Positioning the value of Dien Bien rice: [Part 3] Thinking 'doing right together'

Mud underfoot, but sunshine above

Mr. Quan Ba ​​Toi, Director of Thanh Yen General Service Cooperative - a Thai man who grew up amidst the scent of rice and the sun and wind of Muong Thanh often says: "Mud sticks to the feet, but if we know how to raise our heads, we can still see the sun."

Born into a farming family in Thanh Yen commune ( Dien Bien district), from a young age, Toi was familiar with the sound of water flowing in the fields, with the sweet scent of rice in bloom and the bowl of fragrant sticky rice every harvest season. But the older he got, the more troubled he became when he saw that the specialty rice of his hometown, although delicious and rich, was being sold mixed, mislabeled and floating around as if no one was really responsible for its value.

Mr. Quan Ba ​​Toi (right), Director of Thanh Yen General Service Cooperative, and local people check the seedling trays. Photo: Tu Thanh.

“If we continue to do the same, soon the name ‘Dien Bien rice’ will only be a memory lost in the dust of time,” Toi pondered. And then, while many young people chose to leave the fields to seek a future in the city, he chose the opposite direction, studying agriculture , returning to his hometown, starting over from the very field where his mother used to carry water to sow rice.

That decision once surprised many people. "Farming? In this age of technology?" But for Mr. Toi, farming is not about returning to the buffalo and the plow, but learning how to master the land with science , knowledge, market thinking and professionalism.

Members of Thanh Yen General Service Cooperative prepare trays of seedlings for machine planting, one of the technical innovations contributing to improving the productivity and quality of Dien Bien rice grains. Photo: Duc Binh.

After graduating from university, with faith in a different future for Dien Bien rice, he started his journey from the smallest things. He went to all the villages, waded through the fields with the people, listened to them talk about rice, water, pesticides and even crop failures. From those everyday stories, he understood that if he wanted to change, he had to start with the farmers' faith.

In 2016, together with some households in the area, he established Thanh Yen General Service Cooperative. Different from the old model, the cooperative not only helps people "do things together", but also "do things right together". They bring science and technology to the fields, analyze soil quality, choose suitable rice varieties, guide organic farming processes, and especially build a closed chain from planting, harvesting to processing, packaging and consumption.

The direction that Mr. Toi chose is to produce rice in a sustainable organic direction, with the principle of "3 no's": no chemical fertilizers, no pesticides, no herbicides.

Mr. Toi once said: “To change a countryside, sometimes all it takes is one daring arm. But to maintain that change, there must be a collective working together.”

Mr. Quan Ba ​​Toi (2nd from left) connects and dialogues with the people. Photo: Tu Thanh.

Muong Thanh fields are no longer just individual plots, but have become "large fields", where Thanh Yen Cooperative organizes production according to the linked value chain. Not only safe farming, the Cooperative also supports farmers 100% with seeds, materials, and technical instructions for rice care according to standards. More importantly, the Cooperative purchases all products at stable prices, helping farmers feel secure in production without worrying about output.

Initially, the model was modest with only 31 hectares, but thanks to its obvious effectiveness, trust gradually sprouted. From a few dozen households, the cooperative has now expanded to about 150 hectares with the participation of more than 200 farming households. Specialty rice varieties are grown according to strict standards. After harvest, rice is carefully packaged, with barcodes clearly indicating its origin, ready to enter supermarkets and safe food stores, places that people had never thought of before.

Rice products produced by Thanh Yen General Service Cooperative are available in most domestic markets. Photo: Duc Binh.

Thanks to the methodical production orientation, Dien Bien Tam, Tam Sang, and Seng Cu rice of Thanh Yen Cooperative were recognized as 3-star OCOP, becoming one of the key products of the province. The cooperative's revenue reached more than 8.5 billion VND/year, not only helping to enhance the brand value but also ensuring stable income for hundreds of households.

"Previously, people only thought about how to make the rice bloom well, but now, we want them to think further, how to make the rice grains have the highest value and travel the farthest," Mr. Toi shared.

With the goal of expanding the production area, Mr. Toi and the members of the cooperative are constantly experimenting with new rice varieties and researching more sustainable farming methods. They are not only doing agriculture, but are also "shaping the future" of the Dien Bien rice brand.

In the middle of Muong Thanh basin, where mud still sticks to their feet after each rice crop, Quan Ba ​​Toi and his colleagues continue their path of sowing seeds. Each crop is a challenge, but also a time when the sun rises again, higher, brighter, and closer to the future they always dream of.

Rice warehouse in the Northwest sky

Muong Thanh field - a "rice granary" in the sky surrounded by mountains and watered by the gentle Nam Rom river. The Thai people in this area often say: "If you sow rice in Muong Thanh, you will have enough rice all season long". This saying not only brings faith in the land, but also gratitude to nature for generously giving this land a treasure.

Muong Thanh fields. Photo: Tu Thanh.

The rice grains grown in Muong Thanh fields are long, small, and white like dew drops in the dawn of the Northwest. When cooked, the rice is soft, sticky, naturally sweet, and has a rich flavor that spreads on the tip of the tongue, unmistakable.

According to Ms. Chu Thi Thanh Xuan, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Dien Bien, Dien Bien rice has a fairly famous brand in the market. Currently, the geographical indication "Dien Bien Rice" has been established for the products of Bac Thom No. 7 and IR64 rice, and the collective trademark for the product of Na Son sticky rice from Dien Bien Dong district.

Up to now, the province has certified 4 safe rice product supply chains, including Thanh Yen General Service Cooperative with Seng Cu rice chain and Bac Thom No. 7 rice (area of ​​74 hectares); Tam Thien Cooperative with Dien Bien sticky rice supply chain (area of ​​about 1,000 hectares) and the safe Seng Cu rice supply chain of Truong Huong Agricultural Seed Joint Stock Company; meeting VietGAP certification standards for 10 hectares of rice of Thanh Yen General Service Cooperative.

To date, Dien Bien province has certified four safe rice supply chains. Photo: Duc Binh.

To date, there are 7 rice products that have been certified as 3-star OCOP, including: sticky rice and Seng Cu rice of Tam Thien Cooperative; Seng Cu rice of Truong Huong Agricultural Seed Joint Stock Company; Bac Thom No. 7 Tam Sang rice and Seng Cu Tam Sang rice of Thanh Yen General Service Cooperative and Vai Gap rice of Muong Bang Agricultural Service Cooperative and sticky rice of Anh Tho Cooperative.

Dien Bien rice has gradually gained a foothold in the market. Units have been proactive in linking up to build raw material areas and finding relatively stable output for products through signing guaranteed product consumption contracts.

Source: https://nongnghiep.vn/dinh-vi-gia-tri-gao-dien-bien-bai-3-tu-duy-cung-nhau-lam-dung-d745970.html