Illustration Image. Photo: VNA A three-day seminar on greener rice cultivation in Vietnam and across the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) opened in northern mountainous Thai Nguyen province on September 21.
About 20 reports and studies are presented at the seminar by representatives from Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and China’s Yunnan and Guangxi provinces. Their research focuses on sustainable farming methods with the system of rice intensification (SRI), an organic method that opts against herbicides and uses younger seedlings and low water, underscored as a potential model.
In Vietnam, more than 1.5 million farmers in 29 provinces and cities have thus far applied the SRI on over 500,000 hectare of rice paddies.
Hoang Van Dung, Deputy Head of the Thai Nguyen Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the measure has generated positive outcomes in his province, reflected in strongly growing crops as well as up to 15 percent yield increases.
According to Tran Kim Long, Head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s International Cooperation Department, rice cultivation in Vietnam produces an average of 27.8 million tonnes of CO2, accounting for 67 percent of the total greenhouse gases emitted by the sector. This contributes to making Vietnam 31 st worldwide in terms of emissions.
To address the issue, Vietnam is improving its land and farming management as well as boosting the spread of biomass energy, Long noted.
As part of the seminar, participants will take field trips to and further discuss rice paddies applying the SRI in Thai Nguyen’s Phu Luong and Dinh Hoa districts.-VNA
