Are Livestock Effluent Standards of Vietnam Feasible? Insights from Land Use of Wastewater Treatment Plants in Pig Farms

[Purpose] This study evaluates the feasibility of implementing livestock effluent standards in Vietnam, a developing country experiencing rapid growth in pig production alongside severe environmental pollution problems. [Design/methodology/approach] This study surveyed 118 pig farms, collecting wastewater samples from their waste treatment systems. Through multiple regression analysis, this study modeled the relationship between pollutant levels and land area used for different treatment facilities. [Findings] The study revealed that meeting Level B of Vietnam's National Livestock Effluent Standards requires a waste treatment area of 6.09 m²/pig for standalone biogas digesters and 3.61 m²/pig for systems combining biogas digesters with bioponds. However, the surveyed farms allocated only 0.64 m²/pig and 1.16 m²/pig for these respective systems, demonstrating that compliance with the current standards is practically unachievable. Additionally, the results indicate that the combined system (biogas + biopond) achieves higher treatment efficiency than biogas digesters alone. [Practical implications] This finding highlights critical shortcomings in Vietnam’s agricultural land policies, including restrictive land quotas, land fragmentation, and short leasing terms for public agricultural land. These constraints discourage enterprises and large-scale farms from investing in infrastructure and waste treatment systems. To enable livestock farms to comply with effluent standards, policymakers should prioritize land consolidation, longer leasing terms for public agricultural land, and stricter enforcement of environmental regulations. [Originality/value] This is the first study in Vietnam to examine the feasibility of livestock wastewater standards in the aspect of land-use, one of the increasingly constrained resources in Vietnam.