Hanoi (VNA) - Some farmers in the southcentral province of Ninh Thuan have gone green.

Watermelon farmers in An Hai commune, Ninh Phuocdistrict have made use of muck and agricultural waste mixed with a funguscalled Trichoderma to make natural fertilizer, in a process that only takes twomonths.

Nguyen Van Lai, a local farmer, said that theorganic fertiliser is safe for the air, soil and people living near theplanting area. Plant productivity also doubles compared with using inorganicfertiliser and pesticides.

Using agricultural waste to make organicfertilizer also helps cut costs, which combined with the improved productivitybrings about twice as much profit.

The move is a trend a lot of Vietnamese farmersare following and is also a direction endorsed by the Ministry of Agricultureand Rural Development

Minister of Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentNguyen Xuan Cuong said the agricultural sector must speed up the production,usage and consumption of organic fertiliser and reduce the amount of inorganicfertiliser. This move aims to improve plant productivity, quality and aid theenvironment.

Tran The Hinh from the Low Carbon Agricultural Support Project (LCASP) said that last year Vietnam importedmore than 3.7 million tonnes of fertiliser worth 960 million USD. In the firstfive months of this year, the country imported 1.8 million tonnes offertiliser, down 8.8 percent compared to the same period last year.

This showed that Vietnam has switched from usinginorganic fertiliser to self-made organic fertiliser, he said.

He said that 40 million tonnes of straw, corn andsugar cane residue and other kinds of post-harvest waste are discharged everyyear. The farming sector releases 80 million tonnes of waster each year.Farmers can use this waste to make organic fertiliser.

Nguyen Dang Nghia, Director of the TropicalAgriculture Consultation and Research Centre, said that all kinds ofmicroorganism fertiliser, organic microorganism fertiliser and probiotics aregood for plants and preserve soil.

Ly Van Son, Deputy Director of Ecofarm, saidmicroorganism fertiliser is made from manufacturing industry waste such asresidue of beer, soy beans or fish bones mixed with microorganisms. Each kg ofmicroorganism organic fertiliser contains 140 types of nutrition.

For two months, the mixture must be isolated fromair, otherwise, it will turn into soil and lose its nutritious elements. Aftercomposting, the organic fertiliser must be packaged and isolated from the air,he said.

To make 11 tonnes of organic fertiliser to replacecurrently-used inorganic fertiliser, enterprises need a large-scale technologyline to ensure fertiliser quality, he said.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, Vietnam’s farming sector uses 11 million tonnes of fertilisersonly 8 percent of which is organic.

Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong said fertiliser plays akey role in farming. Vietnam has 10 million ha of farmland. Organic productioncovers only 43,000 ha of land which means organic fertiliser has not beenwidely used.

If each ha of farmland needs 10 tonnes of organicfertiliser, it is estimated Vietnam needs 200 million tonnes of organicfertiliser to have safe products, recover soil and protect the environment.

Many fertiliser enterprises have switched tomanufacturing organic fertiliser such as Binh Dien fertiliser company,PetroVietnam Fertilizer and Chemicals Corporation, WEHG bio-fertiliser company,Ecofarm and Que Lam Corporation.

Fertiliser businesses have also thought aboutexporting organic fertiliser.

Nguyen Minh Son, Deputy Director of the Binh DienFertiliser Company, said Vietnam's organic fertiliser is competing with that ofASEAN countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.

Fertiliser companies need to focus on quality tokeep their place in domestic and global market, he said.

As of December 2017, Vietnam had 713 organicfertiliser products manufactured by 180 licensed facilities. These facilitiescan produce up to 2.5 million tonnes of fertiliser per year.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Developmenthas launched policies to encourage organic fertiliser production andconsumption from available domestic materials. The ministry has also createdfavourable investment and production conditions for organic fertilisercompanies.

Minister Cuong said that between 2020 and 2030,the ministry plans to set up national planning on fertiliser production whichlooks to larger production and consumption of organic fertiliser.

“The ministry will attract more investment andtake advantage of sources from developed countries and internationalorganisations to transfer and apply latest technology,” he said.-VNA