In Vietnam, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from rice cultivation are estimated to account for more than half of emissions by agriculture production as a whole. (Photo: nongnghiep.vn)Hanoi (VNA) - Investment in low carbon farming modelscan speed up rice industry reform, increase productivity, boost farmers’incomes and ensure sustainable development, a senior official have said.
It would also help the country access climate change funds forgreen growth, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le QuocDoanh said at conference in Hanoi on December 1.
In Vietnam, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from rice cultivationare estimated to account for more than half of emissions by agricultureproduction as a whole.
Reducing GHG emissions in agriculture production in general andrice production in particular would be crucial to the nation’s climate changeresponse, Doanh said.
It would also contribute to fulfilling national commitments toreduce GHG emissions, he added.
According to the General Statistics Office, Vietnam grows rice on4.14 million hectares, using up 59.2 percent of agriculture production land forannual crops.
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, in2014, rice cultivation generated 44.6 million tonnes of CO2 emissions or 50.5 percentof the agriculture production in total. Total GHG emissions that year reached225.6 million tonnes.
The deputy minister said that private firms were still notparticularly interested in low carbon rice projects because of common risksinvolved in agricultural investments as well as a lack of supporting policies.
The rice industry reform plan approved by the agriculture ministrylast year promotes public-private-partnership in agriculture projects, but manylocalities have failed to raise funds for their own part while calling on theprivate sector to invest, Doanh said.
Tran Xuan Dinh, deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development’s Cultivation Department, said that in rice production,greenhouse gas was mostly generated and emitted when the rice fields werecovered by water.
Underground chemical reactions in processing nutrients, the photosynthesisof rice, anaerobic micro-organisms’ activities produced greenhouse gases likedinitrogen monxide N2O or Methane NH4, he said.
In Mekong Delta provinces, farmers have been applying themid-season drainage method to reduce GHG emissions and save water.
Mid-season drainage involves the removal ofsurface flood water from the rice crop for about seven days towards the end oftilling. The duration of the dry period must be long enough for rice plant toexperience visible moisture stress.
According to climatetechwiki.org,mid-season drainage aerates the soil, interfering with anaerobic conditions andthereby interrupting CH4 production.
Mid-season drainage of a rice crop involveswithholding flood irrigation water for a period until the rice shows symptomsof stress. It involves ridge and furrow cultivation technology, where somemoisture still exists in the soil even after the toe furrow is drained.
It is essential to check when the crop has usedmost of the available water. The degree of soil cracking will depend on thesoil type and on the spatial distribution of the rice cultivars.
The cumulative evapo-transpiration of the cropvaries from 77-100mm during the time water is removed, depending on crop vigourand soil types. The field is then re-flooded as quickly as possible. It isnecessary to cover the soil surface with water so that the plants startrecovery. Water depth then can be gradually increased to that required forprotection of the developing plant canopy from damaging high temperaturesduring anthesis.
Mid-season drainage reduces methane emissionsfrom paddy fields.
Tran Van The, deputy head of the Institute for AgricultureEnvironment, said this method is feasible and can deliver great benefits.
In Mekong Delta provinces, if the right scheme is followed,farmers can save half the water used in a rice season. More sparse sowing helpsrice have better photosynthesis, fewer diseases, and therefore, require lessfertliser.
Mid-season drainage could help save one third of product costscompared with conventional rice production while productivity was the same orhigher, The said.
“Farming techniques and drainage systems are key to the success ofthe mid-season drainage method,” he said, calling on the Government and investorsto prepare a proper infrastructure for drainage works.
Other experts at the conference agreed that the Government andprivate investors should pay more attention to integrating low carbon farminginto the development of agriculture infrastructure.-VNA
VNA
