From rice and coffee to durian and dragon fruit, many crop sectors are stepping up low-emission production to satisfy increasingly stringent green standards in the international market and elevate the value of Vietnamese agricultural products.

Speaking at the first meeting of the Steering Committee for implementing the project: “Low-Emission Crop Production for the 2025–2035 Period, with a Vision toward 2050,” Mr. Hoang Trung, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, stated that low-emission production is no longer just an environmental requirement but is becoming a mandatory condition for Vietnamese agricultural products to meet the green standards of importing markets.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, many major markets are currently tightening requirements related to greenhouse gas emissions, carbon footprints, traceability, and environmental responsibility. This forces the agricultural sector to transition its production models toward low emissions if it wishes to retain and expand its export market share.

To date, 22 provinces and cities have issued action plans to implement the low-emission project in the crop sector. The core tasks include building low-emission cultivation processes, utilizing fertilizers and pesticides efficiently, conserving irrigation water, recycling agricultural by-products, developing circular agriculture, and applying digital transformation in emissions management.

The 2026–2030 period is identified as the pivotal timeframe to shape a low-emission agricultural sector in Vietnam. Within this stage, the crop sector will focus on perfecting technical processes alongside the measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) emissions system for flagship commodities such as rice, coffee, and exported fruits.

For the rice industry, alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation models, straw management, fertilizer optimization, and mechanization will continue to expand in connection with the project of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice in the Mekong Delta. For the coffee industry, the focus rests on developing circular coffee models, conserving irrigation water, increasing organic fertilizer usage, and restoring soil health in the Central Highlands and Son La. Meanwhile, growing regions for durian, dragon fruit, mango, and passion fruit will be oriented toward enhancing irrigation water management, treating by-products, and satisfying the green criteria of importing markets.

An issue drawing immense interest from enterprises is the construction of a “low-emission” label for key agricultural products. According to experts, this will serve as a vital tool to elevate added value, enhance electronic traceability capabilities, and step-by-step build a “green - low-emission agricultural product” brand for Vietnam on the international stage.

Mr. Phan Tien Thanh, Business Development Manager of Green Carbon Japan Vietnam Co., Ltd., argued that if implemented synchronously, Vietnam could entirely become a pioneering country in developing low-emission rice models globally.

Under the plan, in the coming period, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will continue to perfect technical regulations concerning greenhouse gas inventories in the crop sector, while prioritizing the construction of low-emission production models featuring value chain links and high scalability.

Source: Vnbusiness