RiceMoRe – a digital data platform to systematically advance rice production management in Vietnam

The Rice Activity Monitoring and Reporting (RiceMoRe) system is a digital data platform co-developed by DCP, DTS, and IRRI that standardizes and records time-series data on rice production activities and the adoption of low-emission practices. This is crucial for the effective management and direction of rice production across the country, which is increasingly challenging due to the impacts of the changing climate and market trends. It will also provide the essential data for establishing baselines and tracking mitigation progress over time.

Dr. Bui Tan Yen, a scientist at IRRI Vietnam and a key expert of the RiceMoRe development team, explained the tool’s innovative features. The system ensures consistent data collection from communal to national level, providing geo-referencing for tracking rice production progress across geographic locations, records near-real-time activity data for informed decision-making, enables dynamic data querying, synchronization, and extraction for rice production management, and ensures secure access and data management at different levels.

RiceMoRe in action: improved accessibility and pilot success

The digital tool has two components: RiceMoRe for monitoring activity data at the communal level and FarMoRe for monitoring farming practices at the field, farm, or cooperative level. The beta version is accessible at https://ricemore.org. Mobile app versions of RiceMoRe are also available for both Android and iOS systems.

The workshop included two rounds of evaluation: a panel discussion with representatives from DCP, DTS, and provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARDs) of Vinh Long, Can Tho, and Hai Phong, as well as an open forum involving all participants.

Based on the discussions, the system has been successfully piloted and operated in various provinces in the Mekong River Delta (MRD) and Red River Delta (RRD) regions. Representatives from DARDs shared with the audience how RiceMoRe facilitated easy and timely decision-making for stakeholders such as ministry leaders, local officers, and farmers while emphasizing the importance of its data contribution to existing government databases for statistics and forecasting.

Collaboration and looking ahead

The workshop witnessed a high interest in identifying strategies for the rapid implementation of RiceMoRe for different crops and scaling across Vietnam. Challenges such as capacity-building, staff retention in the extension sector, and integration with existing systems and programs were discussed. Mr. Le Thanh Tung emphasized that RiceMoRe is envisioned to support the Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) component of Vietnam’s program on Sustainable Development of One Million Hectares for Specialized farming of High-Quality and Low-Emission Rice Cultivation Associated with Green Growth of the Mekong River Delta by 2030 (One Million Hectares Program). The collaboration between DCP, DTS, IRRI, and participating provinces paves the way for a digital-driven future of rice production in Vietnam.

Dr. Nguyen Nhu Cuong, Director of DCP, emphasized that DCP, in collaboration with partners, is leveraging digital technologies to tackle the fragmentation in the crop production sector.

Representatives from various agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), research institutes, DARDs of 23 provinces and cities in the  South-Central Coast, MRD, and RRD regions, international organizations, and all other relevant stakeholders gathered to assess the effectiveness of the RiceMoRe system.

Recognizing this innovation’s strong alignment with the government’s digitalization efforts in agriculture, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Toan, the Director of DTS, expressed that RiceMoRe and its FarMoRe component had been chosen for presentation at the specialized conference "Promoting digitization in the agriculture sector," scheduled to be held in May 2024. This innovative system holds immense potential for enhancing Vietnam's rice production sector, ensuring sustainability and resilience.

This is a New Zealand Government-funded partnership with IRRI in support of the objectives of the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases. This activity is also part of the CGIAR Initiatives on Asian Mega-Deltas and Low Emission Food Systems, and the Agroecological Transitions for Building Resilient and Inclusive Agriculture and Food Systems Program funded by IFAD and EU.