Webinar: From agroforestry to forest carbon market - Perspectives from the RECAF Project

On the morning of July 15, 2026, the Agricultural and Forestry Policy Research Network organized a webinar with the theme “From agroforestry to forest carbon market: Perspectives from the RECAF project”, attracting the participation of managers, experts, researchers, and development organizations. The program focused on discussing the role of agroforestry models in Vietnam's emission reduction strategy, while analyzing the potential for connecting these models with the future forest carbon market.

Agroforestry: A key solution in the emission reduction roadmap

According to the speakers, agroforestry and scattered tree planting are identified as one of the important solutions included in Vietnam's updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). In the context of Vietnam's forestry sector receiving significant financial support from initiatives such as the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and other international support programs, agroforestry is considered a model that both helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and creates sustainable livelihoods for local communities.

Unlike traditional monoculture agriculture, agroforestry promotes the combination of agricultural crops with long-term woody plants or the development of production models under forest canopy. This approach not only helps improve vegetation cover and increase carbon absorption capacity but also contributes to enhancing the resilience of ecosystems to the impacts of climate change.

RECAF Project: Promoting low-emission landscape transformation

One of the key contents of the webinar was the introduction of the RECAF Project (Reducing Emissions in Vietnam's Central Highlands and South Central Coast regions to contribute to the implementation of the National REDD+ Action Program), funded by IFAD and implemented in Đắk Lắk, Gia Lai, Lâm Đồng, and Khánh Hòa from 2025–2031. The project has a total resource of approximately 96 million USD, aiming to support the implementation of the National REDD+ Action Plan, promote community-based forest management, and build deforestation-free agricultural value chains.

RECAF aims to transform 145,000 ha of forest land adjacent to production land and residential areas into sustainable management practices. Of this, approximately 90,000 ha will adopt agroforestry models, while 55,000 ha will be implemented under multi-stakeholder cooperative forest management models at the commune level. The project also contributes to protecting approximately 500,000 ha of high-value natural forests and reducing or avoiding emissions of approximately 6.68 million tons of CO₂ equivalent over its lifespan.

According to the sharing at the webinar, RECAF focuses on converting monoculture agricultural areas to intercropping models with perennial woody plants, developing medicinal plants under forest canopy, and forest-friendly production models. The selection of intervention areas is based on criteria related to livelihood potential, emission reduction capacity, and compatibility with current policy systems.

The bridge between agroforestry and the carbon market

A significant highlight of the webinar was the discussion on the potential for agroforestry models to participate in the carbon market. According to the calculations presented, converting monoculture production land to agroforestry models can help absorb an average of approximately 5.21 tons of CO₂/ha/year. This is an important basis for considering the development of methodologies for measuring, reporting, and verifying carbon absorbed from agroforestry systems.

The speakers noted that the carbon market opens up opportunities to generate additional income for people and businesses through emission reduction or carbon sequestration activities. However, realizing this potential still faces many challenges such as completing the legal framework, clearly identifying eligible crop types, developing appropriate carbon standards for AF models, and ensuring a system for monitoring and verifying absorbed carbon.

Besides technical factors, private sector participation is also considered a prerequisite. RECAF aims to support the development of deforestation-free value chains for commodities such as coffee, macadamia, black pepper, cashew, and fruit trees, while also assisting businesses in accessing certification, finance, and new market mechanisms, including the carbon market.

Challenges and prospects ahead

Despite significant potential, the widespread implementation of agroforestry still faces many barriers. Experts pointed out three main groups of challenges: the compatibility of models with current regulations; the ability to demonstrate the emission reduction effectiveness of each crop type and farming system; and the motivation for people to accept transitioning from familiar production models to new methods.

To address these issues, RECAF is developing tools to support planning, assess intervention potential, and build tailored solutions for each locality. At the same time, the project focuses on developing cooperatives, production groups, contract-linking mechanisms with businesses, and rural financial forms to increase people's access to resources.

The webinar showed that agroforestry is not only a technical solution for reducing emissions and protecting forest resources but can also become an important foundation for Vietnam to participate more deeply in future carbon finance mechanisms. With its large investment scale, a focus on developing deforestation-free value chains, and an integrated approach between the state, businesses, and producers, RECAF is expected to create replicable practical models, contributing to Vietnam's climate commitments while improving livelihoods for local communities.