Scheme for enhancing soil health and managing plant nutrition by 2030, with a vision to 2050 in Vietnam

Scheme for enhancing soil health and managing plant nutrition by 2030, with a vision to 2050 in Vietnam (Image from Internet)

On October 11, 2024, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam issued Decision 3458/QD-BNN-BVTV to Approve the “Scheme for enhancing soil health and managing plant nutrition by 2030, with a vision to 2050 in Vietnam”.

Scheme for enhancing soil health and managing plant nutrition by 2030, with a vision to 2050 in Vietnam

Within the Scheme for enhancing soil health and managing plant nutrition by 2030, with a vision to 2050 in Vietnam, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam outlines the following contents:

**Objectives

(1) General Objectives

Stabilize and enhance crop soil health based on effective crop nutrition management to limit soil degradation, enhance the added value per unit area of crop land (including annual crops and perennial crops), contributing to the development of green, sustainable, low-carbon agriculture, and adaptation to climate change.

(2) Specific Objectives by 2030

- Complete a database of the quality of main soil types (including indicators of physical, chemical, and biological properties) and fertilizer use for key crops.

- Develop a set of indicators and a grading scale for evaluating crop soil health.

- Develop and complete rational farming practices associated with effective fertilizer use, reducing nutrient loss on main land types for key crops, contributing to stabilizing and enhancing crop soil health, protecting and developing diverse beneficial ecosystems, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

- Enhance the capacity of management and technical staff, and community awareness regarding crop soil health management and crop nutrition from the central to the local level.

(3) Vision to 2050

Complete nationwide the objectives set for 2030, striving for Vietnam to become one of the leading countries in the region in terms of capability and effectiveness in managing crop soil health and crop nutrition.

**Tasks

- Enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of state management regarding crop soil health and crop nutrition

+ Standardize the soil classification system with a set of indicators for assessing soil quality nationwide.

+ Review, revise, supplement, and complete the system of standards and technical regulations on crop soil health and fertilizer quality.

+ Consolidate and enhance the capacity of laboratory systems, in terms of both equipment and analytical methods for evaluating soil and fertilizer quality to serve the management of crop soil health and fertilizer quality.

- Develop a database on the quality of main soil types and fertilizer use for key crops

+ Develop a database on crop soil quality and online exploration tools for key crops (rice, vegetables, maize, cassava, coffee, pepper, cashew, tea, rubber, fruit trees, coconut, flowers, and ornamental plants) according to the Strategy for Crop Development by 2030, vision to 2050 on main soil types.

+ Develop a database on fertilizer use and online exploration tools for key crops on main soil types.

+ Update statistics and digitalization of databases on the quality of main soil types and fertilizer use integrated with soil nutrition maps and soil quality maps for key crops.

- Develop a set of indicators and grading scale for evaluating crop soil health associated with crop nutrition management

Develop a set of indicators and grading scales for evaluating soil health in terms of physical, chemical, and biological aspects according to main soil types and key crops in harmony with regional and international standards.

- Develop and complete rational farming practices associated with effective fertilizer use, reducing nutrient loss on main soil types for key crops, contributing to stabilizing and enhancing crop soil health, protecting and developing diverse beneficial ecosystems, reducing greenhouse gas emissions

+ Synthesize and evaluate the current effectiveness of fertilizer use on key crops on main soil types in ecological zones.

+ Develop technology for new fertilizer production (inorganic, organic, biological) domestically and import with high use efficiency.

+ Develop and complete suitable and effective fertilizer use practices based on the principle of “right land, right crop, right dosage, right time, right method”, contributing to reducing macronutrient fertilizer loss by at least 0.5 percentage points per year by 2030 on main soil types for key crops.

+ Complete or newly develop and scale up reasonable farming practices associated with effective nutrition management practices in a circular direction for key crops, suitable with the current health status of crop soils, overcoming limiting factors in intensive farming areas.

+ Complete or newly develop and scale up farming practices for key crops on “problematic soils” (Sloping, acid sulfate, saline, coastal sand, degraded grey soils, etc.) associated with effective nutrition management practices towards stabilizing and restoring soil quality, protecting and developing the diversity of beneficial ecosystems in the soil, increasing carbon content in the topsoil by an average of 4‰ per year.

- Enhance the capacity of management and technical staff, and community awareness of crop soil health and crop nutrition management from the central to the local level

+ Develop training programs and materials on crop soil health and fertilizer use guidance.

+ Organize training for technical staff and source lecturer training on crop soil health, fertilizers, and crop nutrition.

+ Build a network of technical staff serving to enhance crop soil health and crop nutrition management with participation, coordination, and support from experts, scientists, producers...

More details can be found in Decision 3458/QD-BNN-BVTV which comes into force in Vietnam from November 10, 2024.

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