Carbon credits - "the golden key" for organic agriculture - Part 2: Nourishing the soil is nourishing life

Carbon credits - "the golden key" for organic agriculture - Part 2: Nourishing the soil is nourishing life

To have organic products, one must first build the fundamental foundation of organic soil to increase carbon content and sequestration

When soil is more than just a "support structure"

In the traditional agricultural mindset of past decades, soil was often seen merely as a "support frame" for farmers to pour chemical fertilizers and plant protection products into to force plants to bear fruit. As a result, after many years, soil in key agricultural regions, including the Central region, has fallen into a state of "poisoning," compaction, and loss of biological vitality.

Entering 2025, a report from the Institute for Soils and Fertilizers issued a warning: More than 50% of agricultural land in Vietnam is moderately to severely degraded. However, in organic farming "oases", the story is entirely different. Organic soil is not just a medium for nourishing crops, but a living organism, an effective natural carbon sequestration "machine".

Science has proven that organic farming—by returning agricultural by-products to the soil, using bio-fertilizers, and planting cover crops—increases soil organic carbon (SOC). Every 1% increase in soil carbon not only helps retain hundreds of thousands of liters of additional water per hectare, but is also equivalent to drawing tens of tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere.

In Ha Tinh, a locality well-known for its scorching sun and dry foehn winds, retaining soil moisture and nutrients is a struggle for survival. In 2025, Ha Tinh province made a profound mark by vigorously implementing the Resolution on land consolidation linked with digital transformation and circular agriculture.

Typical examples include models in key orange-growing areas such as Vu Quang and Huong Khe, and organic rice farming in Cam Xuyen. Instead of burning straw or orange peels—an act that unintentionally emits large amounts of CO2 and fine dust—cooperatives in Ha Tinh have applied microbial technology to compost organic fertilizer on-site.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Nguyet, owner of a VietGAP-standard orange orchard in Mai Hoa Commune (formerly Duc Linh Commune, Vu Quang District), shared: “Previously, the soil in my orange orchard was dry and hard. Since fully shifting to an organic process in late 2023, the topsoil has now become loose and porous, and earthworms have appeared. Soil analysis results show that humus content has doubled. We are not just selling delicious oranges; we are nourishing 'black gold' beneath the tree roots.”

Regarding the implementation of organic-oriented agriculture, Mr. Nguyen Huu Ngoc - Director of the Ha Tinh Provincial Agricultural Extension Center, noted that restructuring crop patterns, especially initially implementing organic farming locally, faced many challenges because farmers were skeptical and afraid of innovation. But when seeing "real cash in hand" flow into their pockets from successful organic farming models, farmers realized that organic farming is not just about clean produce, but about smart economics.”

Statistics by the end of 2025 showed that Ha Tinh had developed more than 2,000 hectares of crops meeting organic and organic-oriented standards. More importantly, the province began establishing a digital soil health mapping system, enabling the monitoring of carbon accumulated underground in each farming area. This represents the "competency profile" that prepares Ha Tinh to enter the agricultural carbon credit market.

Nurturing the soil is nurturing life

Both international and domestic agricultural experts, through connections made by the Vietnam Organic Agriculture Association at forums, have highly commended the "Rice – Ragworm" and "Rice – Fish" models in the coastal areas of Ha Tinh. These are exceptionally sustainable "multi-tiered value" ecosystems where soil and water are strictly protected, generating 1.5 times more carbon credits than conventional rice farming.

In other words, nourishing organic soil brings dual benefits to modern farmers. The first benefit is that healthy soil gives crops natural resistance, reducing chemical pesticide costs by 80-90%. The second benefit is the added value from the "low-carbon agricultural product" brand. For example, Ha Tinh Oranges or Ha Tinh Organic Rice in 2025 will compete not only on sweetness and aroma, but also on their "carbon footprint" index. Consumers in major cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and export markets are willing to pay higher prices for products that contribute to cooling the Earth.

From an export enterprise's perspective, Mr. Phan Minh Thong - General Director of Phuc Sinh Corporation, once shared: “The biggest change lies in perception and mindset. Farmers have become more conscious of sustainable production, applying international standards, ensuring traceability, and working toward a circular economy model. Vietnamese businesses have also shifted from contract processing to brand building and positioning their products in the global market.”

Looking broadly from the Ha Tinh model, one can see that the carbon treasure is not far away, but right in the mindset of farmers. Ha Tinh is on the right track by not only providing seedlings and fertilizers, but also focusing on educating and empowering farmers. Locally organic-oriented farming plots and fields are reviving degraded lands, turning them into massive carbon sinks and opening up sustainable wealth creation opportunities for progressive farmers.

The carbon market is no longer a future prospect but has become an essential part of enterprise governance in the new era. However, for this treasure to truly yield profits, there must be policy coherence and a synchronized ecosystem where enterprises are at the center and farmers are the primary actors.

Thus, this is precisely the multi-value agricultural revolution envisioned by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh: combining the power of digital technology to measure soil value, incorporating an industrial mindset into agricultural processing, and preserving the ecological "roots" of rural Vietnam.

It can be said that organic soil—the carbon treasure beneath farmers' feet—is the greatest asset today's generation of farmers can leave for their descendants. We have every reason to believe that organic agriculture is not only a salvation for the environment, but also the shortest path to turning Vietnamese farmers into true 'green entrepreneurs' in the international market.