Low emission, high profit rice cultivation

Practical benefits

These days, Mr. Ho Van Huong, residing in Tan Hoi commune, is excited because the rice area participating in the 1 million hectare high-quality rice project of his is growing well. The investment cost is much lower than the traditional farming method. “I participate in 2 hectares in this production season. Previously, in the summer-autumn crop of 2025, I reduced the amount of seeds by 2/3, the amount of fertilizer by nearly 50%, the use of pesticides, the amount of water supplied to the rice, and the amount of rice falling during harvest. Thanks to that, I earn a profit of about 40 million VND/ha, an increase of about 35-45% compared to the traditional farming method,” said Mr. Huong.

Realizing the practical benefits of applying the farming process according to the Project, Mr. Huong himself implemented an additional 6 hectares of rice fields outside the model in this production season. That shows that farmers have changed their thinking, boldly applying new techniques with the goal of reducing costs and increasing profits in the condition of constantly fluctuating rice prices in the market.

The production model under the 1 million hectare high-quality rice project is increasingly receiving attention. Photo: THANH TIEN

Participating in the Project in An Giang through many production seasons, Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company (Trung An Company) has cooperated to produce high-quality rice in the communes of Binh Giang, Hoa Dien, Binh Son... with an area of about 3,000 hectares.

Mr. Pham Thai Binh - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trung An Joint Stock Company informed: “Our goal is to work with farmers to create clean rice grains to conquer the world market. In fact, An Giang farmers have enough qualifications and techniques to meet the cultivation process of the Project. Clean rice grains under the Trung An brand have been present in demanding markets such as the EU, Japan, and Middle Eastern countries. Therefore, I am very confident that the company can stay with farmers for a long time, contributing to the agricultural sector in achieving the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions”.

In order for the company to better participate in the Project, Mr. Pham Thai Binh proposed that state management agencies should quickly approve projects, creating a legal basis to help businesses cooperate with farmers and cooperatives. Currently, the company's capacity can implement 20,000 hectares of high-quality rice and will increase in the following years. Therefore, the company is looking forward to removing legal difficulties and expanding the area participating in the Project.

Long-term goals

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment Tran Thanh Hiep, the whole province has deployed 58 models of high-quality, low-emission rice cultivation. In fact, most farmers support the Project in terms of economic efficiency, as it has reduced 5 million VND/ha and the yield is 200 - 500 kg/ha higher.

“Farmers are always focused on profit, while the Project meets this need. However, the important goal of the Project is to guide farmers to implement the alternating wet and dry farming process, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. According to data recorded at the models, when farming according to the Project process, it helps reduce emissions by 6-8 tons of CO2/ha. This is the basis for the agricultural sector to replicate the models in the coming time,” Mr. Tran Thanh Hiep emphasized.

However, Mr. Tran Thanh Hiep also said that the agricultural sector needs to focus on mobilizing and guiding farmers on post-harvest straw treatment. Moving forward, the Department of Agriculture and Environment will advise the Provincial People's Committee to direct the implementation of scientific and technological solutions and policies to support post-harvest straw treatment from Decree No. 112/2024/ND-CP of the Government, detailing regulations on rice-growing land.

Speaking at the conference summarizing the pilot model of high-quality, low-emission specialized rice production in the 2025 summer-autumn crop in the Mekong Delta, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Ngo Cong Thuc affirmed that in 2025, An Giang will produce more than 1.3 million hectares of rice, an increase of 2,800 hectares over the same period, with an estimated output of about 8.8 million tons. This affirms the agricultural potential of the province, especially the implementation of the Project of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice. At the same time, it also poses many difficulties for the locality, especially for areas that have not applied high-quality rice cultivation processes. Currently, the majority of farmers still maintain traditional farming mindsets with high investment costs, affecting profits when the market fluctuates.

“In the province's new draft plan, An Giang will have about 351,000 hectares participating in high-quality rice production, accounting for over 35% of the area implementing the 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice project according to Decision No. 1490/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister. Therefore, we continue to direct the agricultural sector and localities to strengthen scientific and technological solutions, promptly advise on policies to support farmers so that they can confidently participate in the project, contributing to affirming the value of An Giang rice in the domestic and foreign markets,” Mr. Ngo Cong Thuc informed.

Implementing the cultivation process according to the Project of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice, An Giang province has more than 150,000 hectares applying 3 criteria, more than 110,000 hectares applying 4 criteria and more than 43,000 hectares applying 5 criteria. At the same time, the province deployed 89 demonstration models, with a total area of about 2,000 hectares, mobilizing the participation of subjects in the rice production chain.

THANH TIEN

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/trong-lua-phat-thai-thap-thu-loi-nhuan-cao-a462132.html