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In emerging East Asia, agricultural output has expanded dramatically over recent decades, primarily as a result of successful efforts to stimulate yield growth. This achievement has increased the availability of food and raw materials in the region, drastically diminished hunger, and more generally provided solid ground for economic development. The intensification of agriculture that has made this possible, however, has also led to serious pollution problems that have adversely affected human and ecosystem health, as well as the productivity of agriculture itself. In the region that currently owes the largest proportion of deaths to the environment, agriculture is often portrayed as a victim of industrial and urban pollution, and this is indeed the case. Yet agriculture is taking a growing toll on economic resources and sometimes becoming a victim of its own success.In parts of China, Vietnam, and the Philippines-the countries studied in The Challenge of Agricultural Pollution-this pattern of highly productive yet highly polluting agriculture has been unfolding with consequences that remain poorly understood. With large numbers of pollutants and sources, agricultural pollution is often undetected and unmeasured. When assessments do occur, they tend to take place within technical silos, and so the different ecological and socioeconomic risks are seldom considered as a whole, while some escape study entirely. However, when agricultural pollution is considered in its entirety, both the significance of its impacts and the relative neglect of them become clear. Meanwhile, growing recognition that a "pollute now, treat later" approach is unsustainable-from both a human health and an agroindustry perspective-has led public and private sector actors to seek solutions to this problem. Yet public intervention has tended to be more reactive than preventive and often inadequate in scale. In some instances, the implementation of sound pollution control programs has also been confronted with incentive structures that do not rank environmental outcomes prominently. Significant potential does exist, however, to reduce the footprint of farms through existing technical solutions, and with adequate and well-crafted government support, its realization is well within reach.

Pollution prevention --- Agricultural pollution

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Vietnamese agriculture has experienced remarkable growth over the past twenty years. Today, however, Vietnamese agriculture is edging toward the limits of a growth model rooted more in the intensification of production systems featuring heavy use of labor, chemicals, and natural resources than in efficiency or value addition gains. Agricultural growth is decelerating and Vietnam's competitiveness as a provider of bulk, undifferentiated commodities is flagging as the agricultural sector faces rising competition for labor, land, and other resources. The environmental fallout from intensification has also begun to adversely impact productivity and the position of Vietnam's commodities in international markets. If it is to fulfill its ambitions and remain a motor of economic development, Vietnam's agriculture will need to start producing More from Less. In this regard, tackling agricultural pollution represents a key challenge for Vietnam. Pollution has started to take a toll on the sector's own resource base, potentially impacting soil fertility and yields, the effectiveness of chemicals in combating pests and disease, farmer health and productivity, environmental health, and the safety of food. Growing evidence and public concern about pollution have led the Vietnamese government to adopt a new outlook and to take measures to address the problem. The research upon which this summary report is based represents the first attempt to assemble existing evidence on the nature and magnitude of agricultural pollution in Vietnam, looking across the livestock, aquaculture, and crops subsectors. It is also an attempt to shed light on the socioeconomic impacts and drivers of agricultural pollution, including the shortcomings of existing policies and programs to reign in the problem.

Agricultural Sector Economics --- Agriculture --- Climate Change and Agriculture --- Crops and Crop Management Systems --- Environment --- Fisheries and Aquaculture --- Livestock and Animal Husbandry --- Pollution Management and Control --- Sustainable Land Management