On 23 December 2025, in Dong Thap Province, the Learning Workshop & Prize Awards for the 2024-2025 Winter-Spring Season (Season 2) of the Transforming Rice Value Chain for Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Development in the Mekong Delta (TRVC) Project was convened to assess implementation results, share practical lessons learned, and discuss directions for scaling up in subsequent seasons.
The TRVC Project is funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and implemented by SNV Netherlands Development Organisation in Viet Nam, in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE) and the Departments of Agriculture and Environment (DAE) of An Giang and Dong Thap provinces. After two initial seasons, the project continues to demonstrate tangible economic, environmental, and social impacts across the rice value chain in the Mekong Delta.
Expansion of low-emission rice production in Dong Thap
During the 2024-2025 Winter-Spring Season (Season 2), six companies participating in the TRVC Project in Dong Thap registered a total of 14,699.27 hectares of low-emission rice cultivation, representing a 27-fold increase compared to the 2024 Summer-Autumn Crop (Season 1). This rapid scale-up reflects the proactive engagement of enterprises and farming households in mobilising resources, applying technical protocols, and strengthening monitoring and management systems over significantly larger production areas.Integrated economic, environmental, and social outcomes
Key results achieved during Season 2 in Dong Thap highlight the comprehensive impact of the TRVC model:- Economic outcome: Average profit margins for participating smallholder farming households reached 60.1%.
- Environmental outcome: Total greenhouse gas emission reductions amounted to 57,327.89 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent.
- Social outcome: 100% of participating companies integrated and implemented Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) policies within their internal operations and local production linkage chains
These outcomes underscore the leadership role of companies in organising inclusive production linkages with farming households, under the close coordination of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, provincial authorities, sectoral departments, and the Provincial TRVC Project Management Units in An Giang and Dong Thap.
Picture 1: TRVC Competitors receive Certification Awards for Season 2
Readiness for further scale-up
Owing to strong multi-stakeholder coordination, the area registered under the TRVC Project for the 2025 Summer-Autumn Season (Season 3) in Dong Thap increased by a further 20%, reaching 17,697.17 hectares, indicating a sustained and scalable expansion trajectory.At the workshop, Mr. Le Chi Thien, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment and Director of the TRVC Project Management Unit in Dong Thap Province, emphasised that: “This event provides an important platform not only to review implementation progress and recognise the efforts of enterprises, cooperatives, and farmers, but also to draw practical lessons and jointly identify solutions to enhance implementation quality in the coming seasons.”
Picture 2: Mr. Le Chi Thien, Deputy Director of the DAE and Director of the TRVC Dong Thap PMU, delivering remarks at the workshop.“Vietnam Green - Low-emission Rice” certification strengthens market competitiveness
Building on the positive results of Season 2, the Vietnam Rice Sector Association (VIETRISA) awarded the “Vietnam Green - Low-emission Rice” trademark usage certification to 52,220.37 tonnes of rice produced by six TRVC-participating companies, including VINARICE, Chon Chinh, A An, Trung An, Angimex–Kitoku, and King Green.The certification was granted based on independent verification conducted by Regrow Ag through a robust Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system, providing a comprehensive assessment of the economic, environmental, and social impacts of the production model. The trademark reflects companies’ compliance with the technical guidelines for high-quality, low-emission rice production under Decision No. 145/QĐ-TT-CLT, thereby enhancing product credibility, competitiveness, and access to global green finance opportunities.
After two seasons, the total volume of rice certified under the “Vietnam Green - Low-emission Rice” trademark by TRVC-participating companies reached 71,426 tonnes, marking a significant milestone for Viet Nam’s rice sector in its transition towards low-carbon production and export.
From green production to sustainable finance mobilisation
In October 2025, Angimex–Kitoku became the first agricultural company in Viet Nam to secure a sustainability-linked loan from MUFG Bank (Japan) - also the first such loan extended by MUFG to the agricultural sector in Viet Nam.
This achievement was underpinned by the company’s performance under the TRVC Project, including total emission reductions of 4,397.61 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, an average profit margin of 56.86% for participating farming households, comprehensive integration of GEDSI policies, and the distribution of 120% of the project’s award value to farmers within its production linkage chain.
Contribution to national targets and international commitments
The outcomes of Season 2 contribute directly to the objectives of the national programme on The Project on “Sustainable development of 01 million hectares for specialized farming of rice with high quality and low emission associated with green growth of the Mekong Delta by 2030”, led by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. More broadly, the TRVC model supports Vietnam’s commitment under COP26 to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030, in line with global efforts to limit temperature increase to 1.5°C.
After two initial seasons, the TRVC Project has demonstrated its effectiveness, strong stakeholder ownership, and readiness to support enterprises in accessing the carbon credit market, in line with the Government of Viet Nam’s roadmap towards 2027.
For more information about the TRVC Project, please visit: https://trvc.vn/
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