Regrow Selected as Independent Verifier for Mekong River Delta Emissions Reduction Initiative in Rice Production

‍Regrow Ag today shared details of its participation in the “Transforming Rice Value Chains for Climate Resilient and Sustainable Development in the Mekong Delta” project known as TRVC. Funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the project manager, the Netherlands Development Organization SNV, is collaborating with stakeholders in Vietnam to design the five-year project with the goal of shifting to low-carbon, climate resilient food systems in three provinces in the Upper Mekong River Delta: An Giang, Dong Thap and Kien Giang. Regrow’s Agriculture Resilience Platform has been selected as the program’s measurement, reporting, verification (MRV) technology.

Rice, a staple food for billions, faces challenges due to climate change affecting both its cultivation and the livelihoods it supports.

With 80 percent of its 17 million people engaged in rice cultivation, the Mekong Delta is known as the “Rice Bowl” of Vietnam. Research conducted from 2020-2021 estimated that the region’s rice production volume reached approximately 24.8 million metric tons in a single year. Implementing and scaling climate-positive rice production practices are key to the future of the region’s agriculture and to decrease methane emissions.

To drive impact and collaboration across the value chain requires the ability to quantify and monitor sustainable practices accurately. Cost-effective, scalable MRV technology is key to achieving these outcomes. Given Regrow’s experience with supporting programs that incentivize farmers transitioning to climate-positive practices in Vietnam’s Red River Delta rice production, the company’s platform will be used in several ways to support the outcomes of the program.

Smallholder farmers have traditionally been excluded from carbon markets due to relatively low levels of infrastructure, difficulties in aggregation, and high barriers to entry in terms of record-keeping. Regrow’s platform will support the TRVC project to distribute performance-based incentives, as well as support the project’s registration on the voluntary carbon market. Regrow’s combination of remote sensing and process modeling technology will provide reliable measurement and verification of greenhouse gas emissions outcomes, enabling smallholder farmers to achieve higher economic outcomes.

Dr. Bill Salas, Chief Strategy Officer of Regrow Ag, commented, “The Government of Vietnam has made a Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) commitment to reduce methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030, and achieve net zero by 2050.” He continued,

“Regrow’s data-driven contributions to the TRVC project support low-carbon rice market development and increase profitability where it matters most for the hundreds of thousands of rice farmers in this region. We’re honored to be an integral part of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from rice production, improving rice value chain linkages, and contributing to a policy framework to promote low-carbon rice production.”

Ms. Thu Ha Tran, Team Leader of TRVC Project, commented “The TRVC Project will support sustainable livelihoods for 200,000 rice farming households on a scale of 200,000 hectares to contribute to the implementation of the Project 1 million hectares of high-quality rice from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. In addition, the Project pioneered the design and use of an internationally recognized GHG measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) system to generate approximately 200,000 carbon credits; contribute to Vietnam's NDC and be ready for credit exchange from 2028 when Vietnam's carbon exchange officially operates.”

The TRVC project will officially launch and implement the first crop in 2024. For more information about TRVC, please visit https://trvc.vn.

Details about SNV’s work in Vietnam can be accessed at https://www.snv.org/country/vietnam.    

About Regrow

Regrow Ag powers Agriculture Resilience for today’s leading retailers, CPGs, processors, and farmers. Named one of the TIME100 Most Influential Companies of 2023, Regrow’s rapidly growing list of partners includes Cargill, General Mills, and Kellogg’s. With Regrow’s Agriculture Resilience Platform, companies across the ag supply chain gain the ability to assure their supply chains by accelerating the needed scale of GHG emissions reduction, adoption of regenerative farming practices, and proactive adaptation to the changing climate. A World Economic Forum Innovator and member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Regrow has been named the No. 1 Most Innovative Company in Agriculture on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies in 2023.

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