Vietnam: Mechanisms needed for the rice industry to go circular

Special mechanisms and policies must be put in place to encourage investments in the processing of rice by-products, a bold step that helps deliver significant benefits to farmers while contributing to carbon footprint reduction, according to insiders. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)’s Department of Crop Production said Vietnam produces some 44-45 million tonnes of rice every year, with around 45 million tonnes of straw, 8-9 million tonnes of husk and 4-4.5 million tonnes of bran. However, most of the by-products have not been fully tapped, causing wastefulness, and making it hard for the rice industry to concretise its circular economic development target. Deputy Director of the Department Le Thanh Tung said as Vietnam is focusing on implementing a project to develop one million hectare of high-quality rice aimed for low emissions and green growth in the Mekong Delta region by 2030, the settlement of rice by-products is important to improve income for ...