Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam is taking urgentaction to ensure food security against the negative effects of climate change,which has resulted in heat waves,forest fires, floods and sea level rise in recent years.

Sunlight, temperature and rainfall are the maindrivers of crop cultivation, hence, agriculture is directly affected by climatechange. Many of these impacts are already measurable. 

Vietnam is still considered an agricultural country,with approximately 70 percent of the population living in rural areas. The MekongDelta is the largest agricultural production area in Vietnam, contributing 54percent of the country’s rice output, 70 percent of aquatic production and 36.5percent of fruit output. Up to 90 percent of rice exports and 65 percent ofseafood shipments of Vietnam come from the Mekong Delta, according to Dao AnhDung, Vice Chairman of the Can Tho city People’s Committee.

However, the Mekong Delta is among the areas hardest-hit by climate change andsea level rise. Last year, record extreme weather affected 13 provinces in theregion, causing water shortages for millions of people and losses of some 800,000tonnes of rice.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture andRural development (MARD) Le Quoc Doanh, up to 32.2 percent of agriculturalareas will be affected by climate change by the end of the 21st century.

Production of major crops like rice and corn areprojected to reduce dramatically if global average temperature increases by twodegrees Celsius. Climate change has also left far-reaching impacts on livestockproduction and aquaculture.

Stepping up climate-friendlyagricultural production

Agriculture isdirectly affected by climate change. But agriculture also affects the climateas it is responsible for about one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, a majorcause of global warming. About 25 percent of carbon dioxide emissions areproduced by human practices, mainly deforestation and use of fossil fuel-basedfertilisers. Most of the methane in the atmosphere also comes from agriculturalactivities, such as livestock breeding, rice cultivation, and burning of plantmaterials.

To ensure foodsecurity, the agriculture sector has made efforts to minimise risks fromfloods, droughts and rising temperatures, and at the same time, reduced its contributionto climate change, giving an impetus to climate-friendly agriculture.

According to Doanh, Vietnam has focused onapplying scientific and technological advances in agricultural production. Manyclimate-friendly agriculture models have been developed, which reduce the useof fertilisers, chemicals, water and gas emissions by 30 percent whileincreasing rice productivity by 10-20 percent.

To adapt to climate change, the agriculturesector has restructured itself in order to increase farm productivity andquality by using suitable plant, livestock and fish varieties, forming valuechains and drawing investment into the sector while minimising climate changeimpacts by practicing smart cultivation.

Vietnam haslaunched an action plan for climate change adaptation and mitigation in theagriculture and rural development sector for the 2016-2020 period, with avision through 2050. The country has also committed to mobilising allresources to implement the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and theParis Agreement on Climate Change.

Vietnam has alsosought stronger regional cooperation in the work. One of the four prioritiesVietnam proposed for the APEC Vietnam 2017 is to “Enhance food securityand sustainable agriculture in response to climate change.”

Bright prospects for Vietnam’s rice exports

Climate change isthreatening the world’s ability to ensure food security, eradicate poverty andachieve sustainable development. The United Nations has recently projected thatup to a quarter of the global food production could be lost by 2050 due to thecombined impacts of climate change, land degradation and water scarcity. At thesame time, the world’s population is expected to increase to about 9.5 billion.The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said thatan increasing population will drive demand for food up by to 60 percent by 2050,making food security a key issue of the whole world.

According toMARD, there are significant potentials for Vietnam to expand rice exports. The agriculturesector has also taken measures to boost rice exports, including launching astrategy to develop the country’s rice export markets and ensure sustainabledevelopment in the production and export of rice.

One of the strategy’sgoals is to maintain a total rice growing area of about 3.8 million hectares in2020, with total rice output of 41-43 million tonnes. Vietnam’s annual riceexport volume is expected to reach about 4.5-5 million tonnes by 2020, earningan average of about 2.2-2.3 billion USD per year. From 2021 to 2030, the nation’sannual rice export volume is expected to hit about 4 million tonnes, raking in 2.3to 2.5 billion USD per year. It also hopes to increase the value of exportedrice.-VNA