Rice paddies in the Mekong Delta are gradually becoming "starved" of nutrients.

In his opening remarks at the workshop, Mr. Nguyen Van Bo, Chairman of the Science and Technology Council of Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company, stated that the Mekong Delta is the largest rice granary in the country, supplying over 50% of Vietnam's rice production and 90% of its rice exports. This region has also been blessed by nature with fertile land, abundant freshwater resources, and a large and high-quality supply of alluvial soil annually, making rice cultivation and the cultivation of many other crops highly efficient.

Đất lúa ở ĐBSCL đang dần — Mr. Le Thanh Tung, Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production, speaks at the workshop. Photo: Huynh Xay

However, according to a recent assessment by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment , the Mekong Delta has become one of the three deltas in the world most severely affected by climate change.

Recent studies have also shown that over-intensive farming, multiple cropping, unbalanced fertilization, the failure to reuse rice straw, along with saltwater intrusion and reduced annual sediment flow from the upper Mekong River, pose numerous challenges to rice production, such as increased costs and returns that do not match investment. Furthermore, rice cultivation is a major greenhouse gas emitter, accounting for approximately 50% of the agricultural sector's emissions.

As a provider of solutions for appropriate fertilizer use in relation to rice cultivation, Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company recognizes that only by understanding the nature of soil fertility and correctly identifying limiting factors for rice production can we use fertilizers "correctly," meeting the goals of reducing costs, increasing efficiency, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

With this mindset, Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company, in collaboration with the Department of Crop Production and the Vietnam Rice Industry Association, organized a national workshop: "Soil and Fertilizers" with the theme "The actual soil fertility status of rice fields in the Mekong Delta and solutions to improve the efficiency of fertilizer use in rice cultivation".

Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company hopes that the results of the workshop will also contribute to improving the technical aspects of rice cultivation processes for the 1 million hectare high-quality, low-emission rice project associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta (the 1 million hectare rice project).

At the workshop, Mr. Le Thanh Tung, Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production, stated that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is piloting a project to cultivate 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice. To achieve the project's goals, many issues need to be addressed, including soil quality and the efficient use of fertilizers, which were highlighted at the workshop.

Mr. Tran Ngoc Thach, Director of the Mekong Delta Rice Research Institute, said that the unit has 38 years of research on rice soil. Through this research, they have realized that the most common problem is the serious decrease in organic matter.

Meanwhile, Professor Nguyen Bao Ve, Vice Chairman of the Scientific and Technical Council of Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company, commented that rice fields are facing a nutritional imbalance.

Professor Nguyen Bao Ve said: "In the past, as part of the smart rice farming program, the company has conducted research on the fertility of rice paddy soil in the Mekong Delta. The results show that rice paddy soil is facing a nutritional imbalance, and the agricultural sector needs to pay attention to this."

"When we analyzed 76 rice paddy soil samples from 38 locations in the Mekong Delta, we discovered nutritional imbalances due to degraded organic matter quality and reduced readily available phosphorus in some areas ... Although the problem is not yet alarming, it needs to be addressed, " added Professor Nguyen Bao Ve.

Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company signed a cooperation agreement with several businesses to implement the "Smart Rice Farming Program to Reduce Emissions in the Mekong Delta Region, 2024-2027". Photo: Huynh Xay

In the coming period, according to Professor Nguyen Bao Ve, rice fields in the Mekong Delta need to implement many technical solutions to improve soil quality. Specifically, this includes using microbial preparations to treat rice straw directly in the fields to restore nutrients to the soil; deepening the soil to create a thicker topsoil layer; drying the soil; soaking the soil; and creating irrigation ditches when planting rice. At the same time, applying bio-calcium fertilizer will improve soil nutrition and reduce organic toxicity.

According to Professor Nguyen Bao Ve, this method will help increase productivity by more than 12% compared to the control plot (the model yielded 7.62 tons/ha; the control plot yielded 6.51 ha).

Mr. Le Canh Dinh from the Institute of Agricultural Planning and Design also stated that, under the impact of climate change and farming practices, there is an imbalance in soil nutrients in rice cultivation.

Therefore, during the production process, especially in land preparation, it is crucial to ensure that the straw decomposes and returns nutrients to the soil, instead of simply applying it to the fields. Currently, Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company has developed a process for rapid straw decomposition by combining mechanization with fertilization.

At the workshop, Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) signed a cooperation agreement for the project "Research, evaluation and development of straw treatment technology to increase efficiency and reduce emissions in production"; Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company also signed cooperation agreements with several businesses to implement the "Smart rice farming program to reduce emissions in the Mekong Delta region giai đoạn 2024-2027".

Source: https://danviet.vn/dat-lua-o-dbscl-dang-dan-doi-dinh-duong-20241002135354807.htm