New water- and cost-efficient farming techniques will allow Vietnam toreduce greenhouse gas emissions in wet rice production by 15 to 20percent by 2020, said Mai Van Trinh, Director of the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development's Institute for AgriculturalEnvironment.
Trinh was speaking at a recent conference on thefirst phase of the Project on Reduced CH4 Emissions in Wet RiceCultivation in Vietnam , jointly held by his institute and theManila-based International Rice Research Institute in Hanoi .
Toachieve the target, the ministry will use the System of RiceIntensification (SRI), a plan in which farmers will increaseproductivity, quality and economic effectiveness, while reducingpesticides and nitrogenous fertilisers, he said.
In addition tothese measures, the ministry will also encourage farmers to use greenproduction methods. The sector will also apply Good AgriculturalPractices (GAP) in cultivation, which means using techniques thatconsume less fertilisers and water, employing better land preparationtechniques and reducing methane emissions.
Another technology mentioned at the conference was Alternative Wetting Drying (AWD).
"Actually, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in rice growing, theinstitute has tried AWD while implementing a project on reducing CH4emissions in wet rice cultivation," Trinh said, adding that AWD is nolonger strange to rice growers in Vietnam, as it has already beenincorporated in several other programmes, including SRI.
Vu DuongQuynh, the project coordinator, said a major challenge with SRI iswater management. Most problems are caused by the unfavourable terrainin many areas, fragmented rice fields and a lack of cooperation betweenirrigation staff and farmers. This is especially troublesome consideringthe fact that efficient irrigation is the best way to reduce greenhousegas emissions.
To overcome these difficulties, Quynh said thatin its first phase, from October 2014 to June 2016, the project intendsto collect lessons learnt from efficient irrigation models and to gatherdata on land and infrastructure in each province, to make awater-efficient irrigation map.
"When looking at this map, onecan read out which province can apply AWD, as not all types of land aresuitable for this technology," Quynh said. In the second phase, theproject will incorporate other technologies.-VNA
Trinh was speaking at a recent conference on thefirst phase of the Project on Reduced CH4 Emissions in Wet RiceCultivation in Vietnam , jointly held by his institute and theManila-based International Rice Research Institute in Hanoi .
Toachieve the target, the ministry will use the System of RiceIntensification (SRI), a plan in which farmers will increaseproductivity, quality and economic effectiveness, while reducingpesticides and nitrogenous fertilisers, he said.
In addition tothese measures, the ministry will also encourage farmers to use greenproduction methods. The sector will also apply Good AgriculturalPractices (GAP) in cultivation, which means using techniques thatconsume less fertilisers and water, employing better land preparationtechniques and reducing methane emissions.
Another technology mentioned at the conference was Alternative Wetting Drying (AWD).
"Actually, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in rice growing, theinstitute has tried AWD while implementing a project on reducing CH4emissions in wet rice cultivation," Trinh said, adding that AWD is nolonger strange to rice growers in Vietnam, as it has already beenincorporated in several other programmes, including SRI.
Vu DuongQuynh, the project coordinator, said a major challenge with SRI iswater management. Most problems are caused by the unfavourable terrainin many areas, fragmented rice fields and a lack of cooperation betweenirrigation staff and farmers. This is especially troublesome consideringthe fact that efficient irrigation is the best way to reduce greenhousegas emissions.
To overcome these difficulties, Quynh said thatin its first phase, from October 2014 to June 2016, the project intendsto collect lessons learnt from efficient irrigation models and to gatherdata on land and infrastructure in each province, to make awater-efficient irrigation map.
"When looking at this map, onecan read out which province can apply AWD, as not all types of land aresuitable for this technology," Quynh said. In the second phase, theproject will incorporate other technologies.-VNA
