It also aims to increase the production capacity of qualified organic fertiliser manufacturing facilities to 5 million tonnes per year.
Vietnam possesses numerous advantages regarding raw materials for organic fertiliser production, especially with approximately 156 million tonnes of by-products from crop cultivation, animal husbandry, agricultural processing and aquaculture.
Development disproportionate to potential
According to statistics, Vietnam’s current fertiliser usage significantly exceeds that of many countries and is triple the world average. The imbalanced application of fertilisers and poor technical practices are the main causes of low fertiliser efficiency, resulting in only 40-45% efficiency for nitrogen fertilisers, 25-30% for phosphate fertilisers, and 55-60% for potassium fertilisers.
This not only results in economic losses but also leads to soil pollution, water contamination (both surface and groundwater), increased greenhouse gas emissions, and impacts on agricultural product quality.
For sustainable production, the crop sector needs balanced nutrition from both organic and inorganic fertiliser sources. The use of organic fertilisers not only provides stable nutrients for crops but also improves soil’s physical, chemical, and biological properties; reduces leaching; increases soil permeability and water retention; and enhances crop drought resistance. However, for various reasons, Vietnam’s organic fertiliser output currently only meets about 10-25% of the demand.
Despite having advantages in raw materials, organic fertiliser production in Vietnam has not yet reached its full potential. Domestic industrial organic fertiliser production facilities have been investing in simple manufacturing technology.
Many facilities use rudimentary production lines with low automation levels, and the microbial technology in organic fertiliser production remains basic, using only a few common microorganism strains for composting organic materials or adding some biological agents and growth regulators. This results in low production capacity and limited organic content as well as poor fertiliser quality.
Resolving difficulties
According to Phung Ha, Chairman of the Vietnam Fertiliser Association, current policies on organic fertiliser development are not strong enough to encourage investment in research, technology transfer, production and use of organic and biological fertilisers, nor to reduce chemical fertiliser usage.
There is also a lack of specific guidance to encourage local authorities to prioritise and support organic fertiliser manufacturing plants in terms of land and capital.
Furthermore, while quality testing standards for fertilisers have received investment and development recently, they have not met practical needs, particularly regarding methods for identifying specific beneficial microorganisms in organic fertilisers.
There is a shortage of systematic, methodical research on soil health, crop nutrition, and the development and use of organic fertilisers, as well as new fertilisers with high efficiency. This research is needed to guide production and agricultural extension services as well as to direct businesses in manufacturing, supply and public usage.
The MARD has announced that in the coming time, authorities will review, amend and supplement technical regulations on fertilisers to meet practical situations and state management requirements. They will develop comprehensive testing method standards, striving to perfect testing methods for microorganism indicators in organic fertilisers.
Additionally, they will enhance testing system capabilities and establish independent verification laboratories with sufficient capacity to serve state management of fertiliser quality control.
Furthermore, functional agencies will facilitate the registration and circulation approval of organic fertilisers that do not require testing under legal regulations towards the development of a rich and diverse product portfolio.
They will encourage the development, production and use of organic fertilisers at household scale by utilising by-products from cultivation, animal husbandry, agricultural processing and household waste.
Efforts will also be made develop diverse high-quality organic fertiliser products containing new beneficial microorganisms, which are user-friendly and stabilise soil fertility while improving productivity and economic efficiency.
At the same time, priority and support will be given to new registrations and re-registrations for organic fertiliser factories and production facilities, especially those applying advanced production processes and technologies.