Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) willimprove the productivity and quality of agriculture, increase farmers’ incomesand reduce their vulnerability to adverse climatic phenomena, according toexperts.

CSA is defined as agricultural practices that sustainably increase productivityand system resilience while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Agricultural Environmental Institute under the Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development (MARD) forecast that climate change will reduce the yield ofrice by 0.41 and 0.72 tonnes per hectare by 2030 and 2050, respectively. Otherscrops like maize will decrease by 0.44 and 0.78 tonnes per hectare by 2030 and2050, respectively.

Agricultural production is affecting the climate and environment. Thirty-nine percentof all greenhouse gas emissions in Vietnam are caused by agriculture.

As Vietnam is one of the most vulnerable nations to climate change, CSA hasbeen applied in a number of localities with a view to deal with the problem,ensuring national food security, green growth and sustainable agriculture.

In addition to promulgating policies, Vietnam has also joined the GlobalAlliance on Climate Change Smart Agriculture, promoting research, technology andpolicy approach to agriculture adapting to climate change, practices andsharing experiences on CSA. That will contribute to successful implementationof the scheme on greenhouse emission reduction by 2020 and the restructuringagriculture and rural development scheme.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung emphasised the need to adopt moderntechnology at a meeting to review 5 years of agricultural restructuring in lateNovember.

“Vietnam’s agricultural sector is facing many opportunities for developmentbecause the country has signed free trade agreements with other countries.Therefore, it is necessary to build a smart, modern Vietnamese agriculturesector to improve competitiveness, adapting to climate change, increasing addedvalue and improving the lives of farmers,” he said.

According to MARD, research and development activities relating to CSA havebeen implemented in recent years with the participation of various governmentagencies, international and local organisations as well as the private sectorin Vietnam. Some of these are the testing and development of CSA models,scaling of CSA technologies and practices and publication of books on CSA.

These activities have promoted CSA as a feasible and comprehensive approach toensure agricultural productivity, adapt to climate change and achievemitigation targets.

Quang Tri province is a typical example.

Ha Sy Dong, Vice Chairman of the Quang Tri provincial People’s Committee, told VietNam News that the adoption of CSA has proven effective for farmers as it helpedincrease productivity by 1.2-1.5 times compared with traditional methods.

A number of measures have been carried out by local authorities over the pasttwo years.

Accordingly, Quang Tri offered many incentives to encourage companies to investin agriculture, research and selection of new varieties which are suitable tolocal soil and climate as sell as restoring strains with high economicefficiency.

Farmers who joined CSA production models would receive technical training andcapital support to purchase varieties, micro-organisms and water savingequipment.

Results from the summer-autumn crop of 2018 showed that advanced technologyapplication combining proper use of fertilisers could yield higherproductivity, reduce the need for pesticides and improve farmer households’income 30 percent compared to normal cultivation, he said.

The initial success of new agricultural models has contributed to raisingpeople’s awareness about environmental protection and minimising the impact ofclimate change in production activities.

Le Thi That, a farmer from Trieu Phong district’s Trieu Dong commune, said themodel has enabled local residents to cultivate drought resilient rice strainsin fields that frequently lack water and decrease water consumption throughwater efficient techniques.

Dong said that Quang Tri province now has nearly 1,000 ha of land using the CMSmodel, 860 ha of which is for rice cultivation. It plans to expand the scale to3,500 ha, with rice accounting for 3,000ha in the coming years.

“With the success of organic and high-tech agriculture models, it is expectedthat more and more people will engage in the occupation and get rich on theirown land,” he said.-VNS/VNA