For years, the end of the rice harvest at Tien Thuan Agricultural and Service Cooperative in Vietnam was marked by smoke. With few buyers for loose straw and limited information about other uses, farmers often burned what remained in their fields.

The practice was quick and familiar, but it also made rice straw seem like waste rather than a resource with value. Farmers were concerned that removing straw could harm soil health and remained focused on producing the next rice crop, managing costs and protecting farm income.

The effects of burning and chemical-intensive production extended beyond the fields. Beneficial insects became less common, field crabs disappeared and farmers faced concerns about their health. Changing practices that had been followed for years required more than instructions. Farmers needed evidence they could see in their own fields.

That evidence began to emerge through the International Rice Research Institute’s Rice Straw-Based Circular Economy for Improved Biodiversity and Sustainability, or RiceEco, project. Funded by the Mekong-Republic of Korea Cooperation Fund, the project worked with local partners and farming communities in Vietnam and Cambodia to reduce straw burning and develop circular-economy uses for rice residues.

At Tien Thuan, IRRI introduced technologies and training for straw collection, mushroom cultivation and mechanized composting. The project also demonstrated mechanized straw incorporation combined with microbial technology to accelerate straw decomposition.

In June 2024, IRRI and Can Tho agriculture authorities launched a replicated circular agriculture model at the cooperative and provided a self-propelled organic fertilizer turner. The effort was connected to Vietnam’s One Million Hectares of High-Quality and Low-Emission Rice Program, which aims to reduce production costs and emissions while supporting greener growth in the Mekong Delta.

For cooperative director Nguyen Cao Khai, adopting unfamiliar machinery and techniques presented challenges. Training and scientific evidence helped build confidence and demonstrated that straw could be removed from fields without sacrificing the productivity of the next crop.

The results have transformed the cooperative’s operations. Before RiceEco, Tien Thuan had no dedicated straw-processing machinery and only about 240 square meters of production space. It has since developed about 1,000 square meters for composting and 540 square meters for storage, along with access to another 4,000 square meters for mushroom production.

By September 2025, the cooperative was producing about 12 to 15 tons of organic fertilizer each month. A mushroom production cycle using 600 to 700 rolls of straw produced about 900 to 1,050 kilograms of mushrooms in 40 to 42 days.

The cooperative’s legal structure remained unchanged, but its business activities expanded. Rice cultivation was joined by a growing rice straw enterprise involving compost, mushrooms, storage, machinery, packaging, branding and potential buyers. Products initially produced for household use began to show potential as marketable goods and an additional source of income.

The new model also created opportunities for women through training and participation in straw-based activities. Nhung, a farmer who joined the cooperative in 2024, learned about mechanized direct seeding, reduced seed and fertilizer rates, mushroom cultivation and composting.

She began on a small scale, producing mushrooms for her family and compost for a vegetable garden. By observing practices at the cooperative and applying them at home, she gained knowledge that she could share with her husband and use in household farm decisions.

The new practices also reduced some of the physical labor associated with clearing roots and residues from fields. Lower production costs created additional possibilities for family needs, including children's education.

The cooperative still faces challenges in expanding its straw business. Collection, transportation and processing require expensive machinery, making financing a significant constraint. Support from Thien Tam Capital Investment under Vingroup, following the conclusion of RiceEco, has helped the cooperative obtain a straw baler, drone, decomposing machine and pellet-making machine.

Khai believes long-term financing of five to seven years will be important for cooperatives that want to invest in machinery and expand operations across larger areas.

His plans include removing and productively using all rice straw from participating fields, expanding mushroom production and bale sales, building larger storage facilities, mechanizing collection and transportation and testing pelletized organic fertilizer. An electricity company also has approached the cooperative about the potential for generating energy from straw.

Khai also sees a need for stronger business administration training for cooperative leaders and expanded skills training for the community, along with continued evaluation of the economic and agronomic effects of organic compost.

The cooperative’s work is part of a broader shift in rice straw management in Vietnam. RiceEco contributed to Vietnam’s national technical guideline on sustainable, circular and low-emission rice straw management, issued in 2023 for the Mekong Delta.

Across Vietnam and Cambodia, the RiceEco project reported reaching 5,084 farmers and related stakeholders, including 73% men and 27% women. The project also helped establish business models that convert rice straw into fertilizer, mushrooms and other useful products.

At Tien Thuan, the shift has changed how farmers view the material left after harvest. Instead of seeing straw as something to burn or remove, farmers increasingly see it as a source of additional value, improved soil management, biodiversity and income.

The experience demonstrates how practical training, technology and evidence can help farmers move from traditional residue disposal toward a circular business model. For a cooperative once accustomed to watching rice straw disappear in smoke, the material now represents another opportunity to strengthen farm livelihoods and build a more sustainable future.

Source: CGIAR, "STORY OF CHANGE: From Rice Residue to Revenue"