Bumper rice crop in Chu Prong border area

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Big profits from rice cultivation

In recent years, the sowing of winter-spring rice in Ia Lau, Ia Pior and Ia Mor communes (Chu Prong district) has always been done earlier than in other areas in the province to avoid the drought at the end of the crop. This is the result of the propaganda and mobilization process of the irrigation water supplier, the district's agricultural sector and local authorities to help farmers change their rice production and cultivation practices to suit the climate conditions and irrigation water sources.

At the 2-crop rice field of Pho Hien village (Ia Lau commune) with an area of ​​over 30 hectares, farmers have just finished harvesting the 2023-2024 Winter-Spring rice crop. Mr. Nguyen Van Anh (Pho Hien village) happily said: Since the Plei Pai reservoir was invested in by the State, the main canal system and the internal canals have been completed to bring water to each rice field, helping farmers to stably produce 2 rice crops/year. His family alone produces 5 hectares of 2-crop rice, mechanized from land preparation to harvesting. Thanks to that, each year, after deducting investment costs, the family still makes a profit of 250-270 million VND.

People of Ia Mor commune (Chu Prong district) harvest rice. Photo: ND

“This winter-spring crop, my family harvested 36 tons of dry rice. Thanks to the high price of dry rice, reaching 9-10 thousand VND, my family sold it for 275 million VND, minus investment costs, making a profit of 135 million VND. Thanks to that, my family’s life has been quite comfortable for the past few years. As long as the price of rice continues to be maintained like this winter-spring crop, farmers here will “live well” - Mr. Anh said.

According to Mr. Le Thanh Cong - Chairman of Ia Lau Commune People's Committee: In recent years, people have proactively produced the Winter-Spring crop 1 month earlier than the general crop calendar of the provincial agricultural sector. In addition, the Commune People's Committee regularly coordinates with the District Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to propagate and guide people to use short- and medium-term rice varieties such as HT1, DV108, Ma Lam 48, Dai Thom and some other high-quality rice varieties. The commune also proactively coordinates with Chu Prong Irrigation Branch (under Gia Lai Irrigation Works Exploitation One Member Co., Ltd.) to regulate irrigation water reasonably and guide farmers to use water economically. Up to now, the 2023-2024 Winter-Spring rice area of ​​the commune has been harvested. The average yield reached 6.5 tons/ha, with no rice area damaged due to lack of irrigation water.

In Ia Mor commune, farmers have so far completed harvesting 173 hectares of wet rice in the 2023-2024 Winter-Spring crop, with an average yield of 6 tons/ha, three times higher than traditional rice production. Mr. Nguyen Tuan Anh, Vice Chairman of Ia Mor Commune People's Committee, said: The high rice yield is a driving force to help local ethnic minorities change their thinking and practices in two-crop wet rice production. In particular, the current high rice price helps many ethnic minority households have a stable source of income.

Focus on exploiting the potential of rice plants

In 2021, the Department of Intellectual Property ( Ministry of Science and Technology ) granted a certificate of registration of the trademark "Ia Lau Rice". This is the driving force for the district to form a specialized rice growing area, expand the consumption market, and increase the competitiveness of local rice products.

According to information from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Chu Prong district, in the 2023-2024 Winter-Spring crop, the whole district planted more than 2,052 hectares of rice, concentrated in the communes of Ia Lau (550 hectares), Ia Pior (600 hectares), Ia Mor (175 hectares)... Specialized agencies in coordination with local authorities recommend farmers to use short-term rice varieties with high yields such as OM 4900, N25, HT1, DV108, Dai Thom. With the current purchase price, each hectare of rice yields an average profit of more than 37 million VND.

Winter-Spring rice crop 2023-2024 in Me village field. Photo: ND

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngan (Pac Po village, Ia Lau commune) shared: On average, each year, she purchases 200-300 tons of dry rice to supply to rice milling facilities in Binh Dinh and Dak Lak provinces. In particular, the price of rice in this year's Winter-Spring crop is 1,000-1,500 VND/kg higher than last year, helping farmers make a good profit. Not only that, delicious Ia Lau rice is highly appreciated by consumers in some provinces. This is the motivation for rice growers in Ia Lau and Ia Pior communes to expand the area of ​​wet rice in the coming crops.

Mr. Nguyen Van Luyen - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Chu Prong district - said: "The district continues to propagate and mobilize people to produce wet rice in the 2024 winter-spring crop, using high-yield, high-quality rice varieties and ensuring planting according to the crop calendar to avoid damage caused by natural disasters. In addition, exploiting stable irrigation water sources from irrigation works and large reservoirs for rice cultivation; applying integrated pest management measures such as IPM, ICM; using certified rice varieties to reduce the amount of seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides to bring about the highest economic efficiency".

Source: https://gialai.gov.vn/tin-tuc/vu-lua-boi-thu-o-vung-bien-gioi-chu-prong.79275.aspx