Rice production is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture, and how to reduce the emissions while still ensuring food security and raising farmers’ income 

Flower farmers in the Mekong Delta have cut their production for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday (Tet) by half, or even 70% in some areas, compared with last year due to concerns over the Covid-19 pandemic.

As dawn breaks on the serene lake of Binh Thirn in An Giang Province, fisherman Dang Huu Duc instructs his 17-year-old son to cast a net into the clear water of the largest freshwater lake in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.

The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta is expanding its shrimp – rice farming areas as the cultivation model is efficient and sustainable, adapts to climate change, and is environmentally friendly.

The Mekong Delta region needs “consistent strategies” to deal with groundwater extraction, land subsidence and saltwater intrusion in an increasingly urbanising area, experts said at a conference in HCM City on November 26.

Many flower and bonsai farmers in HCM City and the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta have reduced production for Tet (Lunar New Year) which falls early next year since they are worried the COVID-19 pandemic will affect demand.

The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta city of Can Tho has posted a record number of daily new COVID-19 cases, with the number of cases reaching 712 on Wednesday, according to the municipal Department of Health.

The Mekong Delta's flood season, commonly called “floating water season”, caused by the rising level of the Mekong River in the rainy season, arrived in September, about one month late compared to other years.

With the local rice demand taken into account, the Mekong Delta region has some 2.5 million tons of rice left in November and December that can be exported.

As the number of new COVID-19 community cases continues to increase, the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta is facing a risk of a large-scale outbreak.

The Mekong Delta provinces are scrambling to control an unexpected surge in community cases of COVID-19, with many showing unknown sources of infection.

The Mekong Delta provinces are faced with a high risk of COVID-19 infections with 1.6 per cent of people returning from pandemic hotspots testing positive for the virus after the provinces resumed production under the “new normal”.

The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region needs a special mechanism to improve its transport infrastructure to reduce logistics costs, bolster competitiveness and boost agricultural exports, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The has said.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh has recently signed Decision No.1664/QD-TTg approving a project on marine aquaculture development till 2030 with a vision to 2045.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced up to 7,941 enterprises in the Mekong Delta to suspend their operations or register for dissolution in the first nine months of this year. ​

The level of saltwater intrusion may be approximately at the level of 2015-2016, which saw historic salinity and drought in the region.

In current difficult conditions, Vietnam needs leaders who "dare to think, dare to do and dare to take responsibility" for the people who have to leave large cities to return to their hometowns.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has approved the programme on sustainable aquaculture development in the Mekong Delta until 2030 to make aquaculture an important contributor to agricultural and socio-economic growth.

Pangasius export turnover in August 2021 decreased by 28.5 percent over the same period, it is expected to continue falling 30 percent year on year in September.

Ho Chi Minh City’s master plan aims for the southern metropolis to develop into the country’s largest economic hub for tourism, industrial services, and high-tech agriculture by 2040, with a particular focus on climate change adaptation.