and people in implementing the 1 million hectare high-quality rice project."

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Loc Troi Group said that the parties need to develop a specific action plan between the commune, enterprises and farmers to promote the implementation of the Project in localities. "We are committed to accompanying farmers in the successful implementation of this Project, contributing to the development and prosperity of the people," Mr. Huynh Van Thon affirmed, and at the same time suggested that the bank become a component in the production chain, sharing profits and risks with enterprises and people.

"The key issue in the successful implementation of this Project is to promote the synchronous mechanization of the large-scale production process to bring about increasingly high efficiency," Mr. Huynh Van Thon emphasized.

Assessing the results of the pilot model of 1 million hectares of high-quality specialized rice, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Thanh Nam emphasized: After more than 2 years of implementation, it can be affirmed that the pilot project of 1 million hectares of high-quality specialized rice has been successful. Accordingly, reality has proven that the implementation has brought about increased productivity, increased profits, reduced costs, and reduced emissions.

"In particular, farmers' thinking about agricultural production has changed dramatically, combined with promoting mechanization of the production process, bringing about clear results," said Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam.

Le Son

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/de-an-1-trieu-ha-lua-chat-luong-cao-cuoc-cach-mang-nong-nghiep-cho-dbscl-102250915134053774.htm