Hung Loi Cooperative has sustainable links with businesses consuming ST25 rice.

CAN THO Not only pioneering in cultivating high-quality, low-emission rice, Hung Loi Cooperative has also built a sustainable ST25 rice consumption link with businesses.

As one of the first units to participate in the pilot model of the cultivation process under the Project of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice, Hung Loi Agricultural Cooperative in Dai Ngai commune (Can Tho city) has created a big change in the cultivation of its members.

Mr. Pham Hoang Tran, a member of Hung Loi Cooperative, said that previously, people grew rice in the traditional way, sowing 120-150kg of rice seeds per hectare. Now, when following the project's procedures, the amount of seeds has been reduced to only 60kg/ha. In particular, thanks to the synchronous combination of sparse sowing, seed reduction, burying fertilizer, timely fertilization and proper water management, the amount of fertilizer has been reduced by about 30% compared to previous crops.

The field is implementing the high-quality, low-emission rice cultivation process of Hung Loi Cooperative (Dai Ngai commune, Can Tho city). Photo: Kim Anh.

Changing the farming process not only helps members reduce inputs but also has a major impact on the environment and soil health, in which water management plays a key role. Members are supported to install environmental sensors in the fields, data is displayed directly on the phone to help farmers proactively regulate water. Thanks to that, the rice plants are strong, the roots are deep, there is less lodging and post-harvest loss is limited.

In Dai Ngai commune (formerly Long Phu commune), rice production conditions are affected by saltwater intrusion, so farmers only produce 2 crops/year. Before the establishment of Hung Loi Cooperative, farmers faced many difficulties in consumption. Especially when rice prices are high, farmers who want to sell rice must go through 2-3 traders.

Mr. Nguyen Van Ut - a member of the cooperative recalls: "Before the cooperative existed, everyone worked for themselves and sold, and they had to accept whatever the traders said. Since joining the cooperative, with a stable place to sell, people feel much more secure." Currently, all 1 hectare of Mr. Ut's land is produced according to the high-quality, low-emission rice process. The cooperative's leaders have always been pioneers in linking consumption with businesses, thanks to which the rice output of the cooperative members has been very stable.

Mr. Truong Van Hung - Director of Hung Loi Cooperative (right) has boldly built a sustainable consumption link for ST25 rice with businesses over the past 5 years. Photo: Kim Anh.

According to Mr. Truong Van Hung - Director of Hung Loi Cooperative, the proactive investment in mechanization has created a great advantage for the Cooperative. All stages from land preparation, sowing, care to harvesting are supported by machines, significantly reducing labor. In particular, post-harvest straw is collected centrally. The straw is rolled up and used as organic fertilizer, animal feed or raw material for mushroom cultivation. This not only helps members reduce costs but also completely solves the problem of straw burning - a major cause of greenhouse gas emissions.

In the period of 2020 - 2025, Hung Loi Cooperative has deployed 7 advanced rice production models with a total area of ​​410 hectares, typically the organic rice production model (104 hectares); tray-seeding - transplanting machine (50 hectares); VietGAP certified model (35.5 hectares); new variety demonstration model and model under the 1 million hectare rice project with more than 220 hectares after 4 crops... The models all bring clear efficiency, helping farmers reduce production costs and increase profits.

Currently, Hung Loi Cooperative has 538 members, producing 609 hectares of rice. Most of the area applies high-quality, low-emission rice cultivation processes. Photo: Kim Anh.

In recent years, Hung Loi Cooperative has identified consumption linkage as a decisive factor in production efficiency. The Board of Directors of the Cooperative regularly organizes production group meetings to promote the implementation of Decree 98/2018/ND-CP on chain linkage. In the past 5 years, the Cooperative has signed linkage contracts for over 1,600 hectares of rice, with an output of over 11,000 tons.

Notably, from 2020 to now, the Cooperative has maintained a link to help stably consume ST25 rice products with Ong Tho Rice Joint Stock Company with an area of ​​about 120 hectares/year. The enterprise sets the price 7-10 days before harvest and purchases at a price 200-300 VND/kg higher than the market price. Although the difference is not large, it has created stability, transparency and sustainability, an important factor to "retain" farmers.

The director of Hung Loi Cooperative added that many businesses had previously linked up with the Cooperative to purchase products, but they had not considered long-term cooperation, only for a few crops. The relationship with Ong Tho Rice Joint Stock Company was built on trust and smooth coordination, so people felt secure.

Mr. Hung draws a lesson from experience, to be successful, the association must first change the way farmers think and work. At the same time, the cooperative must effectively apply scientific and technical advances to production, build standards and brands for rice, from which it can improve its competitiveness.

Since 2024, the straw baling machine service of Hung Loi Cooperative has served over 80% of members' rice fields and 55% of fields outside the cooperative. Photo: Kim Anh.

For Hung Loi Cooperative, choosing necessary business areas such as agricultural services has created a fairly stable revenue. In particular, the cooperative's top priority is to promote the ownership of members, determine common responsibilities in production and business, financial disclosure, and transparency as a solid foundation for solidarity and unity, aiming to maximize benefits for members. From there, Hung Loi Cooperative is built with strong potential, taking advantage of external resources, creating opportunities for members to improve economic efficiency.

Hung Loi Cooperative is the only collective economic organization in Can Tho City that has just been awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Minister of Agriculture and Environment for its outstanding achievements in implementing patriotic emulation movements in the period of 2021 - 2025 on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the traditional day of the Agriculture and Environment sector.

This achievement is a testament to many years of efforts to innovate production thinking, link markets and pioneer in implementing high-quality, low-emission rice production models.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/htx-hung-loi-lien-ket-ben-vung-voi-doanh-nghiep-tieu-thu-lua-st25-d783655.html