How Vietnamese farmers can take part in the fight against climate change

Most people think fighting climate change is the responsibility of large enterprises and industries: individuals – especially poor farmers - can do little to participate in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

On the other hand, few know that worldwide, agriculture contributes significantly to GHG emissions: about 18%, mostly from nitrous oxide emissions from fertilized soils and untreated fresh manure. And in Vietnam, nearly 80% of households are still linked to agricultural production. Moreover, the current population growth and the rapid rate of urbanization increase scarcity of agricultural land and result in even more intensive agricultural practices.

Among popular but environmentally unsustainable practices are the burning of agricultural waste, the over usage of chemical fertilisers, the discharge of untreated animal waste and the usage of fossil fuel for cooking.

However, in Thanh Hoa, one of Vietnam’s poorest provinces, farmers are embracing new practices that will significantly reduce their carbon footprint (i.e. the amount of greenhouse gas they produce). Moreover, they do it with enthusiasm as this new technology brings them many benefits.

From manure to bio-fuel, from waste to bio-fertiliser

Bio-digester systems, which convert animal and human waste into biogas and digested slurry are not new. But it took a local Vietnamese NGO - the Center for Rural Communities Research & Development (CCRD) to come up with a simplified design specifically tailored to the context of Vietnamese farming households.

First, the latrine and pigsty are connected to an underground sealed tank where waste is digested by bacteria. The results are a clean and odourless bio-fuel that is used for cooking and slurry that can be used for the second phase of the process. All available agricultural leftover material (mostly rice husk and stalks) is then composted with the slurry and a locally-produced enzymatic accelerant to become top quality bio-fertiliser.

This kind of solution is not all about saving the planet. To make it work, farmers must draw immediate benefits from the adoption of these systems.
One of these benefits is free clean bio-fuel for cooking. This saves women and children precious time gathering wood and reduces the cost of buying coal. As an added bonus the kitchen area is free of smoke and noxious fumes.

In addition, reducing the use of chemical fertilisers brings a significant financial benefit, and bio-fertilisers actually improve the soil conditions allowing more consistent yields over the years. Finally, the time spent cleaning the pigsty is reduced and animals can thrive in a cleaner environment.
Of course, such biogas technology has evident advantages in terms of mitigation of climate change.  Each bio-digester system will produce 2,500 m3/day of bio-fuel thus saving 4,500 tons/year of wood fuel (and reducing CO2 emissions by 5,670 tons). In addition, each household can produce 5 tons of bio-fertilizer per year.

What makes the CCRD model different is its innovation on various levels: the model, the marketing approach and the added benefits.

The model first, has specific advantages: most other family-scale models of bio-digestion require high construction quality made even more complicated by the fact that the tank has a spherical dome. The model developed by CCRD is based on a standard rectangular tank, which all masons in Vietnam know how to build. Because of its flat top, the pigsty and latrine can be installed directly on top. An innovative but simple design eliminates the formation of scum and the yearly cleaning process.
The success of CCRD’s initiative also relies on the originality of its approach. Vietnamese farmers are savvy entrepreneurs. They want (don’t we all) to improve their living conditions and escape poverty. Why would their dream include a system that is being promoted as a charity item for “the poorest of the poor” or as a tool to “save the environment”? Better to emulate other farmers who have made it successfully.

This is why the Vietnamese NGO has chosen a market-oriented approach, positioning its product as an advantageous cost-benefit improvement for farming households. It’s worth the investment and pays for itself in just a few years. Direct subsidies are replaced by an “early bird promotion” for the first clients. Furthermore, teams of technicians are trained to become self-sustaining service providers. It’s an off-farm job creation initiative at the lowest possible level: just what Vietnam needs in order to keep some of its workforce in rural areas. Finally, the profitability of the system is greatly enhanced by its added benefits: the output (the digested slurry) can be used to produce tons of bio-fertiliser.

In Vietnam, the farmers of Thanh Hoa are doing their part in the fight against climate change. This is one of the many existing initiatives which, if scaled up and spread successfully, can contribute in a significant way in fighting climate change, while alleviating poverty.

Mr Pham Van Thanh

CCRD Director