WB pledges support for Vietnam’s low-carbon rice farming project

The first pilot project to grow rice on 50ha in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho has proved effective as it helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 2 - 6 tonnes per ha and significantly improve farmers’ livelihood. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development is considering replicating the model to other localities in Vietnam.

Li Gou, a Senior Agriculture Economist in the South Asia Region of the World Bank, highly appreciated the encouraging results from the pilot project, and said the World Bank is coordinating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to provide financial and technical resources for Vietnam’s one million ha project.

According to Li, the project to be undertaken in 12 Mekong Delta localities will meet three objectives, including raising farmers’ income; enhancing the competitiveness of the value chain of Vietnam’s rice industry; and solving climate change challenges in Vietnam and the world.

In addition to the US$350 million loans, Li said the World Bank will also mobilize US$40 million in carbon credits to support farmers engaging in the 1 million hectare project.

To get US$40 million through carbon credit sales, Li added that the pilot project would have to demonstrate the implementation of emissions reduction commitments.

Currently, the World Bank is working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam and the International Rice Research Institute to develop Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) emission reduction measurement methods and tools to collect data.