Vietnam’s Pesticide Crisis

Vietnam’s once fertile lands are now awash in agricultural chemicals. As food demand continues to grow and crop intensification persists, more pesticides will find their way into the agriculture sector to keep up with socioeconomic development. Can Vietnam get out of this pesticide fix?

On terraced fields in the Northern highlands, sweat-soaked frames donning Nón lá (leaf hats) bend over the muddied ground, pulling out weeds and manually turning over soil for rice cultivation. Over the years, farmers have tended tirelessly to their crops to sustain local communities, and Vietnam’s agricultural sector has evolved from an importer to an exporter of agricultural produce. Today, Vietnam is the world’s fifth-largest rice producer and third-largest exporter and has emerged as one of the leading producers and exporters of coffee, seafood, and pepper. Yet Vietnam faces a massive pesticide problem that threatens the safety of domestic consumption and its economy, fuelled by long-term intensive agriculture practices and pesticide resistance.

Keeping Up With Productivity Demands 

Endowed with abundant natural resources and a tropical climate, Vietnam’s plentiful freshwater reserves support diverse ecosystems, while its fertile soils promise an agricultural paradise. The country’s agricultural productivity rose rapidly in the 1980s due to trade liberalization and agricultural market reforms. In the 1990s, policies urging higher crop productivity pressured the industry into intensive monoculture practices. This has led to high agriculture intensification and the expansion of farming into unused lands. While Vietnam’s tropical climate holds favourable conditions for farming activities, extreme weather events have exacerbated the proliferation of crop-harming pests. Rice farming in the Mekong Delta, for example, relies heavily on inorganic fertilizers and chemical pesticides to keep up with productivity demands amidst global warming. As Vietnamese farmers grapple with climate change, invasive pests, and diseases, stronger agro-chemicals quickly become their only hope of protecting their crops and livelihoods.

“Farmers can’t seem to kick the habit of using pesticides, and the problem is escalating. ”

Addicted To Pesticides 

The pesticide business in Vietnam is huge. Vietnam’s tremendous potential as an agricultural market attracts major agrochemical companies who advertise heavily in the mass media. Large quantities of pesticides are also smuggled into the country from China.According to Customs Vietnam, the import value of pesticides surpassed 1 billion USD in 2017 and 939 million USD in 2018. In just over three decades since the 1990s, Vietnam’s pesticide use has increased 10-fold to over 100,000 tons a year. These figures are alarming as they reflect deeper problems than a mere reliance on pesticides. The ready availability of pesticides encourages farmers to use them indiscriminately without a thorough understanding of proper pesticide use.

Are The Farmers To Blame? 

The pressure on productivity is squeezing farmers hard. As Vietnam’s export turnover of agricultural products skyrockets, its farmers consider pesticides as quick-fix solutions to protect their crops and increase their output. Over time, natural predators that control pest populations organically get exterminated and pest outbreaks evolve faster. Farmers respond with more pesticides in higher and more frequent doses, sometimes even switching to toxic alternatives. Others adopt a preventive measure by dosing frequently or in advance.

Pesticide usage is often influenced by farmers’ personal experiences, agricultural methods, and advice from various sources such as fellow farmers and pesticide distributors. As such, growers hardly follow recommended dosage amounts on pesticide labels, disregard banned ingredients, and ignore warnings on pesticide mixing. Some continue to use cheaper, low-quality alternatives (often illegally imported or fake products) that are toxic to the environment, and harvest produce right after pesticide applications. 

Many farmers expose themselves to danger by neglecting to wear protective clothing and equipment when spraying pesticides. To many growers, meeting the demand for higher yields far outweighs the damage that pesticides can do to the surroundings and human health. 

The Far-reaching Consequences Of Pesticide Overuse

To make matters worse, Vietnamese farmers do not dispose of used pesticide packaging properly, furthering the problem of toxic chemicals infiltrating ground and water sources, and potentially harming livestock and aquatic animals. Pesticide residues seep into soils, canals, rivers, and waterways, polluting the very land and water that sustain the livelihoods of Vietnamese communities and impacting biodiversity. Residual pesticides not only alter soil fertility, they also disrupt crop health which can have adverse effects when humans or animals consume them. Furthermore, pesticides in rice fields can taint groundwater drawn from wells and contaminate surface water used for irrigation, washing, drinking, and cooking. Currently, pesticide overuse is causing a rapid decline in soil fertility. It also contributes to environmental damage, food contamination, health safety concerns, and pesticide resistance in Vietnam. 

Overcoming The Pesticide Predicament

For decades, the Vietnamese government has emphasized productivity at the expense of sustainability and food safety. Unfortunately, this has proven unsustainable for the country’s economy as the excessive use of chemical inputs has increased production costs and lowered income for farmers. 

The World Bank noted that Vietnam lacks regulatory control and enforcement in monitoring pesticide use, economic incentives, and financial support (especially) for smallholders. Moreover in Vietnam, the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) standard and GlobalG.A.P. (global standards for certified agricultural products) are typically voluntary rather than compulsory. The government and industry associations can encourage smallholder farmers’ participation in these programs by incentivizing them to promote international food safety standards, quality, and sustainability. GAP certification can help Vietnamese farmers raise the competitiveness of their agricultural produce and fetch better prices in the global markets. 

Pesticide overuse is a major culprit for food contamination in Vietnam. Farmers need to be rewarded for harvesting safe produce for consumption, which will, in turn, drive export value. The government can consider supporting farmers with incentives such as food aid, farming resources (seeds, organic fertilizers), and assistance with technological solutions to manage the unnecessary use of chemical inputs.

In a recent 2023 report, approximately two-thirds of survey respondents felt that more support is needed in terms of human resources, better facilities, and higher budgets to strengthen food safety. While the nation had a National Food Safety Committee, it lacked a central food safety agency. Vietnam launched the Food Safety Management System on Mar 7, 2024, to safeguard public health, increase labor productivity, and foster economic growth. The launch marks a major milestone towards ensuring food safety and quality in Vietnam by providing transparent, centralized data in real-time and enabling citizens to trace the origin and safety of domestic products along the value chain.

With more such regulatory organizations in place, Vietnam will be better positioned to educate farmers at both provincial and municipal levels on the perils of pesticide overuse and its proper usage. This may include introducing them to precision agriculture, organic farming, crop rotation, Integrated Pest Management approaches, and biological pest control methods such as the RYNAN Insect Monitoring System to minimize reliance on agrochemicals and mitigate environmental damage. 

To achieve the nation’s objectives of economic prosperity with a priority on food safety, these solutions are just one of many strategies that can help Vietnam get out of its pesticide-laden fix, and reduce negative impacts on health and the environment. But perhaps, first, it should start with changing the mindsets of its farmers on pesticide use.
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Currently installed in 130 locations in Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand, our RYNAN Insect Monitoring Systems have helped farmers increase their yield while reducing pesticide use. To learn more about the RYNAN Insect Monitoring System, contact us to see how we can work hand in hand with you and create a sustainable planet for all.

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Written by Jillian Wong

References:

GDP contribution of the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector in Vietnam from 2011 to 2023, Statista 

Yuji Nitta and Kosuke Inoue, Vietnam and Thailand rice exports soar after India ban, Nikkei Asia, (12 Jan 2024) 

Fertilizers and Agro-chemicals use in Viet Nam, Agroberichten Buitenland, (7 Sep 2021) 

Phuong Lam, Vietnam can cut pesticide use significantly without productivity loss: expert, VN Express International, (21 July 2020)

Phuong Lam, Vietnamese farmers enslaved, poisoned by toxic chemicals, VN Express International, (22 Jul 2020)

Report highlights produce safety issues in Vietnam, Food Safety News, (28 Feb 2023)

Vietnam officially launches food safety management system, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, (27 Mar 2024)

Nguyen, Tin Hong. 2017. “An Overview of Agricultural Pollution in Vietnam: The Crops Sector.” Prepared for the World Bank, Washington, DC.

Audrey Cao, GlobalGAP — The “Passport” for Vietnamese Agricultural Products, Medium, (26 May 2020)