Cleaner, safer agriculture is gate way to sustainable development

The study compiles available data on a broad range of pollutants and impacts, and lays out a vision for a cleaner and safer agriculture. Although agricultural pollutants are many, a wide range of technical solutions can help improve animal and crop waste management and optimize the use of agrochemicals, plastics, veterinary drugs, and feed. Many of the solutions offer opportunities to boost the quality and value of agricultural production.  

Acting on pollution has the potential to energize the pursuit of emerging national policy priorities, which include enhancing food safety, adding value to agricultural products, improving diet quality, attracting a new generation of farmers and food entrepreneurs, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change. In this light, addressing agricultural pollution issues can be considered a gateway to achieving countries’ broader sustainable development goals.

By outlining how the public sector can elevate this issue and direct adequate resources toward pollution priorities; compel and motivate farmers of various sizes and capacities to produce in better ways; the Bank backs innovation and learning to stay ahead of the pollution challenge; and structurally shape the sector to grow more sustainably. While pollution control requires upfront investments, many of the solutions offer win-win opportunities to both increase efficiency and reduce impacts.

In Vietnam, WB financing will help scale up innovative aquaculture practices which increase shrimp yields while reducing water pollution on about 100,000 hectares over the next five years in the Mekong Delta, helping boost farmers’ livelihoods and resilience to climate change.

In addition, the country is scaling up the adoption of biogas digesters in livestock operations and promoting the use of more judicious fertilizer and agro-chemicals among rice farmers in the Mekong Delta region./.