BPP Partnership Impact Series: Developing climate-smart farms for sustainable land management in Vietnam

Since its launch, the Business Partnerships Platform (BPP) has worked with ambitious partners to deliver meaningful, lasting change in communities across the world. The BPP Partnership Impact Series celebrates the outcomes and lessons from our partnerships, highlighting their contributions to inclusive economic growth, resilience and sustainable development.

Our Green Recovery partnerships in Vietnam were established to accelerate a green and inclusive recovery in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This partnership set out to demonstrate the potential of climate-smart agriculture in one of the country’s most climate-vulnerable regions. Concluding in 2024, it laid the foundations for commercial viability, social impact and future expansion.

Growing climate-smart farming in Vietnam

In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, a groundbreaking BPP partnership between Orlar, Raise Partners, SNV and the Australian Government has been pioneering climate-smart agriculture since 2021. Using custom-built facilities and technology that produces carbon-neutral crops with high efficiency, Orlar has been delivering fresh, healthy food while creating incomes for local workers, supporting suppliers, enhancing climate resilience and helping combat land degradation and climate change impacts. The model offers a blueprint to scale sustainable food production in one of Vietnam’s most climate-vulnerable regions.

When the partnership wrapped up in 2024, it had delivered a large-scale demonstration site and achieved commercial viability through a joint venture with San Ha, one of Vietnam’s leading food companies. This collaboration ensured 100% offtake for Orlar’s produce, streamlined operations and unlocked access to San Ha’s supply chains, government networks and market expertise.

The partnership also invested in social and environmental impact. More than 300 farm workers and employees took part in training on food safety, sustainable agriculture, financial literacy and GEDSI awareness, while new jobs created through the project placed a strong emphasis on empowering women and young people. Technological innovations, from automated irrigation and solar integration to the restoration of degraded land, provided clear proof of concept for Orlar’s model and laid the foundation for expansion in Long An and beyond.

About the partnership

This partnership aimed to scale Orlar’s innovative climate-smart farming pods to boost sustainable food production while freeing up agricultural land for rehabilitation. Developed through five years of research and optimisation, the pods are ten times more productive than conventional alternatives, use 95% less water and generate net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, plastic waste or nutrient pollution.

Through the partnership, Orlar adapted its technology with efficient temperature control to make low-altitude farming viable in the Mekong Delta. Pilot trials and demonstration sites showed that high-value temperate crops can be grown in areas not traditionally suited to them. This approach not only created new jobs and incomes but also reduced pressure on stressed landscapes in the Central Highlands and Mekong Delta.

Impact

During the BPP partnership period, the impact included:

• Producing clean food: More than 5,800 kilograms of vegetables grown, providing around 19,000 meals.
• Creating better jobs and wages: Six full-time jobs established at the pilot site, all for low-income households. Four positions were held by women, with wages rising from AUD $120 to more than AUD $450 per month.
• Scaling sustainable practices: 120 crop trials conducted in high-temperature and high-humidity conditions. Root zone cooling technology boosted yields by an average of 40%.
• Paving the way for growth: A joint venture with San Ha laid the foundation for commercial expansion, with plans to scale to a six-hectare site in Long An province.

Orlar’s organic rock: powering climate-smart farming

At the heart of Orlar’s climate-smart farming system is Australian-certified organic rock, used as a natural growing medium that replaces soil. This unique material helps lock in nutrients, reduces water use by 95% compared to traditional hydroponics and supports year-round production of clean, healthy food. 

By combining this innovation with high-tech farming pods, Orlar is delivering carbon-neutral crops while restoring degraded land and protecting Vietnam’s fragile ecosystems.

View the full partnership impact story below or download here.