Wrap-up workshop of the project “Dissemination and mobilization of farmers in waste transformation in Vietnam to make contribution to the international efforts on reducing emission”

 Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Mr. Mai Bac My - Member of VNFU Standing Committee, Chief of VNFU office, Director of the Project Management Board emphasized that the Vietnamese Party and State always advocate sustainable economic development together with protecting the ecological environment and climate change adaptation.

    The 13th National Party Congress identified “Proactively adapting to climate change, preventing and mitigating natural disasters and pandemics” as one of the country's development orientations for the 2021-2030 period and one of the 6 key tasks during the 13th National Party Congress term.

    On that basis, the Prime Minister approved the action plan to reduce methane emissions by 2030 in Decision No. 942/QD-TTg dated August 5, 2022. The central and local ministries, departments and branches have also specified and implemented action programs to perfect mechanisms, policies and carry out climate change response activities based on their functions, tasks and management areas.

    As a socio-political organization of the peasantry, Vietnam Farmers' Union (VNFU) plays a significant role as the core center of peasant movements and new rural building, is responsible for disseminating and mobilizing farmer members to promote their role as the subjects in agricultural and rural economic development.

    VNFU has issued many contents, built and concretized programs, clearly demonstrated its role together with the entire political system in order to join, proactively respond and adapt to climate change scenarios.

    Remarkably, the Central Standing Committee of VNFU assigned the former Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Department - presently the VNFU Central Office to implement the project “Dissemination and mobilization of farmers in waste transformation in Vietnam to make contribution to the international efforts on reducing emission”, funded by the EarthCare Foundation to develop an ecological, circular, sustainable agriculture, contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural production and climate change adaptation.

    The project was implemented by VNFU Central Committee from 2021 to 2025 in 15 provinces and cities. After 4 years of implementation, the project has achieved positive results in raising awareness and capacity for millions of officials, farmer members, local authorities and communities on environmentally friendly waste treatment, mobilizing over 60.000 farming households in 135 wards, communes to join the project in 15 provinces and cities in order to switch to environmentally friendly treatment of crop by-products, livestock waste and leftover food.

    In addition to contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the project has been supporting to increasing income for farmers, promoting production towards circular organic agriculture, creating clean, safe products, protecting the health of farmers and the community, regenerating land resources, protecting the environment, gradually developing ecological agriculture, modern countryside and civilized farmers.

    These results were gained thanks to the support, strategic advice and direction from the sponsor, the dedication of experts, the efforts and responsibility of the Project Management Board, the close and proactive coordination of provincial and city FU, and especially the enthusiastic and responsible participation of farmer members in the project area.

    At the workshop, participants studied reports, presentations, joined discussions on the project activities, development of environmentally friendly waste treatment models in particular and green, sustainable agricultural models in general.

    Dr. Chu Van Chuong - former Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam (now known as Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) expressed his joy at the excellent results of the project.

    From the perspective of a manager and advocacy expert, Dr. Chu Van Chuong emphasized that the project aims to concretize the Government's commitments in COP26, especially serving the goal of sustainable agricultural development, focusing on the core subject of farmers - the subject of agriculture and rural areas.

    The project not only brought the impact of changing awareness but also gradually changed the behavior of farmers on treat waste in the long term, moving towards sustainable agricultural production, associated with environmental protection, ensuring standards and quality of Vietnamese agricultural products in the current trend of increasingly deep integration.

    Sharing experiences at the workshop, Mr. Nguyen Van Vuong in Tien Phong commune, Vinh Bao district, Hai Phong city, a ToT lecturer of the project affirmed: “My family regularly raises 1500 – 2000 rabbits. To treat the rabbits' waste, I raised earthworms right under the rabbit cage, then, all the rabbits' feces, urine and leftover food that fall to the bottom are food for the earthworms.

    He has been successful with the model of "raising rabbits above and earthworms below", however, in order to build a circular farm, Mr. Vuong desired to develop numerous models to treat organic waste, therefore, when he participated in the ToT course supported by the project, he was excited to learn about the calcium worm farming technique.

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Vinh An – Vice–Chairwoman of Tuyen Quang provincial FU sharing at the workshop

   Mrs. Nguyen Thi Vinh An – Vice – Chairwoman of Tuyen Quang provincial FU informed that there have been more than 8,000 farming households treating waste in an environmentally friendly manner from initial models in the whole province.

    Besides, the Project Management Board organized 02 training courses for key officials and farmer members participating in the project in localities, 46 training courses for nearly 1190 farmer members, and built more than 1,000 models applying environmentally friendly waste treatment techniques.

    “Thai Binh provincial FU has supported farmer members to successfully build 900 organic waste treatment models applying environmentally friendly waste treatment techniques. In particular, after implementing the project, the burning of straw in the fields in Thai Binh province has significantly reduced. Farmers have learned to compost organic fertilizer from crop by-products in the fields and treat stubble with biological products,” shared Mr. Le Hong Son - Chairman of Thai Binh provincial FU.

    Also at the workshop, the Project Management Board awarded the collectives with outstanding achievements during the project implementing period. It can be affirmed that the impacts of the project have changed the awareness and waste treatment habits of farmer members towards environmentally friendly direction in the project area and have had a widespread impact on even farmer members who are not directly involved in the project. The techniques, approaches, methods of disseminating and mobilizing farmers to apply behavioral science of the project have contributed to supporting farmers easily change their behavior and switch to environmentally friendly waste treatment.