Hanoi (VNA) – Promoting green production is notonly an important factor to ensure the sustainable development of the agriculturesector but also a requirement from the market, according to experts.

At a rice processing factory of Vinh Binh Food OneMember Company Limited in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang, about 50% ofthe total 16,000 tonnes of rice husk produced each year from the processing of80,000 tonnes of rice have been used as fuel for rice drying. The remainder arepressed into husk firewood for sale.

By taking advantage of available rice husk, the factory hassaved 30% of energy consumption for the rice drying process, while earning 3.2billion VND (130,266 USD) from selling husk firewood each year.

Furthermore, ash from burned husk for rice drying can beused to fertilise fields and improve soil quality, reducing environmental pollution.

In fact, circular agriculture has been practiced byVietnamese farmers for long, but with a small scale. However, as Vietnam hasbecome one of the leading exporters of agro-forestry-aquatic products, therequirement of reusing agricultural waste and by-products has also increased.

Le Duc Thinh, Director of the Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development (MARD)’s Department of Cooperatives and Rural Development, said that circular agriculture is a closed production cycle, where waste is reusedas raw materials for production, thereby reducing negative impacts on theenvironment and protecting the ecosystem and people’s health.

Dr. Tran Cong Thang, Director of the Institute of Policy andStrategy for Agriculture and Rural Development, said that in order to developcircular economy in agriculture, it is crucial to promote science-technologyresearch and application.

Currently, the country’s annual agricultural by-productamount is about 156.8 million tonnes, mostly from cultivation and breedingactivities.

Tong Xuan Chinh, Vice Director of the MARD’s Department ofLivestock Production, said that in order to sustainably, diversely andeffectively use the huge agro-forestry-aquatic by-product resources, theState should provide comprehensive policies to provide optimal conditions for organicfertiliser production, while completing the legal conditions for organic andcircular agricultural development, and supporting businesses and cooperatives,especially small and medium-sized enterprises. Greater investment in technologyfor organic fertilisers is also needed, he said.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said that as the rate oftreated agricultural waste and by-products has been modest, in the coming time,Vietnam should work harder to promote circular economy in agriculture to betterprotect the environment and increase the added values of agricultural products,thus developing an agricultural sector towards green, modern and sustainabledirection./.