Carbon credits - "the golden key" for organic agriculture - Part 3: The "game" of value chain linkages and technological power

Carbon credits - "the golden key" for organic agriculture - Part 3: The "game" of value chain linkages and technological power

Vietnam sold 1 million tonnes of carbon credits from the North Central region to the World Bank

“Green finance” remains hard to access

According to statistics from the Department of Climate Change (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), Vietnam currently has over 300 programs and projects registered under carbon credit standards, of which about 150 projects have been issued more than 40 million credits and traded on the global market.

This figure makes Vietnam one of the four countries with the highest number of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects, behind only China, Brazil, and India, focusing mainly on renewable energy and energy efficiency. Recent projects, such as the transfer of 10.3 million tonnes of CO₂ from North Central Coast forests or the 1-million-hectare high-quality, low-emission rice project in the Mekong Delta, both show positive prospects.

We also have policies such as Decree 06/2022/ND-CP and guiding circulars updated in 2024 and 2025 to create a "framework" for the carbon market. In addition, on October 1, 2021, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 1658/QD-TTg approving the National Strategy on Green Growth for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050; at the Plenary Session of the High-Level Forum and Exhibition on Industry 4.0 in 2023 on June 14, 2023, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that the Party and State of Vietnam attach great importance to and regard digital transformation, green transformation, and sustainable development as central tasks in the process of industrialization and modernization.

However, practical implementation still runs into "gray zones". That is, there are gaps in the legal framework for promoting the development of the carbon market. So, why hasn't a solution considered a "gold mine" like carbon credits boomed as expected?

The first and biggest barrier is MRV (Measurement, Reporting, and Verification) costs and technical requirements. For a ton of carbon to be verified and listed, the audit process by international organizations such as Gold Standard or Verra can consume 30% to 50% of the value of the credit itself. For smallholder farmers, preparing a carbon portfolio independently is almost impossible.

Meanwhile, the international voluntary carbon market in 2025 witnessed stringent audits regarding "Greenwashing". Agricultural projects unable to verify parameters according to the CDM mechanism were all denied credit issuance. This requires Vietnamese organic agriculture to enter an era of extremely high professionalization in data management.

Digital transformation is the key

For carbon credits to truly become an economic pillar of organic agriculture in the coming years, experts propose a 3-step roadmap to “realize” carbon value: Standardize data - Operate the domestic market - Connect internationally. This is fully in line with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's directive: Agriculture must go digital!

The year 2025 demonstrates that wherever there is digital data, carbon turns into money. And the most realistic roadmap to turn carbon credits from "pie in the sky" into reality is to digitize the entire farming log. Instead of subjective handwritten notebooks, pioneering organic farms in Ha Tinh or the Mekong Delta have begun adopting Blockchain for carbon traceability. Every activity—from organic fertilization and irrigation water management to by-product collection—is encrypted and tamper-proof.

To reduce MRV costs when entering this “big game,” small cooperatives can join forces to pool their land areas. In other words, localities need to establish and develop a model of linked cooperatives. For example, a farming household with only 1-2 ha of land would never qualify to sell carbon credits. But 1,000 farming households joining a cooperative alliance covering 2,000 ha is a different story.

And enterprises or large cooperatives act as focal points. They invest in measurement technology, handle legal documentation, cover appraisal costs, and trade on the carbon exchange. Farmers contribute by strictly adhering to organic procedures and sharing profits according to the committed ratio.

In Ha Tinh, several partnership models between enterprises and organic tea farmers in 2025 have proven effective: Businesses guarantee product off-take at a 15% higher price, while also paying an additional 5% profit from carbon credit sales after deducting operational costs. This is precisely the sustainable "multi-value" model we are striving for.

Reality shows that carbon credits will become a "gold mine" if we view them as premium commercial products that require absolute data transparency and interconnectedness.

The Prime Minister's assertion of a generation of "civilized farmers" is key. The civilized farmers of the future will not only know how to wield a hoe, but will also protect every gram of carbon in the soil like safeguarding assets in a bank. When every square meter of organic soil becomes a digitized carbon storage unit, Vietnamese agriculture will not merely sell clean produce, but will also sell life and trust to the world.

Thus, the journey of building and developing organic agriculture leaves no room for opportunistic practices. It is a roadmap of perseverance, methodical investment in technology, and, above all, a firm handshake among the "State, Enterprises, and Farmers" on the path toward greening the future.