Under the headline "In Southeast Asia, Vietnam commits to pursuing an ecological agricultural transformation," the Le Monde correspondent in Vietnam noted that with its circular economy policies, reforestation, and reduction of monoculture, the mountainous region of Son La has become one of the pilot provinces for the National Action Plan launched in 2023 to transform the food system.

Ms. Hoang Thi Thoan (center), from Nam village (Son La, Vietnam), received training in silage making. Photo: lemonde.fr

According to Le Monde, innovations in the circular economy, such as the "feed, silage, and compost" cycle, are being implemented through the Ecological Agricultural Transformation and Safe Food System (Asset) program, in which Cirad ensures scientific coordination with approximately 15 Vietnamese (research centers and government agencies) and international partners. Launched in 2020 over five years, Asset is also being implemented in Laos and Cambodia. Funding is provided by the French Development Agency and the European Union.

About 30 villagers in Nam village have voluntarily participated in transforming their farming and livestock practices through a circular economy. Pascal Lienhard, one of Cirad's agricultural engineers working in Vietnam and in charge of the program, explained that the goal is both to reinvest in livestock farming, which had been neglected due to monoculture, and to demonstrate how a circular economy helps farmers increase their income. Six other villagers learned how to improve biodiversity and the health of crops and soil in their coffee plantations through agroforestry – a method that encourages forest restoration. Nam village, with about one hundred wooden houses nestled in a lush green valley, has begun adopting eco-agriculture. This approach aims to harmonize agricultural development with the requirements of sustainability and environmental protection.

This transition faces enormous challenges: economic pressures, labor shortages, and climate change have pushed farmers into a cycle of intensive crop cultivation. In Nam village, steep hillsides are covered with coffee bushes bearing ripe red berries ready for harvest. The villagers depend on coffee, a crop that provides them with 70% of their income.

Do Trong Hieu, an agricultural engineer at the Northern Mountainous Region Institute of Forestry and Agriculture (Nomafsi), one of Asset's partners, explains: "In principle, you should plant about 3,000 trees per hectare. Here, the density reaches 5,000, even 7,000 trees, so it's very dense. On slopes like these, erosion sometimes washes everything away. And farmers use a lot of fertilizer, which flows directly into the water sources." The increase in extreme weather events also leads to more frosts, which can destroy plantations: every 3 to 5 years, instead of every 10 years as before.

Within the framework of Asset, Nomafsi created a practice area on a hillside in the village where farmers come to learn about agroforestry. The researcher continued: "We planted rows of fodder grasses, legumes, and various other plants to show that it's possible to retain soil and coffee plants grow better with shade. Shade also reduces the risk of frost." Agricultural engineers also taught farmers how to graft new, more resistant arabica varieties (a popular coffee variety in Son La) onto older plants. This method is faster than replanting from scratch.

Son La province, with 80% of its population engaged in agriculture, changed its farming model between 2015 and 2020 by reducing the proportion of monoculture crops, such as corn for animal feed, from 169,000 hectares to 70,000 hectares, in favor of fruit trees, increasing the area from 29,000 to 84,000 hectares. Corn degrades the land and is more expensive than imported genetically modified corn.

Ms. Cam Thi Phong, Deputy Director of the Son La Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, stated that the current goal is to focus on quality. The province was the first to establish a working group on ecological agriculture. Producers are encouraged to diversify fruit varieties and improve quality by adopting better practices – for example, obtaining larger fruits with less chemical fertilizer. The second orientation is to encourage traceability. According to Ms. Cam Thi Phong, countries importing Vietnamese fruit are increasingly demanding stricter data requirements.

Therefore, Asset's partners were mobilized to launch a "territorial branding" initiative, which aims to enhance the value of Moc Chau district. Estelle Bienabe, an economist at Cirad and advisor on this initiative, emphasized: "The idea is to reconnect consumers with producers by helping them understand what an ecological agricultural area is like and developing short supply chains through agricultural tourism."

The first workshop on November 8th in Moc Chau allowed for the sharing of existing experiences: discovering the perfect tea plantations for Instagram photos (a white piano among the tea bushes, a model windmill, and giant hearts made of flowers). And more in-depth proposals: an "agricultural village," an ethnic community with traditional agriculture in a remote area, introduced to tourists by a non-governmental organization. The researcher suggested that these currently isolated initiatives need to be directed and the "Moc Chau" brand promoted throughout Vietnam and potentially internationally.

Source: vov.vn