“Perspective” of farmers participating in the model of 1 million hectares of high-quality rice

According to the 1 million hectares of high-quality rice project, Soc Trang province is building a high-quality rice production area of ​​over 22,300 hectares (in 2023), increasing to 29,000 hectares in 2024, 38,000 hectares in 2025 and 72,000 hectares in 2030. Based on the project, Soc Trang province has implemented a pilot model for 2 crop seasons: Summer - Autumn crop (2024) and Winter - Spring crop (2024 - 2025) at Hung Loi Agricultural Cooperative, Long Duc commune, Long Phu district (Soc Trang), with a model area of ​​50 hectares/crop/year. This has contributed to reducing crop investment costs, improving productivity and quality of rice after harvest, especially helping cooperative members improve their rice cultivation capacity and adapt to climate change.

Mr. Truong Van Hung (right cover) - Director of Hung Loi Agricultural Cooperative, Long Duc Commune, Long Phu District (Soc Trang) and members of the Cooperative visited the rice field implementing the pilot model of the 1 million hectares of high-quality rice project. Photo: THUY LIEU

Mr. Pham Hoang Tran, a member of Hung Loi Agricultural Cooperative, shared: "According to the traditional way of rice cultivation, each hectare is sown with 120 - 150kg of rice seeds. However, when participating in the pilot model of the 1 million hectares of high-quality rice project, following the emission reduction process proposed by the project, the amount of seed sown was reduced to only 60kg/ha and thanks to the synchronous combination of sparse sowing, seed reduction, fertilization, and at the right time when the rice plants need it, compared to rice cultivated outside the model, the amount of fertilizer has been reduced by about 30%. At the same time, during the cultivation process, the fields are flooded for a long time, causing more methane gas to be produced, so to reduce emissions through water management, the specialized sector has supported the installation of 3 environmental sensors on the cooperative's rice fields to measure water level indicators in the fields for cooperative members. The sensors have been installed on the cooperative members' smartphones, helping members know the water level in the rice fields at each measurement time. From the data provided by the sensor device, the cooperative members promptly adjusted the water level to the appropriate threshold, helping the rice roots to grow deep, strengthen the plants, reduce lodging, grow well and limit losses during the harvest process."

Also a member benefiting from participating in the pilot model of 1 million hectares of high-quality rice, Mr. Ly Cong Chuc, a member of Hung Loi Agricultural Cooperative, said: "With an area of ​​3.5 hectares of rice participating in the pilot model of the 1 million hectares of high-quality rice project, it has helped me significantly reduce investment costs for the two rice crops of 2024 and 2025. The first crop, I participated in the pilot model was the Summer - Autumn crop (2024), with the ST25 sown rice variety, throughout the crop season, I applied the production process of "1 must, 5 reductions", "3 reductions, 3 increases" so the rice yield increased, the rice output reached 8 tons/ha, the selling price was 11,000 VND/kg, after deducting costs, the profit was 60 - 70 million VND/ha. The Winter - Spring crop (2024 - 2025) was harvested before the Lunar New Year 2025, Although the weather affected the rice to bloom right when there was a lot of rain, thanks to the application of advanced rice cultivation methods, the rice damage was significantly reduced. The estimated yield of the harvested rice is 6 - 6.2 tons/ha, the selling price is 9,000 VND/kg, minus costs, the profit is 50 - 60 million VND/ha. Currently, I am preparing the land to continue the pilot model in the Summer - Autumn rice crop (2025), the new crop will definitely be successful."

Mr. Pham Hoang Tran, a member of Hung Loi Agricultural Cooperative, Long Duc Commune, Long Phu District (Soc Trang) acknowledged that when implementing the pilot model of the 1 million hectare high-quality rice project, his family's rice fields reduced the amount of fertilizer for the fields by 30%. Photo: THUY LIEU

“The pilot model of the 1 million hectares of high-quality rice project on a scale of 50 hectares at the cooperative has been implemented successfully over two crop seasons. The rice yield in the model is estimated to reach an average of 6.5 - 7 tons/ha, bringing in a profit of more than 5.5 million VND/ha for cooperative members, thanks to the reduction of crop investment costs. The amount of straw in the fields will also be used by members to compost organic fertilizer, fertilize rice, feed buffaloes, cows or grow mushrooms... instead of treating it in the traditional way before, which is burning, increasing emissions to the environment. Especially when participating in the pilot model, the cooperative benefits a lot when receiving full support from all levels and sectors from the Central, provincial and local levels with equipment, from mechanization in rice cultivation to post-harvest. Thanks to that, the production and business activities of the cooperative when implementing the pilot model of the 1 million hectares of high-quality rice project are easier”, Mr. Truong Van Hung - Director of Hung Loi Agricultural Cooperative information.

To successfully implement the pilot model of the 1 million hectares of high-quality rice project, before deploying to Hung Loi Agricultural Cooperative, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Soc Trang province coordinated with the locality to organize many technical training courses for members on cultivation processes, methods of using fertilizers, according to the principles of nutrient management for specialized areas and pest management according to the 4 right principles. In addition to the existing foundation in applying the technical packages "3 reductions, 3 increases", "1 must, 5 reductions", which the Cooperative had previously supported by the Sustainable Agricultural Transformation Project, the management of fertilizer and pesticide dosages towards reducing emissions in the model has become more professional and methodical.

Provincial leaders are very interested in the pilot model of the 1 million hectares of high-quality rice project, so they regularly visit the model at Hung Loi Agricultural Cooperative, Long Duc Commune, Long Phu District (Soc Trang). Photo: THUY LIEU

Comrade Tran Vinh Nghi - Head of the Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection of Soc Trang province said that the annual rice sowing area in the province is more than 320,000 hectares, with a total rice output of over 2.1 million tons/year. To improve the quality and output of the whole province's rice, the province has implemented the Project on developing specialty rice, the Project on organic agricultural production... Particularly the Project on Sustainable Development of 1 million hectares of high-quality rice cultivation, the province sees this as a good opportunity for the province to develop rice production to reduce investment costs, increase profits for farmers and especially reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the general assessment, the pilot model of the 1 million hectares of high-quality rice project has been implemented at Hung Loi Agricultural Cooperative, the result is that the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the model is 9,505 kg CO2 equivalent/ha, reducing 3,996 kg CO2 equivalent/ha/crop, equivalent to 29.6% compared to the fields outside the model. In order to expand the model in localities in the province, in this Summer - Autumn crop (2025), the unit continues to deploy the pilot model of the 1 million hectares of high-quality rice project in districts such as: My Xuyen, Thanh Tri, My Tu, Ke Sach, Long Phu, Chau Thanh, Tran De and Nga Nam town, the model has an area of ​​50ha/model.

THUY LIEU

Source: https://baosoctrang.org.vn/nong-nghiep/202505/goc-nhin-cua-nong-dan-tham-gia-mo-hinh-1-trieu-ha-lua-chat-luong-cao-47e0efb/