In Can Tho City this morning, the Netherlands Development Organization SNV convened the Summer-Autumn Crop Award Ceremony 2024, acknowledging the contributions of businesses that have successfully established linkages with smallholder rice farmers, thereby achieving dual objectives of enhanced economic profitability and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions.
These are the enterprises participating in the project ‘Transforming the rice value chain to respond to climate change and sustainable development in the Mekong Delta region from 2023 – 2027’.
The project is funded by the Australian Embassy in Vietnam, the Netherlands Development Organization SNV in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and the Department of Agriculture and Environment of An Giang, Dong Thap and Kien Giang provinces.
The independent inspection unit's assessment highlights the positive economic, social, and environmental impacts achieved through the collaboration between enterprises and farmers. By implementing sustainable rice production practices, households linked to competitive enterprises have successfully reduced emissions compared to conventional methods.
Nearly 2,000 households, cooperatives, cooperative groups, and enterprises participating in the project cultivate approximately 6,200 hectares of rice. Economically, the average profit margins for households reached 64 percent in Dong Thap, 56 percent in An Giang and 54 percent in Kien Giang. Environmentally, the initiative has led to a total reduction of over 27,000 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions.
At the ceremony, 8 enterprises in the rice industry were awarded prizes worth nearly VND3.2 billion (US$125,098).
This project sets a target of achieving a minimum profit margin of 30 percent for small-scale farmers. However, empirical data indicate that actual profits have significantly surpassed these expectations.
During the Summer-Autumn crop of 2024, the average profit attained by farmers reached 59.04 percent, nearly doubling the initial benchmark. Furthermore, farmers involved in the project benefit from profit-sharing incentives provided by enterprises. Notably, Angimex-Kitoku has distributed 95 percent of the allocated bonus among all farmers participating in its supply chain.
Country Director of SNV Christie Getman stated that as an international development organization, SNV is dedicated to supporting the Government of Vietnam’s priorities on climate sustainability, particularly within the rice sector. Through this initiative, SNV seeks to advance the objective of developing one million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice monoculture aligned with green growth in the Mekong Delta by 2030. This effort aims to facilitate the adoption of production practices that minimize carbon emissions while enhancing farmers' resilience to climate change.
She further emphasized that with the close coordination and support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, along with relevant authorities, provincial project management boards, and various departments and sectors in Dong Thap, An Giang, and Kien Giang, the 2024-2025 Winter-Spring crop has seen a significant expansion.
Notably, due to the active participation of businesses and farmers, the registered cultivation area in these three provinces has increased fivefold compared to the initial crop, reaching approximately 33,576 hectares as of mid-March 2025. This development serves as a positive indicator of the project’s effectiveness and its potential for broader implementation.
