Circular agriculture – The inevitable direction

18/09/2022 HCMC foodex

(HNMO) – Circular agriculture is both a mandatory requirement and a driving force towards green, low-cost agriculture, increasing the value chain, contributing to raising awareness and changing peanut farming habits. climate change, limiting the use of resources, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing environmental pollution… This is the inevitable direction of sustainable agriculture.

 

 

The inevitable trend

Meeting Mrs. Pham Thi Mo in Hop Tien commune (My Duc district, Hanoi) in the field of Thuong Quat village while she was harvesting crabs and scads in the spring rice field, she shared that thanks to cyclic production, several years have passed. Nowadays, income from agriculture has increased significantly.

“During the production process, my family applied an improved method of transplanting, planting sparsely with high-quality rice varieties combined with reasonable water regulation. After harvesting rice with a combine harvester, all straw and stubble are harvested. are left in the field as fertilizer for the next crop, thereby reducing the amount of chemical fertilizers by up to 70%, without having to use pesticides.During more than 10 years of circular farming, my family has created a system. Sustainable ecology: By-products from rice plants become fertilizer for the next crop; shrimp, crabs, grasshoppers, field perch… most of them reproduce naturally in rice fields. nature from rice fields, while contributing to limiting environmental pollution and diseases on crops,” said Ms. Mo.

According to Chairman of the Farmers’ Union of Ung Hoa district (Hanoi) Dang Thi Tuoi, circular agriculture has actually existed for nearly 20 years in the locality with thousands of models from household to farm scale in the system. cultivation: Garden – pond – barn (VAC), intercropping, cropping… In which, waste from livestock is used for cultivation; Crop by-products are used as feed for livestock and aquaculture. In recent years, the farming system of rice – fish, rice – duck… has increasingly developed in a sustainable way. These recirculating farming systems both ensure nutrition and adapt to climate change. In the context of high production costs, from fertilizers to animal feed, the rice-fish-duck multi-crop models are dominating, helping farmers stay in agriculture.

However, in order for the circular agricultural economy to be replicated and actually put into production and social life, there are still many problems that need to be solved in terms of mechanisms, policies, awareness, farming habits, etc. developing circular agriculture associated with product consumption links, meeting the increasing requirements of the market…

The gorverment needs to play a tectonic role

Director of the Hanoi Agricultural Extension Center Vu Thi Huong shared that circular economy is a closed production process through the application of scientific and technical advances, biotechnology, physicochemical technology. Products and waste by-products will be used and recycled as input materials for the production and processing of agricultural, forestry and fishery products, creating safe, high-quality products, reducing waste, and reducing waste. loss, minimizing waste, increasing socio-economic and environmental efficiency. The basic principle of the circular economy is that all waste from the production process must first be considered a resource, as a raw material for the next product production process. Elements in a circular agricultural production system include: Cycle of organic matter, nutrients, water, energy…

Circular economic models help farmers in Ung Hoa district reduce costs, increase income from agriculture…

Returning to the actual production, according to Ms. Pham Thi Mo (farmer in Thuong Quat village, Hop Tien commune, My Duc district, Hanoi), currently, many local households apply the recirculating rice transplanting model. with the exploitation and farming of crabs, grasshoppers, field perch…  get high value, even, harvest from rice is not as high profit as the collection from natural added values. If the household cultivates a few sao of field, a rice crop will yield at least 10-20kg of crabs, 5-10kg of field perch, 10kg of field chameleon with the current “specialty” price (more than 100,000 VND/kg). ) has brought about high economic efficiency and through that, farmers can live well from the field.

However, in order to achieve the desired effect of circular farming, many households and agricultural officials in localities with agricultural land areas (such as Ung Hoa, My Duc…) suggest, first of all, The state needs to play a constructive role, forming specific conditions for people to participate compulsory, because in order to create a clean production environment for shrimp, fish and crabs to grow and develop, it is very necessary to regional tissue.

Mr. Nguyen Ha Tuyen – Director of Hop Tien Agricultural Cooperative (My Duc District, Hanoi) shared that the locality has a large area of ​​agricultural production land with more than 500ha per crop, for circular agriculture to develop. , it is necessary to develop an extensive propaganda strategy on the circular economy model in agriculture (roles, benefits, content, criteria, implementation methods…). On the other hand, it is necessary to diversify forms of propaganda through the mass media, training programs suitable for each audience, location…

According to the proposal of Vice Chairman of Ung Hoa District People’s Committee Ngo Tien Hoang, in order to improve efficiency, production value and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it is imperative to implement a circular economy. However, the development of the circular economy in the current period should be closely associated with the application of scientific and technological advances, modern machinery and equipment. In addition, it is necessary to build production linkage chains, in which, clearly define the roles of each element, towards specialization and systematization. In addition, it is necessary to continue to improve and raise awareness for producers about the circular economy, because having the right awareness can only act correctly.

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