The effectiveness of collaborative cultivation of purple-blue rice.

In the 2025 summer-autumn rice crop, most rice varieties, including common rice, fragrant rice, specialty rice, and high-yield rice, experienced significant price drops due to market factors. Specifically, the Philippines – a major rice importer from Vietnam – temporarily suspended imports. However, there was an "exception": the purple-blue rice variety cultivated by Tan Hung Phu Agricultural Cooperative in Tan Thanh commune (Can Tho City), which has a guaranteed output purchase agreement, commanded a high selling price.

Purple-green rice has purple grains with a mild aroma, soft texture, and sticky consistency.

The new purple-blue rice variety, cultivated by Tan Hung Phu Agricultural Cooperative in the 2025 summer-autumn rice crop, has shown quite good yields, averaging 5.8-6.7 tons/ha. The rice is easy to grow, requires little care, and is particularly resistant to diseases and pests at most stages of growth.

Mr. Le Thanh Vu, a member of Tan Hung Phu Agricultural Cooperative, shared: "For many years, I have mostly cultivated specialty rice varieties because they yield good income. However, in the recent summer-autumn rice crop, when a company partnered with the cooperative to allow members to try cultivating purple-green rice and guaranteed the purchase of the output, I boldly applied to participate and used the seeds provided by the company to plant on my entire 18 hectares of rice fields. The rice was harvested about 105 days after sowing, with a yield of 6 tons/ha, a total harvest of 108 tons. The company guaranteed a purchase price of 8,300 VND/kg, higher than the price of some mildly fragrant varieties by 2,000-3,000 VND/kg. After deducting costs, the profit was over 50 million VND/ha. Through one season of cultivating purple-green rice, I realized that it is very easy to care for, requires little investment in the crop season, and is not attacked by pests or diseases. I applied..." "Because we use organic farming methods for rice cultivation, the harvested rice meets the food safety and hygiene standards of the partner purchasing unit."

When young, the purple-green rice plant has green stems like other rice varieties, but the grains turn purple when the rice plants develop panicles and bloom.

Also a member of the cooperative and participating in the cultivation of purple-green rice, Mr. Bui Huu Tinh shared: "I have 10 hectares of rice cultivation. For the summer-autumn rice crop, I planted purple-green rice on 8 hectares and OM18 rice on the remaining 2 hectares. Purple-green rice fetches a better price after harvest because there is a guaranteed buyer at 8,300 VND/kg, with a yield of 6.5 tons/ha; while OM18 rice has dropped in price to only 5,600 VND/kg, with a yield of 6 tons/ha. After deducting investment costs for the season, the profit from purple-green rice is about 50 million VND/ha, while the profit from OM18 rice is around 20 million VND/ha. According to calculations, the total investment cost for the entire season of cultivating purple-green rice is only 12 million VND/ha, a reduction of 1.2-1.5 million VND/ha compared to the cost of cultivating some light fragrant rice varieties."

Mr. Ho Thanh Nam, a member of Tan Hung Phu Agricultural Cooperative, also participated in cultivating purple-green rice on 20 hectares of land. The rice yield was 6.5 tons/ha, with a total harvest of 130 tons. At a selling price of 8,300 VND/kg, after deducting expenses, the profit was nearly 60 million VND/ha.

“Specifically for the 2025 summer-autumn rice crop, the cooperative has linked up to cultivate purple-green rice on an area of ​​800 hectares, with a guaranteed purchase price of 8,300 VND/kg, higher than some other rice varieties in the summer-autumn crop, ranging from 1,500-3,000 VND/kg. For the 2025-2026 winter-spring rice crop, the company will continue to link up production and guarantee the output of purple-green rice on 1,000 hectares out of the 5,000 hectares of the cooperative's current area. The guaranteed floor price for purple-green rice in the 2025-2026 winter-spring crop at the cooperative is 8,000 VND/kg, and the company will adjust the purchase price upwards when market rice prices increase at harvest time.”

"Initially, the cooperative also milled (polished) the purple-green rice and packaged it in 4kg bags to introduce to customers for trial, and it was mostly favored by customers, who placed orders to continue using it," said Mr. Ho Thanh Liem, Director of Tan Hung Phu Agricultural Cooperative.

Text and photos: THUY LIEU

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/hieu-qua-lien-ket-trong-lua-tim-xanh-a193177.html