Agricultural production moves toward emission reduction

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MoAE) has issued an Action Plan to implement the Scheme on Low-Emission Crop Production for the 2025–2035 period, with a vision toward 2050. The plan aims to realize Vietnam’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

A chicken farm in Xuan Dong commune applies biological bedding - an effective solution to reduce environmental pollution in livestock farming. Photo: B. Nguyen

Dong Nai province places strong emphasis on environmental protection and the development of a circular economy in the agricultural sector. The province has been comprehensively and decisively implementing policies to develop green, low-carbon, and environmentally friendly agriculture, in line with the province’s green growth orientation and the nation’s sustainable development goals.

Environmental challenges in agricultural production

Agricultural production is facing multiple challenges, including environmental pollution. Speaking at the ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the agriculture and environment sector held on November 12, Party General Secretary To Lam highlighted significant difficulties and intertwined contradictions between economic development, resource management, and environmental protection.

He underscored that natural resources are rapidly depleting, and environmental carrying capacity in many regions has reached its limit. Land - the nation’s special means of production - continues to be used inefficiently, remaining fragmented, and lacking comprehensive planning; minerals are still being lost and exploited unsustainably; and water resources are declining in both quantity and quality. Many rivers and underground water sources are polluted and depleted; biodiversity continues to shrink; environmental pollution, particularly air, water, and solid waste pollution in urban areas, industrial zones, and craft villages remains complicated, severely affecting public health, livelihoods, and the country’s sustainable development. Climate change and extreme weather are becoming increasingly severe, causing major losses in human life and property, especially in the delta, coastal, and mountainous regions. Droughts, salinity intrusion, storms, floods, and landslides are occurring with greater frequency and intensity, making them harder to predict and posing direct threats to national food security and ecological security.

According to the MoAE, emissions from agricultural activities account for an estimated 43% of national greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to 65–150 million tons of CO₂ per year. This requires the agriculture and environment sectors to intensify efforts to reduce emissions and move toward the net-zero target by 2050.

The MoAE is currently implementing the Scheme on Low-Emission Crop Production. This initiative represents a concrete step toward realizing Vietnam’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The scheme aims to develop low-emission agriculture linked to green growth and climate change adaptation.

Efforts to advance green agriculture

Developing organic and circular agriculture is one of Dong Nai Province’s breakthrough tasks for the 2021–2025 period. In recent years, the province has concretized central and provincial policies through: Resolution No. 05/2023/NQ-HDND of the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Council on supporting organic agriculture development – the province’s special policy to achieve agricultural breakthroughs during the 2021–2025 period; Decision No. 35/2021/QD-UBND issued by the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee on supporting enterprises to invest in agriculture; Decree No. 106/2024/ND-CP of the Government on supporting circular livestock farming and high-tech applications; along with policies on production–consumption linkages, VietGAP and organic certification, digital transformation, carbon credit development, and attracting investment into processing, logistics, and e-commerce chains.

As a result, Dong Nai has attracted numerous enterprises, cooperatives, and farmers to invest in organic and circular agriculture. Notably, the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee has signed a cooperation agreement with Que Lam Group JSC (Ho Chi Minh City) on developing organic agricultural production. After three years of implementation, the program has expanded organic agricultural models through value-chain linkages covering key provincial products such as rice, fruit trees, and pig farming.

Dong Nai is the country’s livestock “capital”, so environmental pollution from livestock farming remains a challenging issue. To address this, the livestock sector has been transitioning toward modern, environmentally compliant practices. Livestock facilities across the province increasingly invest in upgrading, renovating, or installing waste-treatment systems. Accordingly, large-scale pig and poultry farms have invested heavily in wastewater treatment systems, applied biological bedding technologies, and converted livestock manure into organic fertilizer for crop production.

Nguyen Tri Cong, Chairman of the Dong Nai Livestock Association, noted that Dong Nai has strengthened environmental inspections in livestock farming. The province is strongly committed to reducing emissions in the livestock sector. Several corporations and enterprises have adopted multiple emission-reduction solutions, while environmentally polluting farms are required to cease operations according to a set timeline. In addition, the livestock sector regularly organizes conferences and forums to propose solutions for safe livestock farming, with environmental protection at the core.

By Binh Nguyen – Translated by M.Nguyet, Thu Ha