Developing circular economy in border areas

(BP Portal) - Nowadays, circular economy is a fairly popular trend in the agricultural sector. The emergence of circular economic models generates income for producers. It lays the foundation for a new development toward sustainable agriculture.

In recent years, many farms and households in the border district of Loc Ninh have applied the circular economy. Circular agriculture is a reasonable way to reduce input costs, improve producers' income, and protect ecosystems and human health in the face of volatile agricultural product prices, agricultural inputs, and animal feeds have increased.

Many effective economic models

In the face of complicated climate developments, epidemics, and volatile market prices, the production situation of farmers in Loc Phu commune, Loc Ninh district, was heavily affected, with many areas of pepper, fruit trees, and vegetables lost. These difficulties make many people leave the wasteland to work as workers; however, some have chosen to rise from the circular economy model.

In Bu Linh hamlet, Loc Phu commune, Luu Van Thanh is a farmer applying the garden-barn model. He uses crop residues and by-products as animal feed and waste from livestock composted with probiotics as organic fertilizer for plants.

Thanh's family has nearly 3,000 organically grown pepper posts harvesting in the 6th year and raising over 100 goats for meat and breeding. Goat food is primarily available in the garden, such as acacia leaves for pepper posts, the grass around the garden, and many other plant species. Livestock waste gets treated to fertilize pepper plants. Thanks to that, Thanh's family reduced 50% of the cost of fertilizer and created a clean pepper product.

Loc Phu commune currently has a total herd of nearly 32,000 goats; more than 2,500 hectares of crops, mainly pepper, with 840 hectares. This region is one of the communes with the advantage of the black pepper of the Loc Ninh district. However, specialized farming households suffered losses due to the prolonged decline in pepper prices and the continuously increasing cost of fertilizers. Therefore, many farmers have found themselves in a new direction: growing pepper with goat farming and applying scientific and technical advances to implement a closed-cycle model effectively.

Vice Chairman of Loc Phu Commune People's Committee, Tran Van Tien, said: "Currently, people in the commune know how to apply science and technology to care for goats, composting goat manure to fertilize pepper plants. This approach reduces production costs, improves pepper quality, and reduces environmental pollution. From the benefits achieved, the model is increasingly being replicated".

Luu Van Binh household's cattle, goat, and grass farming farm in hamlet 54, Loc An commune, is one of the new economic models successfully applied in the area. The farm owner has focused on new varieties, environmental treatment, and using waste and by-products for effective reuse. Currently, the farm has 1,100 goats and 100 cows of the 3B breed. To implement this model, Binh has invested about 10 billion VND to build a barn with a total area of 3,500m2; the barn gets divided into five clean, airy, and environmentally friendly spaces. Around, he improved the land to plant elephant grass for animal feed.

Every day, all livestock waste is treated with ingredients, including yeast, sawdust, rice husk, rice bran, etc., to eliminate odours, then fertilized grass and fruit trees. When harvested, this crop is the leading food for cows and goats. According to Mr. Binh, economic efficiency has increased markedly since applying this model. In 2022, he sold over 50 tons of goat meat and 30 tons of beef cattle, earning hundreds of millions of VND.

Binh shared: Before, when I did not apply this model, I cleaned the cage every day, but there was still a bad smell. After that, I learned some cushioning models, applied them in practice, and found them effective.

Promoting circular agriculture

Agricultural farming in the direction of a circular economy has linked livestock and farming activities, in which each object is a link in the circular chain; the goal is to reduce input materials. Depending on production conditions, farmers choose crops and livestock with a scale suitable for their operation chain.

Loc Ninh border district currently has more than 481,000 pigs with 100 farms; 81,500 goats; 14,200 buffaloes, cows, and more than 1 million poultry. Taking advantage, large livestock farms and many farms and households in the area have developed a circular economy. There are typical models: raising goats-growing pepper; raising cows and goats - planting grass; garden - barn - biogas; Integrated production of raising goats and chickens - growing pepper, grass, orchards, etc., has brought various values to farmers.

Deputy Director of Loc Ninh District Agricultural Service Center, Phan Huy Han, said: "The centre has carried out demonstration models of circular agriculture, which instruct farmers in technical and agricultural processes: clean agriculture, organic agriculture, and safe and hygienic agrarian production. One practical approach is to use probiotics as additives in livestock farming to create a clean and hygienic environment. Another method involves using biological products for incubation and processing safe animal feeds. These practices support farmers in developing sustainable livestock and agriculture.

Many models of circular agricultural production have confirmed initial successes, increased production efficiency, and significantly reduced environmental waste. Loc Ninh district continues to orientate to promote sustainable agriculture in the border areas, in association with the protection of public health and safety of the ecological environment as the goal of the Resolution of the 13th Party Congress set out, land development in the 2021-2030 period, the country must "build a circular economy that is environmentally friendly."  

According to: Radio - Television and Newspaper Binh Phuoc