The Party's directive propelled a rice-growing region to new heights. Part 2

Việt Nam•21/09/2023

Not only has it become a key rice-producing area of the province, but thanks to its clean and fresh water resources, farmers in Tanh Linh district have boldly applied technological advancements to production, limiting the use of chemicals in cultivation and producing in a stable and sustainable manner. This has resulted in clean, organic rice products, bringing high profits to farmers while contributing to building and affirming the brand of rice from the mountainous Tanh Linh district.

Typical factors

Visiting the northern communes of Tanh Linh district today, witnessing the golden rice fields being harvested by local farmers, we can feel the development of the La Nga River valley. On the solidly paved rural road, Mr. Nguyen Truong Toan, Chairman of the Duc Phu Agricultural Service Cooperative, drives his "Rep" car to each rice field to supervise the harvest of the cooperative's winter-spring rice crop. Mr. Toan shared: His cooperative was established in 1985, with an initial production area of a few dozen hectares, which has now increased to nearly 180 hectares. At that time, production was mainly one crop, dependent on rainwater. Internal field roads were not paved and were narrow; there was no irrigation, so production faced many difficulties and profits were very low.

“Since the District Party Committee issued Directive 15, we have invested in building a solid irrigation canal system, bringing water to every rice field. The internal field roads have also been gradually hardened and concreted, making production and business more convenient for the cooperative. From one rice crop per year, we have increased to 2-3 rice crops per year. Previously, we only specialized in producing rice for consumption, but the cooperative has boldly partnered with businesses to guarantee product sales. The area under contract has increased to over 100 hectares. Profits from the cooperative's business are consistently quite high each year. Currently, the cooperative is applying for the necessary procedures to obtain the Duc Phu rice brand to supply the market,” Mr. Toan added.

As one of the leading figures in the development of local agricultural economy , Mr. Cap Kim Thanh from Bac Ruong commune believes that agricultural production is much more favorable now than before. Therefore, it is necessary to change old ways of thinking such as dense sowing, overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and instead produce high-quality, clean, and safe rice for both himself and consumers. His experience is to focus on production in only two main seasons: the winter-spring and early summer-autumn seasons; limiting production in the main crop season because this season often coincides with the peak of the rainy season and floods, making total crop loss unavoidable. Mr. Thanh has dedicated 4 hectares of his family's rice fields to VietGAP-certified rice production and has encouraged other villagers to follow suit. From an initial 9 hectares with 12 participating households, this has increased to 20 hectares with 20 households producing rice according to VietGAP standards by 2023. Profits have increased significantly compared to conventional rice production.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Duc, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Duc Binh Agricultural Service Cooperative.

While packing bags of ST25 rice for delivery to customers, Mr. Nguyen Anh Duc, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Duc Binh Agricultural Service Cooperative, smiled brightly and said: "Nowadays, in agricultural production, you only need to prepare bags to hold the rice; everything else is taken care of by businesses. That's why, right from the establishment of the cooperative in 2017 with a total area of 25 hectares, he boldly experimented with organic farming on 0.7 hectares. To date, the area of organic farming has reached 50 hectares. The cooperative's rice uses the brand name "Tanh Linh Rice". Currently, Mr. Duc's family packs and delivers about 10 tons of organic rice per month to customers in the province and major cities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai. Each 5kg bag, with the Tanh Linh Rice logo on the packaging, contains rice varieties such as OM18 and ST25, which he sells for around 140,000 VND." After deducting all expenses, Mr. Duc's family earns an average income of 500-700 million VND per year.

Reportedly, the cooperative has had two rice products, ST24 and OM18, recognized as 3-star OCOP products. The cooperative not only maintains organic production on 50 hectares but also collaborates with farmers to expand organic production and improve rice quality to 4 stars.

Enhancing value

Mr. Giap Ha Bac, Deputy Secretary of the District Party Committee and Chairman of the People's Committee of Tanh Linh District, happily shared: "Previously, the winter-spring crop had to be left fallow during the dry season due to lack of irrigation water, but now it has become the main crop of the year. From using rice for consumption as seeds, now over 95% of the rice used is certified high-quality rice seeds for production, resulting in a significant increase in yield. Thanks to this, over 11,000 hectares of rice cultivation land have been maintained and stabilized, the area of large-scale rice fields has been expanded, and nearly 1,800 hectares of high-quality rice fields have been implemented, accounting for 50% of the large-scale fields. Over 2,700 hectares are produced organically, including 50 hectares produced according to VietGAP standards with the brand name "Tanh Linh Rice".

In addition, the district maintains links with the Mekong Delta Rice Research Institute and companies and businesses producing certified rice seeds, focusing on 200-250 hectares per year. Rice production using the SRI and VietGAP methods is maintained annually at 260-300 hectares. Simultaneously, 2,550 hectares have been converted to dryland crops to avoid seasonal variations and natural disasters. Currently, Tanh Linh has been recognized by the province with two 3-star OCOP rice products (ST24 and OM18). Notably, besides the two production and consumption linkage projects implemented under Government Decree No. 98 and Provincial People's Council Resolution No. 86, Tanh Linh district has recently attracted Loc Troi Group Joint Stock Company to invest in the district's rice production and consumption chain.

According to Mr. Giap Ha Bac, the district has allocated budget annually to invest in and support farmers with rice cultivation techniques, including organic rice farming. Initially, only 3 cooperatives and 3 cooperative groups specialized in rice seed production, covering an area of about 50 hectares per crop (producing only 2 rice seed crops per year). Now, 12 cooperatives and 25 cooperative groups in the district participate in seed production, covering a total area of over 200 hectares. To date, the Tanh Linh rice brand is used by several units in the area, packaging products organically with a quantity of about 1,000 tons per year, such as Duc Lan rice (Duc Binh), Bac Ruong, Duc Phu, etc.

From a poor agricultural district, Tanh Linh has gradually asserted its position compared to other districts in the province. Not stopping there, the Resolution of the 9th Tanh Linh District Party Congress, term 2020-2025, identified one of the two breakthroughs as: Expanding and improving the effectiveness of linkages and production along the value chain for products with potential and advantages of the district, associated with innovating appropriate production methods; the District Party Committee has issued Plan No. 57 on implementing Resolution No. 05 dated September 10, 2021, of the Binh Thuan Provincial Party Committee (14th term) on developing a modern, sustainable, high-value-added agricultural sector. This is a particularly important condition for Tanh Linh's agriculture to continue to take off in the near future.

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