The woman behind Vietnam's billion-dollar rice variety

Over three decades of farming, engineer Bach Thi Vung has created good rice varieties, including Dai Thom 8, the "billion dollar rice grain" that has contributed to raising the status of Vietnamese rice in the world.

With more than three and a half decades of dedication to the fields and farmers, engineer Bach Thi Vung, Deputy Director of the Research and Development Center (VRDC), Vietnam Seed Group Joint Stock Company, and her colleagues have successfully bred many new rice varieties with outstanding productivity, quality and adaptability, contributing to bringing bumper harvests to farmers across the country. With such persistent and practical contributions, engineer Bach Thi Vung is honored to be honored as "Farmer's Scientist " in 2025.

Engineer Bach Thi Vung, "Farmer Scientist" in 2025.

From lab to field, the billion-dollar journey of Vietnamese rice

Owning 6 branded rice varieties, the "mother" of Dai Thom 8 rice varieties accounting for more than 30% of Vietnam's fragrant rice export output, contributing more than 1 billion USD to turnover, Ms. Bach Thi Vung is one of the influential scientists in Vietnam's agricultural industry.

She shared that when she went on a business trip along the Mekong Delta, from Can Tho, Kien Giang to Bac Lieu, she saw people carrying rice seeds on boats with the packaging clearly marked with the two words Dai Thom 8, and she felt happy. “I am very happy and proud that my research has really come to life,” she shared.

Dai Thom 8 rice variety was created by engineer Bach Thi Vung and her colleagues from a complex cross between two lines BVN and OM4900, going through eight generations of rigorous selection before being officially recognized in 2013. This rice variety has a short growing period, high yield (reaching from 7 - 9 tons/ha), sticky, fragrant rice, long, white grains and is especially tolerant to salinity up to 6‰, an important step forward to help farmers in the Mekong Delta proactively respond to climate change and salinity intrusion.

Previously, engineer Bach Thi Vung had made a deep impression with the hybrid rice variety Bac Uu 903 resistant to bacterial leaf blight. This disease had caused thousands of hectares of rice to burn yellow. Unwilling to see her "brainchild" Bac Uu 903 degenerate, she and her colleagues had persistently for many years crossbred rice lines with strong disease resistance. By the 2007 crop, the results had come: Bac Uu 903 KBL produced a rice variety resistant to many bacterial leaf blight strains common in the North, helping farmers save billions of dong in pesticide costs each year.

Each grain of rice sown carries the faith of millions of farmers.

Born and raised in Tay Ninh, the land of sun, wind and rice fields, engineer Bach Thi Vung has devoted more than 37 years of her life to rice grains and Vietnamese farmers. ChatGPT said:

Born in 1965 in Tay Ninh, engineer Bach Thi Vung is a typical image of a dedicated, persistent and passionate Vietnamese woman. Her years working at the Long An Plant Protection Department (1988-1999) took her to each field, working with farmers to prevent pests and apply scientific production processes, helping them reduce costs and increase productivity. It was these experiences that gave her a deep understanding of the hardships and aspirations of farmers for a prosperous harvest.

In 1999, with the dream of creating better rice varieties for her people, she decided to switch to research and join the Southern Seed Company (SSC), a member of Vinaseed Group. From here, the journey to find seeds that bring confidence and sustainability to Vietnamese agriculture officially began.

During her years of traveling across the Mekong Delta, from Can Tho, Kien Giang to Bac Lieu, she was always present in the fields with the farmers, when the rice plants were still green and when they encountered pests and diseases. From that experience, she understood that what farmers needed most was not promises, but seeds that could save their crops.

The success of rice varieties such as Dai Thom 8, Bac Uu 903 KBL or Thuan Viet 6 comes not only from knowledge but also from perseverance in overcoming hundreds of failures, a long journey of difficulties and challenges. But she still persistently pursues her goal, because for her, "each grain of rice sown in the field is not only the result of research but also the belief of millions of farmers".

Aspiration to raise the level of Vietnamese rice

According to engineer Bach Thi Vung, Vietnam is one of the world's leading rice exporters, but most of it is still commodity rice with low value. She believes that to improve the quality of Vietnamese rice, the key is still the variety. Only when there are high-quality, stable rice varieties, will the export value really increase.

For her, the successes of Dai Thom 8 or ST25 show that the science of selecting varieties is the foundation of the value of Vietnamese rice. However, when compared to "rice powerhouses" such as India, Thailand or China, places with strict standards on rice quality, this Vietnamese rice variety has not really conquered the demanding markets, there are still many factors that need to be perfected.

As an agricultural country that plays an important role in ensuring global food security, Vietnam at each stage will have different goals and priorities to meet the needs of the majority. Dai Thom 8 has completed the first stage very well, and the next journey will aim to create rice grains that are both high-yielding and of “top” quality.

During discussions with colleagues, she and her colleagues often joke about a new project: “Maybe one day, Dai Thom 10 will be born, an upgraded version of Dai Thom 8. According to her, it is a difficult problem, but full of aspiration and belief.

Although she has turned 60, engineer Bach Thi Vung still regularly follows new topics, updates technology trends and directly guides young colleagues. She believes that carefulness and perfectionism are indispensable in scientific research. “Just one small mistake can make years of results meaningless,” she shared.

The story of engineer Bach Thi Vung not only shows a dedicated scientist but also a beautiful image of a resilient, persistent Vietnamese woman who always sows "golden seasons" of knowledge, faith and hope in her homeland.

Source: https://khoahocdoisong.vn/nguoi-phu-nu-dung-sau-giong-lua-ty-do-viet-nam-post2149061979.html