Mekong Salt Lab in Vietnam: Innovative and practical support to farmers adapting to salinity
The Mekong Delta in Vietnam stands as one of the world's foremost food-producing regions. Home to millions of dedicated farmers cultivating rice, vegetables, fruits, and various agricultural products, it serves as a lifeline for countless people across Asia and worldwide. However, the future of agriculture in the Mekong Delta hangs in the balance, endangered by the threats of rising sea levels, widespread groundwater extraction, prolonged and intensified droughts, and the incursion of saltwater into groundwater, soil, and surface water bodies such as rivers, canals, and lakes.
Saltwater intrusion, in particular, poses an existential threat to agriculture, leading to crop failures and the death of fish, making both groundwater and surface water unsuitable for irrigation and causing freshwater shortages for households. The resulting economic and social consequences spread throughout the agricultural value chain, compelling thousands of farmers each year to abandon their lands. Recognizing this critical issue, a consortium of experts designed an innovative solution called Mekong Salt Lab, an action-oriented center of expertise that supports farmers to respond and adapt to salinization.
Mekong Salt Lab: A Home for Sustainable Mekong Future
The Mekong Salt Lab project brings together a consortium of Dutch and Vietnamese partners: The Water Agency, Tra Vinh University, Kim Delta, The Salt Doctors, Saxion University, HZ University, SkillEd, and Acacia Water. Together, they bring expertise in a broad range of subjects, such as hydroponics, fresh water retention, saline agriculture, soil management, blended learning, stakeholder engagement, aquaculture and wastewater treatment.
Co-funded by the Netherlands Government Partners for Water innovation program, : Partners for Water - PVW-IVWW | RVO.nl the pilot project is situated in Tra Vinh, a coastal province located in the middle of the Mekong Delta. Positioned on the coast and situated between two major branches of the Mekong River, the province is directly impacted by the sea as well as the river and faces a broad range of typical delta challenges. These include saltwater intrusion, coastal erosion due to rising sea levels, flooding, limited freshwater availability due to drought, reduced river water levels, and pollution from activities upstream. The consequences of these challenges, especially salt intrusion, are severe, causing significant harm to agriculture, resulting in crop and fish losses, delaying irrigation, and intensifying water shortages for daily household consumption.
Building on years of experience and collaboration with local farmers in Tra Vinh, the experts have recognized that farmers are lacking practical support to combat salinization, i.e., although they see the negative impacts, they lack the data, tools and knowledge to respond.
The critical missing components include:
- Practical Salinity Data: Farmers lack access to timely and useful (salinity) data to assess the quality of different water sources, the changes of salinity levels over time, etc.
- Practical Knowledge and Tools: Farmers lack practical knowledge and tools to adapt to salinity, e.g., related to freshwater retention, water treatment and salt-tolerant crops.
- Accessible, Affordable, and Actionable Support: While numerous organizations and institutions offer services to farmers, they often lack practicality and cohesion, or may be unaffordable.
Empowering Farmers Through Innovation
The envisioned solution is the Mekong Salt Lab, an innovative Center of Expertise designed to support smallholder farmers in Tra Vinh Province to respond and adapt to salinization. It delivers practical and affordable salinity adaptation services through a farmer-driven operating model that integrates expertise and resources from relevant public and private stakeholders. The individual services offered are:
- Salinity data farming platform: A unique platform and mobile app that provides a real-time salinity data, helping farmers make informed decisions.
- Hydroponics: An open field, low cost, and low-tech hydroponics systems designed to grow crops in saline-affected areas.
- Freshwater collection & retention: Techniques such as water bags, retention ponds, and lining irrigation canals to secure freshwater sources which in term reducing the dependence on groundwater and surface water.
- Agriculture (waste)water treatment: Innovative nanofiltration methods using hollow fiber (HF) membrane modules for treating polluted water sources efficiently and sustainably.
- Constructed wetlands: Artificial wetlands at the farm level to retain fresh water, treat polluted water, and promote groundwater infiltration.
- Asia Raincraft: A serious gaming-based approach for community and stakeholder participation, fostering collaboration in addressing water and climate adaptation.
- Salinity Farming Training Program: An innovative on/offline blended learning approach to inform, engage, and train agricultural or other practices to rural target groups of smallholder farmers, and agribusinesses.
Each of these services plays a specific role in addressing water pollution, enhancing freshwater supply, reducing groundwater extraction, and raising awareness of sustainable water management and treatment. In the context of the Mekong Delta, these services are groundbreaking and require experimentation to demonstrate their value. The project is set to run for two years, from June 2023 to May 2025, and is divided into five distinct phases. In the initial phases, the consortium will collaborate with selected Champion Farmers to develop individualized salinity adaptation farming plans, integrating various services provided by the Mekong Salt Lab. In the subsequent phase, these plans will be put into action, and in the final phases, models will be created to scale and replicate successful approaches, culminating in an evaluation phase.
Towards A Salinity-Resilient Mekong
Ultimately, the project aims to deliver evidence of the value and sustainability of the Mekong Salt Lab by demonstrating tangible benefits for farmers, such as increased crop yield, improved crop quality, better market prices, and reduced costs. This success is expected to encourage local stakeholders, including government agencies, the Farmers' Union, and private businesses, to form a public-private partnership agreement officially establishing the Mekong Salt Lab as a hub of expertise for farmers. In the future, the goal is for the Mekong Salt Lab to expand its reach and services, supporting farmers in adapting to salinity throughout the entire Mekong Delta region.
Do you have any questions for the agriculture department please send an email to HAN-LNV@minbuza.nl. For the latest updates, news funding opportunities and more follow us on Twitter @AgroVietnam