Cabin

Can Tho City , Vietnam, November 20, 2025 – In a landmark step toward transforming one of Southeast Asia’s most persistent agricultural challenges into a cross-border circular economy opportunity, a regional Learning Alliance on Rice Straw Circular Economy which is backed by the CABIN project, has already mobilized nearly 150 delegates from five countries—Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand to participate in a technology showcase on rice straw management in Tien Thuan Cooperative, Can Tho City.

The showcase offered a vivid, hands-on demonstration of how straw—long seen as waste to be burned—can become a driver of jobs, income, and environmental repair. Delegates watched five cutting-edge technologies in live operation: rotary tillage combined with microbial products for rapid straw incorporation; indoor and outdoor straw mushroom cultivation; mechanized organic fertilizer production; a specialized pelletizing system for straw-based fertilizer; and an innovative method to mold straw into biodegradable pots, designed to replace conventional plastic nursery containers.

“The valuable lessons from these two working days show that sustainable straw management is an opportunity to build new value chains, create jobs, and generate income for farmers,” said Dr. Nguyen Van Hung, CABIN project leader at the event.

For the five participating nations, the challenge is shared: each year, millions of tons of rice straw are burned in open fields across the Lower Mekong region, causing toxic haze, carbon emissions, and lost soil health. Yet until now, solutions have largely remained national or local. The regional Learning Alliance explicitly aims to break those silos.

Learning Alliance and Technology Showcase on Rice Straw Management

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