A circular economy in agriculture is emerging as a strategic pathway for Vietnam’s green transition and its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. At the recent “Implementing the Circular Economy in Vietnam: Policies and Action Linkages” forum, Professor Pham Bao Duong, Rector of the Bac Giang Agriculture and Forestry University, noted that in recent years a number of early movers have incorporated circular practices into agricultural production - reusing by-products from coffee, tea, and seafood processing as well as livestock waste to create new products. 

But fully closed-loop models with complete value chains from input to output remain few and far between. The core issue, the Professor believes, is the lack of a clear research framework and policy foundation for building circular value chains.

Missing links

Vietnam still lacks systematic, interdisciplinary research on circular value chains, Professor Duong added. Most studies focus on single components such as recycling technology, waste management, or cleaner production, even though circularity requires an integrated approach that links economics, technology, the environment, and society, and analyzes each stage in relation to the others.

Vietnam’s agriculture is dominated by smallholder farmers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), yet their role and capacity in circular models remain largely unexamined, he explained. Despite references to circular economy development in the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 and the National Green Growth Strategy 2021-2030, detailed regulations, implementation guidelines, and sector-specific policies for circular value chains in agriculture are still absent.

The existing legal framework leans heavily on waste management, recycling, and pollution control. But circular value chains require a broader scope: eco-design, sustainable resource use, optimized supply chains, and markets for circular products. Financial incentives are also limited. Green credit, technology-innovation support, tax incentives, and carbon credit schemes remain at pilot scale and are yet to attract strong business participation. Smallholders and cooperatives, in particular, have hardly benefited from these programs.

Vietnam has not yet issued national criteria for assessing circularity in agricultural production, nor technical guidelines for localities or businesses. As a result, most circular models rely on hands-on experience or donor-funded pilots, with little scientific basis for scaling up. Waste treatment technologies also lag behind, and the conversion of agricultural by-products into high-value goods remains modest.

Modern technologies demand significant investment, often beyond the reach of farmers and SMEs. Transitioning from traditional agriculture to circular models requires capital for machinery, treatment systems, and new technologies, creating heavy financial pressure. At the same time, many farmers still follow a “linear” production mindset and lack awareness of the long-term economic and environmental benefits of circular agriculture. Local officials in some areas also lack the knowledge and skills to guide implementation effectively.

To move forward, Professor Duong urged the government to introduce national criteria for circular agriculture, covering resource efficiency, emission reductions, by-product reuse, and the degree of closed-loop production. These criteria would form the basis for recognizing successful models and guiding policy and credit support.

He also called for greater investment in waste treatment and recycling technologies, the wider use of digital tools and AI in managing agricultural product lifecycles, and stronger grassroots innovation. Closer collaboration between farmers, cooperatives, businesses, researchers, and the government is also essential, including public-private partnerships in waste treatment and by-product processing.

Given the high upfront costs of circular value chains, he recommended establishing a circular agriculture development fund that provides concessional loans and green credit for businesses, cooperatives, and farmers investing in recycling, waste treatment, and bioenergy projects.

Unlocking value

Dr. Trieu Thanh Quang from the Institute of Human Geography at the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences argued that circular agriculture is not only about reducing waste or reusing resources. It is also about mobilizing and enhancing the existing assets of rural communities - land, local knowledge, production skills, social networks, and cultural values - to create closed, sustainable, and self-sustaining production cycles.

This mindset maximizes internal value, from turning agricultural by-products into organic fertilizers and bioenergy to developing integrated farming models that combine cultivation, livestock, and processing. 

Research shows that Vietnam’s crop sector generates an estimated 95-98 million tons of agricultural by-products and waste each year, including roughly 52 million tons of rice straw and husks. This represents a vast resource for organic fertilizers, bioenergy, and biomass materials, but only about half of the rice straw is reused while the remainder is burned; squandering potential value and emitting greenhouse gases.

Vietnam’s livestock sector also produces large volumes of recyclable by-products each year, totaling tens of millions of tons of solid and liquid waste, most of which remains untreated or underutilized.

The wood processing industry also generates some 8.6 million cubic meters of by-products annually, such as sawdust and wood chips, but only around 15 per cent is recycled; the remainder is either simply discarded or burned. The seafood sector also boasts potential given the practices in place. By-products such as shrimp and crab shells and fish heads and viscera total roughly 1 million tons a year but less than 10 per cent is recycled.

Taken together, these four sectors produce more than 150 million tons of agricultural waste and by-products every year, but the national recycling rate averages just 40-50 per cent.

Dr. Quang stressed that sustainable agriculture must draw on community strengths. “This model enables rural households to leverage indigenous knowledge, production skills, and social networks to build closed, self-sustaining production cycles,” he explained. “Instead of depending on external resources, farmers become central actors - planning, deciding, and implementing their own initiatives.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Lai Van Manh from the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Environment added that with the principle that “everything is the input of something else,” the circular economy is emerging as a strategic pathway for Vietnam’s green transition and meeting its net-zero goal by 2050. Agriculture, he noted, is at the forefront, where by-products are no longer waste but renewable resources.

Source: VnEconomy