Many benefits from using organic fertilizers

Changing the use of chemical fertilizers (PB) to organic PB will increase soil fertility, effectively improve the soil, and return the lost organic matter to the soil. This is considered the most optimal solution to restore agricultural land.

Choosing and using organic fertilizers brings many benefits in agricultural production.

Using organic fertilizers: Many benefits

According to the agricultural sector, developing green and sustainable agriculture is becoming an inevitable trend. One of the important solutions is to promote the use of organic pesticides to gradually replace chemical pesticides in agricultural production. Not only helping to improve soil and increase natural fertility, organic pesticides also contribute to limiting water pollution, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving the quality of agricultural products.

This is an important factor for Vietnamese agricultural products to meet safety standards, aiming for sustainable export. Using organic PB for 8 hectares of coconut, Mr. Tran Van Ut (Nhi Long commune) said: "Organic PB increases the structure of the soil, helping the soil become a smart filter, filtering out toxins in the soil and water, then slowly decomposing or reducing toxicity, helping to protect the environment. Thanks to that, my coconut garden has stable productivity and a higher selling price."

In recent times, implementing the policy of the Government and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment on developing organic pesticides to increase the value of agricultural products and protect the environment, the program to develop production and use organic pesticides has been deployed by the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, and has achieved some results so far.

Accordingly, the legal framework for organic fertilizers is basically complete and consistent. The encouragement and support for the production and use of organic fertilizers have now been stipulated in the Law on Cultivation, firmly consolidating the legal basis for the sustainable development of organic fertilizers.

According to the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, up to now, 6 provinces (after the merger) namely Can Tho, Vinh Long, An Giang, Ca Mau, Tay Ninh and Ho Chi Minh City have issued a Plan to implement the Project on Developing Production and Use of Organic Pesticides to 2030, with a vision to 2050.

Localities across the country have also organized nearly 1,000 training courses with the participation of nearly 43,500 farmers, building 429 models using organic PB with over 10,400 hectares of key crops with local advantages with a total implementation cost of over 102 billion VND integrated from many different sources.

In Vinh Long province, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh - Head of the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection (Department of Agriculture and Environment) said: In recent years, many safe agricultural production models have appeared.

The agricultural sector has also been actively encouraging businesses, cooperatives, and people to produce and use organic fertilizers in production. Disseminate and guide people to apply technical measures to protect and improve soil health associated with plant nutrient management...

Strengthening propaganda and encouraging use

However, according to the Vietnam PB Association, in recent years, organic PB development has not been commensurate with its potential. The main reason is that our country has not had strong policies to encourage investment in research, transfer of science and technology, production and use of organic PB, and reduce the use of inorganic PB.

Furthermore, there is a lack of specific direction to encourage local authorities to prioritize and support capital, land, etc. for organic PB production factories. Many localities have not really paid attention to the management and use of PB, and have not had policies to encourage the use of organic PB, leading to failure to attract businesses to invest in production as well as people to use it.

Besides a few establishments that have invested in modern organic PB production technology, there are still many establishments using rudimentary production lines, low automation, low microbiological technology in organic fertilizer production... leading to low production capacity, organic content and PB quality.

According to local reports in 2024, in the Mekong Delta provinces, the average amount of inorganic fertilizer used is 480 kg/ha of cultivated land, 10% higher than the national average. Most provinces in the region have a PB usage of 90-110% compared to the average PB usage in the country.

However, there are still some provinces with high usage rates such as Vinh Long, Dong Thap and Can Tho. For industrial organic PB, the usage rate is only 72 kg/ha, only 50% of the national average usage rate. Even the amount of non-commercial organic PB is only 7.3% of the national average.

According to the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, using organic pesticides is not only a choice, but also an inevitable direction to move towards ecological, circular agriculture, adapting to climate change, reducing emissions and creating safe agricultural products with high added value.

In the coming time, localities need to strengthen specialized inspection and examination of establishments producing, trading, trading and using plant protection drugs, strictly handle violations of the law to limit the trading and use of poor quality plant protection drugs. Continue to promote guidance on the safe and effective use of plant protection drugs, prioritize the use of biological plant protection drugs, especially in areas developing key crops, serving exports, bringing high economic value.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh said: In the coming time, the agricultural sector will encourage the development, production and use of organic PB on a household scale on the basis of utilizing by-products in cultivation, livestock, agricultural processing and household waste.

According to data compiled from domestic factories, the amount of PB imported and exported in 2024, the amount of PB industrial production (including inorganic and organic) used 9.435 million tons, of which chemical PB used 7.323 million tons, organic PB used 2.112 million tons.

The average amount of PB used for industrial production is 651 kg/ha of cultivation, of which inorganic PB is 505 kg/ha of cultivation and organic PB is 146 kg/ha of cultivation.

Develop and diversify high-quality organic PB products, organic PB containing new beneficial microorganisms, convenient for users, stabilize soil fertility, improve productivity and economic efficiency. Strengthen dissemination and propaganda about the role and effects of organic PB to raise awareness of people, business owners, production enterprises and local management staff.

At the same time, promote research, application, and transfer of advanced, environmentally friendly organic PB production technology, using available raw materials from cultivation, livestock, aquaculture, household waste... Build and replicate farming models that effectively use organic PB associated with the value chain for key products and specialties with local advantages...

Article and photos: NGUYEN KHANG

Source: https://baovinhlong.com.vn/kinh-te/nong-nghiep/202509/nhieu-loi-ich-tu-su-dung-phan-bon-huu-co-b4c0371/