VietNamNet Bridge - Scientists warn that the overuse of inorganic fertilizers will bring long-term consequences like land degradation, pollution and high toxic residue in agricultural products.


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Vietnamese farmers no longer use organic fertilizer



According to the director of the Plant Protection Agency, Hoang Trung, Vietnam needs 11 million tons of fertilizers a year. The average amount of fertilizer used per hectare of land is 1,000 kilograms. 

Vietnamese farmers no longer use organic fertilizer as inorganic fertilizer shows faster results. This has created a serious imbalance in fertilizer use in agricultural production.

A report found that by the end of December 2017, the volume of domestic and imported inorganic fertilizer was 19 times higher than organic fertilizers (713 organic products vs 13,423 inorganic).

There are 180 organic fertilizer manufacturing enterprises in Vietnam, accounting for 24.5 percent of total 735 licensed fertilizer manufacturers, which have the capacity of 20,000-500,000 tons per annum. 

However, only some enterprises use advanced technologies to make organic fertilizer. The others mostly use microorganisms to compost organic fertilizer, which has a low efficiency.

Using organic fertilizer

Scientists have urged farmers to use organic fertilizer to ease the imbalance in cultivation and create ‘clean’ agriculture. 

The agricultural waste and by-products, which could be up to 60-70 million tons a year, and aquatic waste, about 20 million tons, could be supply sources of materials to make organic fertilizers.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said the demand from the domestic market alone is very high.

The agricultural waste and by-products, which could be up to 60-70 million tons a year, and aquatic waste, about 20 million tons, could be supply sources of materials to make organic fertilizers.

“Suppose that one hectare needs 10 tons of organic fertilizer, we will need 200 million tons of fertilizer,” Cuong said.

It is estimated that organic agricultural production is being deployed on 43,000 hectares of land in Vietnam, where farmers use organic fertilizer in production.

How to produce 200 million tons of fertilizer

Nguyen Dinh Hac Thuy, deputy chair of the Vietnam Fertilizer Association, said that Vietnam has favorable conditions to produce organic organizer and emphasized the need to use that kind of fertilizer to protect fertility as well as productivity of the soil.

Nguyen Hong Lam, chair of Que Lam Group, said that farmers would use organic fertilizer if it benefits them. Que Lam is running a cooperation program with farmers on cultivating organic rice. The company promises to buy the products and farmers must commit to not use chemicals and overuse fertilizer.

Other cooperation programs have also been implemented in provinces such as Phu Tho and Bac Giang in the north, Ben Tre and Dong Nai in the south.


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