Vietnam's One Million Hectares of High-Quality and Low-Emission Rice (1Mha) Program is taking steps to make precision nutrient management (PNM) available to women and smallholder farmers who have so far been left out of training. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the International Potato Center (CIP), with the Can Tho Department of Agriculture and Environment, held a workshop in Can Tho on 19 August 2026 on gender-inclusive, farmer-centred strategies for scaling PNM.

Farmers, cooperatives, government officials, extension workers, women's organisations, researchers and private-sector representatives took part. Working in four groups, covering retailers, companies and traders; farmers and cooperatives; commune extension workers and Women's Union representatives; and provincial agriculture officials, they drew on field findings from an earlier workshop with women and men farmers to design practical strategies.

The discussions found that women, young people, people with disabilities, farmers with little land, low-income households and geographically isolated communities are often overlooked by agricultural training. Women face extra barriers because training is usually oriented to men, schedules clash with their farm and household work, and their financial and unpaid contributions are not always recognised.

Participants recommended clear targets for the participation of women and marginalised groups, identifying why particular groups are excluded, and tailoring invitations, timing, content and communication channels to their circumstances. Women's Unions proposed folding PNM training into their regular activities. Provincial officers suggested policy incentives such as giving women-led cooperatives priority for funding.

"The initiative is not to replace men; it is to bring different strengths together and add value to rice production," said Mr. Truong Huu Tri, Head of Go Gon Cooperative in Tay Ninh Province, who argued that women's participation in cooperatives improves productivity as well as equality.

Ms. Huynh Kim Dinh, Deputy Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, reaffirmed the centre's commitment to farmer-centric and gender-inclusive principles in its nationwide programmes, including tailored advisory services, field demonstrations and inclusive technology-transfer models. Dr. Nozomi Kawarazuka, a scientist and gender expert at CIP, said the challenges of PNM adoption are not only technical.

In a post-workshop survey, 93% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that gender-inclusive scaling can improve overall adoption of PNM, and all respondents said they had plans to act on it in their own work. The work is part of the CGIAR Scaling for Impact Project and the TaiwanICDF-supported CABIN project on sustainable, low-carbon rice innovations in Southeast Asia.

Source: CGIAR