Thai Binh to become first locality to start AgResults project

The scheme, part of the AgResults project, aims to develop, test and spread the adoption of technological advances, tools and solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emission in rice cultivation, contributing to improving local livelihoods and protecting the environment. 

At a recent conference on the project, deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Cultivation Department Tran Xuan Dinh spoke highly of the project, especially amid Vietnam’s agricultural restructuring. 

The agricultural sector is aiming to reduce its greenhouse gas emission by 10 percent by 2020 and 30 percent by 2030. 

Tran Thu Ha, head of the AgResults Vietnam project, said the project’s first stage will last 1.5 years with two experimental crops from 2017 to the spring crop of 2018 while the second stage will last the next 2.5 years with four experimental crops. 

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Hoang Giang said Thai Binh boasts nearly 80,000ha of rice cultivation with average annual output of 13,100kg per ha. 

The move is expected to improve the livelihoods of about 75,000 households, cut 375,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and about 15 percent of production costs. 

The AgResults project was initiated in June 2010 to facilitate and award agriculture initiatives that leave sustainable impacts, promote food security, health and nutrition. 

Its total funding worth 122 million USD was sourced from the governments of Australia, Canada, the UK, the US and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 

The project is being implemented in Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Nigeria and Vietnam, along with a global-scale scheme. 

The AgResults Vietnam is managed by the Netherlands Development Organisation.