Life changed thanks to a golden straw.

The smell of burning fields has now been replaced by the aroma of mushrooms, the pungent scent of decaying straw adding nutrients to the garden and rice paddies. These small changes have created a significant source of income from the golden strands of straw…

This is the story of how farmers in An Giang province are utilizing straw as a resource. Instead of burning the fields after each harvest, farmers here have found many ways to effectively utilize straw, helping to increase their income.

After attending an agricultural extension class organized by a local cooperative, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Ha from Chau Thanh district, An Giang province, for the first time cultivated straw mushrooms in a greenhouse, utilizing discarded straw as a raw material.

With 400 million VND from provincial support and the remaining half from his personal capital, Mr. Ha invested in building 8 mushroom cultivation greenhouses, each measuring 24m²; along with investing in iron, rubber, foam, and other necessary materials.

After two years, Mr. Ha began to reap the rewards. Specifically, he harvests about 70kg of straw mushrooms each month, priced at 100,000 VND/kg, meaning each greenhouse yields a profit of approximately 3 million VND.

“Therefore, the total monthly income from the entire system is approximately 24 million VND. When the product was first launched, it was very difficult, but thanks to the delicious and clean quality of the mushrooms, more and more people are seeking to buy them. Currently, I not only supply to markets but also have a stable customer base,” Mr. Ha informed.

Not only did Mr. Ha create mushrooms from straw, but he also developed a circular production model. Decomposed straw and waste products from mushroom cultivation are used to raise earthworms, providing organic fertilizer for vegetables such as cabbage, tomatoes, and other crops.

The story of Mr. Ha, a farmer from An Giang province, is not unique; there are many other "Mr. Has" across Vietnam, as the trend of transforming by-products into "mainstays" for production inputs continues.

The initial "sweet fruits" of changing perceptions and reducing the practice of burning rice straw after harvest, achieved by Mr. Ha and thousands of farmers in An Giang, Tra Vinh, Dong Nai, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, etc., are partly due to the contributions of scientists and partners who collaborated on the project "Assessing the current situation and proposing solutions to mitigate the impacts of agricultural chemicals and open burning on climate change and biodiversity in Vietnam".

The project was designed and implemented from 2022 to 2025 through a collaborative effort between the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP) and stakeholders, and was funded by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

As someone who worked directly with farmers during the implementation of the aforementioned project, Associate Professor Dr. Dinh Van Phuc, from the Interdisciplinary Institute of Social Sciences, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, stated that models using microbial preparations to treat rice straw show that the use of microbial preparations in agriculture not only helps improve soil by decomposing organic matter but also has a positive impact on the development of aerobic microorganisms in the soil.

“During the summer-autumn crop season in Tra Vinh, the profit from the model using microbial preparations was over 22 million VND, 4 million VND higher than the control plot. In particular, using microorganisms to treat rice straw brings health benefits to farmers,” Mr. Phuc shared.

The reality is that most farmers want to practice green agriculture but are hesitant to change, so the task of scientists like Mr. Phuc is to guide them in a way that doesn't drastically alter their farming practices.

To persuade farmers, Mr. Phuc did not hesitate to go to each house, even to the rice fields, to guide and advise them, with the aim of getting them to stop burning straw, bringing health to the land and health to the farmers, because reducing straw burning also helps reduce respiratory diseases for farmers.

"In some cases, the research team had to go directly to the location to discuss and explain things to the people. The research team had to spend a lot of time and effort promoting and explaining the project and the biological products," Mr. Phuc recounted the days he spent working with farmers in An Giang province to apply the model.

In Dak Nong, where people cultivate over 34,000 hectares of pepper and is the leading locality in the Central Highlands in terms of pepper acreage, within the scope of the project "Assessing the current status and proposing solutions to mitigate the impacts of agricultural chemicals and open burning of rice straw on climate change and biodiversity in Vietnam" , many farmers have learned to apply Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs in cultivation, gradually improving the quality of pepper to achieve organic certification, expanding the area of ​​high-quality pepper cultivation, and increasing competitiveness in the market.

Mr. Luu Nhu Binh, director of Doan Ket Agricultural Service Cooperative in Nam Binh commune, Dak Song district, Dak Nong province, said that thanks to applying the IPM farming process in cooperation with the Rainforest Alliance (RA), crops are healthier, less susceptible to disease, and although yields are not dramatically high, they maintain sustainability over many years.

Currently, the 65 member families of the cooperative hardly need to use chemical pesticides to control pests and diseases because they have learned to apply organic and biological methods, preventing widespread outbreaks.

Producing agricultural products such as coffee and pepper according to RA certification standards increases their value, resulting in higher quality and better market prices.

“For almost three years now, my family has stopped using herbicides because we are aware of the harm they cause to the soil, water, and the health of our family members,” shared Mr. Nguyen Dinh Cong, a farmer in Dak Song district, Dak Nong province.

Expressing his satisfaction with the project's results, Mr. Nguyen Van Thiet, National Director of Rainforest Alliance, shared that applying IPM farming techniques helps farmers improve their own health, the health of their community, and the ecological environment.

Content:

VAMINH – NHAT XUAN

December 9, 2024