600 million USD from investment funds allocated to natural agriculture

Mobilizing support for six resources

The national conference on mobilizing resources to implement natural agriculture solutions in the Mekong Delta region has demonstrated Vietnam's responsibility and its agricultural sector's commitment to addressing climate change and nature restoration. Accordingly, these missions were given the highest level of priority across all development policies.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan, emphasized the importance of natural solutions in improving farmers' livelihoods and the agriculture sector's resilience. This includes minimizing and adapting to climate change through carbon sequestration in soil, flooded land, and forests, in addition to preserving nature and biodiversity.

During the conference, Minister Le Minh Hoan issued a call for international partners to support the Vietnamese government with six resources.

The first resource involves providing information, knowledge, experience, and assessment tools for the transition to natural agriculture.

Secondly, international partners are requested to cooperate with the Vietnamese government in reviewing 'no-regret' priority investment categories through projects in the Mekong Delta region; supporting the collection, assessment, selection, and implementation of pilot models or natural solutions, with a focus on integrating infrastructure and non-infrastructure elements, and preserving biodiversity.

Thirdly, there is a need for resource support to implement sustainable and climate resilient agriculture development programs and initiatives, thereby transforming the Mekong Delta into a dynamic economic center.

Fourthly, flexible and accessible financial or green financing solutions, tailored to the unique characteristics of the Mekong Delta region, will be valuable resources to help the region achieve multiple objectives.

Fifthly, establishing a strong connectiong between local governments and domestic businesses, conducting research, and proposing solutions for the development of natural agriculture are crucial. Furthermore, the aforementioned stakeholders should establish a connection with farmer groups to enhance production and trading activities through flexible financial resources.

Lastly, Vietnam requires resources to strengthen technical support, and enhance the capacity of its officials, businesses, and farmer groups. Consequently, these parties will implement innovative pilot models, thereby encouraging further replication across different provinces and regions of the Mekong Delta.

Minister Le Minh Hoan pledged to maximizing the effectiveness of international partner support resources. He also proposed several measures to enhance policies on attracting official development assistance (ODA), foreign investment, and regulations on receiving and utilizing non-refundable aid to streamline the procedures between recipients and donors.

Following the conference, multiple international partners including the EU, the US, Australia, FAO, UNDP, WWF, SNV, international financial institutions, domestic and international businesses, have pledged to provide Vietnam with resources to implement natural agriculture solutions.

On the other hand, proposals for economic, technical, financial, institutional, and policy solutions are suggested to replicate natural agriculture models and solutions in other regions of Vietnam.

As a notable outcome of this conference, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has mobilized significant and invaluable resources to assist the Mekong Delta region in implementing natural agriculture solutions.

Minister Le Minh Hoan affirmed that the conference has inspired all facets of society, with the primary beneficiaries being the local residents of the Mekong Delta region, who are in need natural agriculture development solutions. This conference also enhances the image of the Mekong Delta region in global connections. Despite initial challenges, a new momentum for the development of natural agriculture can be created with the support of development partners and the local governments of the Mekong Delta region.

According to the International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, there are approximately 600 million USD derived from investment funds to support the promotion of natural agriculture in the Mekong Delta region. Additionally, there are infrastructure support sources from various partners. Namely, the Mekong Delta Climate Resilience and Integrated Transformation Project (MERIT) has an infrastructure investment component of approximately 200 million USD; the World Bank plans to provide the project for one million hectare of high-quality rice in the Mekong Delta region with funding ranging from 400 to 500 million USD. Furthermore, the Asian Development Bank is providing 16 million USD and a loan to restore mangrove forests in the Mekong Delta.

Mr. Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, General Director of the International Cooperation Department, stated that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development aims to provide visions and principles for supporting investments in natural agriculture when negotiating with international organizations.

Consequently, a common playground will be established for all development partners and international organizations operating in the Mekong Delta region and Vietnam as a whole. This effort will promote the most effective implementation of natural agriculture projects.

Each project will have its own independent operating mechanism, with the common goal of sharing results with other projects and regions, businesses. The International Cooperation Department will coordinate with relevant ministries to assist partners in project preparation and implementation promptly and efficiently.

Investment in transportation infrastructure

According to Mr. Le Van Su, Vice Chairman of the Ca Mau Provincial People's Committee, the province has benefited from multiple successful agricultural livelihood development programs, with support from international organizations.

Some notable models include the economy development under the forest canopy, shrimp-rice farming, forest shrimp farming in combination with blood cockles, and super-intensive shrimp farming with closed-loop plastic lining.

Mr. Su expressed his wish to receive further support and investment in irrigation and transportation infrastructure from international organizations to create coherence in the near future.

The total central budget investment in agriculture in the Mekong Delta region reached approximately 100 trillion Vietnamese dong in 2023. Accordingly, over 10 trillion Vietnamese dong was allocated to address erosion along 120 kilometers of river and coastal banks, as well as to renovate the water resources infrastructure for local rice and shrimp farming.

Mr. Su also proposed a set of non-infrastructure natural agriculture measures, primarily funded by non-refundable sources for technical support groups. Additionally, he suggested sponsorship from investment funds and businesses to support production and trading activities in a natural agriculture direction.

Mr. Le Van Quang, CEO of Minh Phu Seafood Corporation, regarded the shrimp-rice farming model as a unique production method suitable for the traits of the Mekong Delta region. In exchange for a small amount of investment, farmers can generate significant revenues ranging from 250 to 500 million Vietnamese dong per hectare per year.

A large-scale consolidation of agricultural land can enable farmers to achieve an income level of at least 1 to 2.5 billion Vietnamese dong per hectare per year. Investment in infrastructure such as irrigation channels, drainage systems, and internal roads is essential. Mechanization in the seeding and harvesting stages should also be utilized to reduce costs, increase productivity, and increase yields by two to ten times.

Over the last few years, WWF and its partners have been implementing and testing several natural agriculture solutions in the Mekong Delta region, such as rice-fish, rice-shrimp, rice-lotus, shrimp-mangrove forest, and shrimp-rice intercropping models. These initiatives have shown promising economic results in addition to conserving biodiversity and the ecological environment.

Motivated by these initial achievements, Ms. Loren Mayor, CEO of WWF US, pledged that WWF is ready to share this model with partners to expand its scale, thereby protecting the environment, preserving biodiversity, and safeguarding forest ecosystems. This effort will contribute to the development of sustainable agriculture, thereby ensuring the health of both humans and nature.

Promoting natural agriculture solutions in production

Vietnam Agriculture Newspaper, the International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF Vietnam), jointly organized a press conference following the event to disseminate the results of the national conference on mobilizing resources to implement natural agriculture solutions in the Mekong Delta region.

The press conference saw the participation of nearly 60 journalists and reporters from over 50 central and local press agencies.

Reporters and journalists raised questions regarding the strategies and plans of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development following the conference to develop natural agriculture in the Mekong Delta region. They also inquired about the solutions, roadmap, and commitments of the government and international organizations in supporting agriculture, farmers, and rural areas in the Mekong Delta.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thach, Editor-in-Chief of Vietnam Agriculture Newspaper, stated that natural and climate resilient agriculture, and nature restoration were given the highest level of priority across all development policies, sectors, businesses, and among the community.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development expects that the conference will encourage media agencies to join hands in promoting natural agriculture solutions and reducing emissions in agriculture. This effort will contribute to accomplishing the roadmap and commitments established by both the Vietnamese government and international organizations.