HCM City (VNA) – The Vietnamese agriculturalsector is calling on all parties to join in the sustainable development of 1million ha of low-emission high-quality rice production in theMekong Delta so as to improve the quality and efficiency of the rice industry.

So said Le Thanh Tung, DeputyDirector of the Crop Production Department under the Ministry of Agricultureand Rural Development, at a workshop held in Ho Chi Minh City on October 2 todiscuss the role of the public - private partnership in the implementation of aproject on sustainably developing 1 million ha of low-emissionhigh-quality rice production in association with green growth in the MekongDelta by 2030.

Tung said that as the rice bowl of Vietnam, the Mekong Delta not only helps guarantee nationalfood security but also substantially contributes to annual rice exports.

The project was built amid the factthat over the past years, the agricultural sector has carried out theGovernment’s Decree No 120/NQ-CP on the sustainable development of thisregion, but there remain certain shortcomings in rice production.

Production efficiency, farmers’income, and the quality and competitiveness of export rice are still modest. Whilerice cultivation has yet to be truly sustainable amid climate change, thereduction of greenhouse gas emissions has fallen short of expectations, Tung pointedout.

The project looks to cut productioncosts by 20% (equivalent to 9.5 trillion VND, or 389.4 million USD, over anoutput of 13 million tonnes of unmilled rice by 2030) and raise unmilled riceprices by 10% compared to the grain produced by traditional methods. With anaverage price of 5.1 million VND per tonne of unmilled rice, the 10% price increasewill boost annual revenue from 1 million ha or 13 million tonnes by 7 trillionVND, thus raising profit from 1 million ha to over 16 trillion VND.

However, the official added there are numerous difficulties in the project implementation,and one of the challenges is how to attract investment.

The agricultural sector is calling onall parties, from cooperatives and businesses to international organisations,domestic and foreign experts, to engage in this project so as to mobilise allresources in society, including experience, technique and finance, forimproving the quality and efficiency of the rice industry, he went on.

Tran Thanh Nam, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, saidforming specialised zones of low-emission and high-quality rice in theMekong Delta is a breakthrough project expected to help promote the added valuethroughout the entire rice production chain, raise farmers’ income, ensuresustainable development amid worsening climate change, contribute to greengrowth, and realise the Government’s commitments made at the 26th UNClimate Change Conference (COP26), including the target of net zero emissionsby 2050.

The project will help production in high-qualityrice farming zones be reorganised in value chains that better connect farmers,cooperatives, input suppliers, and rice purchasing companies. As a result, farmerswill not only benefit from rice’s added value but also create sustainablecultivation processes, cut greenhouse gas emissions, save resources, recycleby-products of rice farming, raise the value of the Vietnamese rice brand inthe market, according to the Deputy Minister./.