Christie Getman, SNV Country Director, hands over the reward to a company. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Eight enterprises have received a total of more than VNĐ3.18 billion (nearly US$124,600 USD) as rewards for their achievements in the “Transforming the rice value chain for climate resilient and sustainable development in the Mekong Delta” (TRVC) project.

The rewards were presented at a ceremony held in Cần Thơ City on March 18 by the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV), the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE) and related agencies.

Chơn Chính Import Export Co Ltd from Đồng Tháp Province won the biggest sum, over VNĐ1.16 billion.

In the first crop of the TRVC project (the 2024 summer - autumn crop), the company registered over 1,514ha for the project and achieved an average greenhouse gas emission reduction of 6.57 tonnes of CO2 per hectare, while participating farming households saw an average profit of 68.41 per cent.

Funded by the Australian Embassy in Việt Nam, the TRVC project is being carried out by the SNV in collaboration with the MAE and the departments of agriculture and environment of An Giang, Đồng Tháp and Kiên Giang provinces from 2023 to 2027.

Using a results-based reward mechanism, it encourages enterprises in the rice value chain to participate to promote the large-scale adoption of advanced rice production technologies to bring higher economic value for smallholders and all stakeholders in the chain.

It also seeks to improve rice quality while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting the environment at the same time.

Christie Getman, SNV Country Director, highlighted that the project aims for a minimum profit of 30 per cent for smallholders. However, in the first crop, farmers recorded very high profit, over 59 per cent in average. Additionally, enterprises also shared part of their rewards with farmers.

From an environmental perspective, the project successfully reduced 27,161.98 tonnes of CO2 emissions across 6,165.51ha of farmland. On the social front, all participating enterprises have integrated policies and implemented measures to ensure social equity within the enterprises themselves and across the value chains in the three targeted provinces.

For the second crop (the 2024-2025 winter - spring crop), the registered farming area has increased fivefold compared to the first, exceeding 33,320ha.

With its positive results, the TRVC project is making significant progress toward developing a sustainable and climate-resilient rice value chain.

It also aligns with Việt Nam’s plan to develop one million ha of high-quality and low-emission rice cultivation connected with green growth in the Mekong Delta by 2030. — VNS