Caring for seedlings in trays at Xuan Minh Agricultural Service and Rural Development Cooperative, Xuan Lap commune.
Entering the spring planting season of 2026, the traditional image of farmers hand-planting rice in Xuan Lap commune has gradually been replaced by modern rice transplanters. Currently, agricultural cooperatives in the commune have proactively collaborated and developed plans to provide tray seedling and machine transplanting services for approximately 80% of the total cultivated area in the locality. The tray seedling and machine transplanting model has not only replaced manual labor but has become a closed-loop service ecosystem. Cooperatives now not only invest in machinery but also build centralized tray seedling production facilities, supplying growing media and providing comprehensive transplanting services to farmers.
At the Xuan Minh Agricultural Service and Rural Development Cooperative in Xuan Lap commune, preparations for the 2026 spring planting season are underway, with a bustling atmosphere of production. Teams involved in preparing the growing medium, sowing seedlings, and caring for seedlings are working at full capacity. With decades of experience in tray seedling services and rice transplanting, the cooperative has become a reputable provider of services to local people and cooperatives both within and outside the province. Ms. Do Thi Hoa, Director of the Xuan Minh Agricultural Service and Rural Development Cooperative, stated: "Seedlings are sown in plastic trays with standard nutrient substrates, ensuring uniform growth, disease-free conditions, and reduced land preparation time. Rice plants also grow faster when transplanted to the fields. With many advantages proven in previous production seasons, approximately 80% of local people have used the cooperative's services. In addition, the cooperative also provides many other services, such as: caring for, harvesting, and guaranteeing the purchase of commercial rice products from farmers.”
Reportedly, for the spring crop of 2026, the Xuan Minh Agricultural Service and Rural Development Cooperative has been sowing approximately 280 tons of rice seeds, equivalent to about 280 hectares of cultivated land. The entire area for tray seedling production has been contracted out to cooperatives and farmers for seedling services.
For the Nga Yen Agricultural Service Cooperative in Nga Son commune, the development of tray seedling cultivation and rice transplanting has become one of the services that generates significant revenue, affirming the strong progress in the cooperative's comprehensive mechanization process. To develop the service effectively, the cooperative has built a substrate production area spanning thousands of square meters and invested in a substrate-making machine with a capacity of 1,000 trays per hour. Mr. Mai Dang Bac, Director of the cooperative, said: "Currently, the cooperative has linked up to provide services for about 30 hectares of rice production for local people. The cooperative is organizing about 20 laborers each day to boost production, ensuring sufficient quantity and quality of seedlings for planting for farmers within the correct timeframe. With a package price of 300-350 thousand VND per sao (approximately 1000 square meters), the service is expected to bring in about 200 million VND in revenue for the cooperative."
According to statistics from the Cooperative Union, Thanh Hoa province currently has 875 agricultural cooperatives, with 100% of them having implemented comprehensive mechanization in production. For rice cultivation, mechanization in land preparation reaches 98%, sowing and transplanting 30%, and harvesting 86%. The application of tray seedlings and transplanting machines in rice production not only contributes to increasing rice yields by 10-15% but also helps free up labor for farmers and reduce production costs.
Mr. Le Hong Hai, Vice Chairman of the Provincial Cooperative Union, said: "In the province, there are more than 200 cooperatives that effectively organize production services such as tray seedling and transplanting machines, helping to alleviate labor difficulties in many localities. Along with that, farmers have access to new science and technology, gradually changing outdated production practices, and improving productivity and efficiency in planting. Therefore, the Provincial Cooperative Union will organize training; create conditions for preferential loan capital to replicate the model in the collective economic sector and cooperatives, aiming to gradually complete the mechanization process in rice production in particular and agricultural production in general.”
According to calculations, tray seedling production and machine transplanting reduce seed and labor costs by 30-40% compared to traditional sowing and hand transplanting. In addition, using transplanting machines ensures uniform planting density, improves field aeration, minimizes pests and diseases, reduces the use of pesticides, contributes to environmental protection, and enhances the economic value of rice products.
During the period 2026-2030, the province aims to achieve a mechanization rate of over 50% in rice cultivation in key rice-growing areas. Therefore, the agricultural sector, localities, and cooperatives are actively coordinating with businesses to transfer technology and utilize modern machinery to optimize production. The goal is to expand the use of tray seedling and transplanting services not just as a technical matter, but as a significant shift in the agricultural economic mindset of cooperatives, creating a foundation for building specialized, modern rice-growing areas that generate high added value for farmers.
Text and photos: Le Hoa
Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/nhan-rong-dich-vu-ma-khay-may-cay-trong-cac-htx-277941.htm
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