Possibilities for a circular and climate resilient livestock production in the Mekong delta

General

The Mekong Delta in Vietnam is crucial for the Vietnamese agri-food sector. It is the most agriculturally productive region of the country, in particular for rice, aquaculture and fruit production. The Mekong Delta produces enough food for almost 200 million people; any significant reduction in agricultural output would have consequences for global food security. However, the agricultural sector is unsustainable. Although the livestock sector is not the main production sector, it contributes substantially to the negative environmental impacts such as emissions to water and air, land degradation, land subsidence from groundwater extraction and inefficient freshwater use. At the same time, the sector is also suffering from the effects of climate change. The main effects are salinization, heat stress, longer and more extreme periods of rainfall and drought seasons causing a lack of fresh water, decreasing harvests and harvest losses of feed production and severe heat stress. Given the current challenges of unsustainable livestock production and the effects of climate change, it will be difficult for the livestock sector to maintain its current growth rate if its existing development model continues. Additionally, climate-resilient livestock farming needs to be introduced, increased and improved to face the current challenges of food insecurity, environmental degradation and climate change.The present project implemented by the Wageningen University and Research (WUR) will review the sustainability, productivity, and resource efficiency of livestock production, to develop production systems appropriate under climate change conditions.