Improvement of soil health and management of crop nutrients is needed: MARD

Land is a critical means of production, serving as a home to various ecosystems and so soil health is an issue of concern for both Việt Nam and many other countries around the world, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoàng Trung.

The conference on the implementation of the Project to Improve Soil Health and Manage Crop Nutrition, organised by the Ministry of Agriculture (MARD) on Friday in Hà Nội. — VNS Photo Tố Như 

According to the deputy minister, the current average land area per capita is low, compounded by intensive and monoculture farming practices and damaged by imbalanced use of fertilisers and pesticides. In many areas soil health has been dramatically reduced due to the development of industrial zones and craft villages, along with the impacts of climate change, leading to drought, salinisation and soil acidification.

In light of declining soil health in Việt Nam, amid increasing demand for food and the urgent need for sustainable production, numerous management and technical activities have been implemented, Hoàng Trung said at the conference 'Project to Improve Soil Health and Manage Crop Nutrition', organised by the Ministry of Agriculture (MARD) on Friday in Hà Nội.

The legal framework for soil health has also been substantially completed to meet practical needs, however there remain many issues in soil health management that need focused attention, Trung said.

According to Vũ Thắng, deputy head of the Fertiliser Management Department of the Plant Protection Department, in Việt Nam, there are currently 11.8 million hectares of degraded land, with over four million hectares being agricultural land.

Soil degradation and the risk of desertification are progressing rapidly, with the most severe impacts in three regions: the Northwest, Central Highlands and South-Central Coast, he said.

This is due to both objective and subjective factors. Subjective factors include cultivation practices involving multiple crops per year, excessive use of inorganic fertilisers, an imbalance between organic and inorganic inputs, use of chemical pesticides and a lack of measures to prevent erosion and runoff.

Regarding the decline in soil biodiversity, harmful microorganisms in the soil are increasing faster, which accelerates soil quality degradation.

Concerning soil health assessment criteria, different countries have different sets of criteria for assessing soil health. However, Việt Nam lacks a set of indicators for evaluating soil quality in crop production. The indicators used in research do not fully reflect the various aspects of soil health and quality as is done globally, he said.

Thắng also said that the goal of the project is to increase the value of land use, manage crop nutrition effectively, thereby contributing to the restructuring of the agricultural sector and building new rural areas.

Accordingly, the project includes key elements such as the improvement of the legal system and technical standards. It aims to establish a national standard system for assessing soil health and crop nutrition, in alignment with international standards. Additionally, it seeks to build a national database on soil health to monitor and track soil quality across the country.

Moreover, the project emphasises research and development of advanced technological solutions, including the application of beneficial microorganisms, bio-fertilisers and slow-release fertilisers.

It also focuses on researching sustainable farming methods, particularly on problematic soils like nutrient-poor or erosion-prone lands.