Bringing two rice crops per year to the Phong Tho border region.

Phong Tho is a mountainous border district located in the north of Lai Chau province, 30km from the provincial capital. It borders Jinping County, Yunnan Province (China) to the north, Lao Cai Province to the east and southeast, Tam Duong District and Lai Chau City to the south, and Sin Ho District to the west and southwest. Phong Tho shares a 97.229km border with Jinping County (Yunnan Province, China), marked by 51 border markers, including 12 triple-marked markers, 20 double-marked markers, 15 single-marked markers, and 4 auxiliary markers (27 markers erected by Vietnam and 24 by China). It also has the Ma Lu Thang national border gate. Thirteen of its communes are located along the border with China.

Phong Tho district has a complex topography, mainly consisting of high mountains that gradually decrease in height from northeast to southwest. With the desire to improve land use efficiency per unit area, in the past two years, farmers in the border communes of Si Lo Lau and Vang Ma Chai in Phong Tho district, Lai Chau province, have boldly introduced new rice varieties for cultivation during the winter-spring season. Initial results show that the rice varieties are suitable for the climate and soil, growing and developing well, providing a stable food source for the people.

The green of rice paddies has replaced the brown of previously abandoned land in the border commune of Sì Lở Lầu. Photo: Internet.

Located more than 100km from Lai Chau city, Si Lo Lau is the most remote border commune in Phong Tho district. Due to its predominantly mountainous terrain, harsh climate, and lack of water for agricultural production, the people in the commune previously could only cultivate one rice crop before leaving the land fallow, which was very wasteful.

In order to increase food supply for the people, since the 2021-2022 Winter-Spring crop season, the Phong Tho district's agricultural sector has coordinated with local authorities to pilot the conversion of single-crop land into double-crop land using the VNR20 rice variety.

People in Si Lo Lau commune, Phong Tho district, tend to their rice crops for two seasons. Photo: Nguyen Oanh - VNA.

Along the terraced rice fields of Ty Phung village, Si Lo Lau commune, the rice is in the heading stage. Ms. Co Ga Chu, a resident of Ty Phung village, shared that in the past, her family harvested about 30 bags of rice per year with one crop. But in the 2021-2022 Winter-Spring season, thanks to the government's encouragement to increase the crop, her family harvested up to 60 bags of rice. This year, her family continues to plant two crops. Seeing the rice growing well and free from pests and diseases, she hopes to achieve even higher yields.

According to Mr. Tan Lao San, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Si Lo Lau commune, in the 2021-2022 Winter-Spring crop season, the commune coordinated with the District Agricultural Department to pilot the planting of 8 hectares of VNR20 rice with 15 participating households. The first year of implementation showed that this rice variety is suitable for the local climate and soil and achieved high yields. Seeing the effectiveness, this year the commune has 72 households participating in planting with an area of ​​29 hectares. Currently, the rice plants are developing well and preparing to flower, so the commune is directing farmers to focus on care, fertilization, weeding, and pest control to ensure a bountiful harvest.

According to statistics from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Phong Tho district, this year's Winter-Spring crop saw 754.8 hectares of rice planted, reaching 102.28% of the plan, an increase of 16.8 hectares compared to the same period last year. The increase in rice area is mainly concentrated in the two communes of Vang Ma Chai and Si Lo Lau. Specifically, Si Lo Lau commune planted VNR 20 rice in Xin Chai, Moi, Ty Phung, and Ta Chai villages on 29 hectares. Vang Ma Chai commune planted over 2 hectares of TBR 225 rice in Hoang Then village.

According to Vu Huu Luong, Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Phong Tho District, in recent years, the Department has coordinated with the District Agricultural Service Center and the People's Committees of the communes to build demonstration models to raise awareness among the people about the effectiveness of increasing rice cropping intensity. The implementation has yielded good results, and the people are enthusiastically following suit. From 2 hectares last year in Si Lo Lau commune, the area has now increased to 31.5 hectares in both Vang Ma Chai and Si Lo Lau communes.

In the coming period, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Phong Tho district will continue to coordinate with highland communes to review and plan areas for the purpose of promoting and encouraging people to expand the area of ​​winter-spring rice cultivation, especially in areas below 900 meters above sea level. This will create conditions to help people have more food sources, increase income, and gradually achieve sustainable poverty reduction in the locality.

Thu Hang