Project of 1 million hectares of high-quality rice oriented towards sustainable farming transformation

The project "Sustainable development of 1 million hectares of high-quality and low-emission rice cultivation associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta by 2030" is of great significance in orienting the transformation of sustainable rice cultivation methods and forming large-scale, stable and long-term concentrated raw material areas.

This is a national strategy, reshaping rice production thinking in a new context, creating a breakthrough in the Mekong Delta region in general and the province in particular.

The 1 million hectare high-quality rice project has gradually changed farmers' production thinking, bringing about clear economic efficiency.

Positive signals

The 1 million hectares of high-quality rice project has implemented 7 central-level pilot models in 5 provinces. Initial results show that the high-quality rice cultivation model, reducing emissions, brings clear benefits both economically and environmentally.

In the province, the pilot model has been implemented at 2 agricultural cooperatives and expanded to 6 key rice-producing communes. Specifically, the project will be implemented from the 2024 Summer-Autumn crop with 98.4 hectares/94 households for 2 cooperatives to expand, and the 2025 Summer-Autumn crop will be the 4th consecutive crop to be implemented.

At Phuoc Hao Agricultural Cooperative (Hoa Hao Hamlet, Hung My Commune), Mr. Truong Hoa Thuan - Director of the Cooperative said: The Cooperative has 46 households participating in the project with 50 hectares. 100% of the Cooperative members use certification level or higher, 70% use drone sowing (seed quantity 80 kg/ha) and 30% use cluster sowing (seed quantity 70 kg/ha); the Cooperative uses an average of 450-500 kg of fertilizer/ha/crop, uses pesticides to prevent and control pests an average of 5-7 times/crop, 100% of the straw is collected from the fields.

The cooperative applies organic production processes, signs contracts with businesses to supply input materials and consume output products. In addition to reducing costs, increasing productivity and profits, it is estimated that emissions in the model are 20-50% lower than outside the model.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, since the implementation of the 1 million hectare high-quality rice project, it has had a clear impact on farmers' production thinking as well as the way local officials direct production. People are aware of changing farming methods from traditional to sustainable, aiming to reduce emissions, increase income and protect the environment.

In addition, enterprises and cooperatives are increasingly actively participating in the production value chain. This is a bright spot in the project implementation process. The linkage model between enterprises - cooperatives - farmers is gradually being formed, creating an important premise for sustainable and stable rice production.

According to Mr. Lam Van Tan - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the 1 million hectares of high-quality rice project is a major policy of the Party and the State, receiving support from domestic and foreign organizations and enterprises interested in supporting and creating favorable conditions for implementation. Farmers are also very excited, highly agree and actively participate.

Provincial leaders are determined to direct departments, branches and localities to implement and replicate the high-quality and low-emission rice model that has been implemented in practice in the province, bringing about economic, social and environmental efficiency.

Strive to have 50 thousand hectares meeting the criteria by 2030

Despite initial positive results, the implementation of the 1 million hectare high-quality, low-emission rice project still faces many difficulties and challenges that need to be resolved to ensure progress and effectiveness. According to the agricultural sector, the province has an annual rice cultivation area of over 327,000 hectares and an output of over 1.8 million tons.

However, the scale of rice production in the province in some communes is still small and fragmented, there are not many large-scale rice-growing areas with links and cooperation between rice growers, cooperatives and enterprises. The province has over 20% of the rice-producing area participating in various types of cooperative economies and cooperatives, but it is still very loose, and the efficiency is not high.

Furthermore, Vinh Long is outside the VnSAT Project, so the initial approach to implementing the project encountered difficulties due to lack of experience, lack of investment in infrastructure, and human resource training compared to the provinces that previously participated in the VnSAT Project. Most of the province's rice products have not yet built brands and trademarks; lack of leading enterprises to invest and consume; lack of machinery, equipment, and large-scale warehouses to ensure the needs of rice production and preservation...

In the coming time, the Department of Agriculture and Environment will specifically identify key areas to participate in implementing investment projects to develop specialized areas for high-quality rice cultivation and emission reduction, striving to have 50,000 hectares meeting the prescribed criteria by the end of 2030.

Focus on key activities such as investing in completing infrastructure in new areas, reorganizing production, building value chains, implementing MRV system applications; at the same time, maintaining sustainable production in areas that meet the criteria for the 2024-2025 period.

Continue to replicate the model

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the pilot models in the 1 million hectares of high-quality rice project help reduce production costs by 8.2-24.2% thanks to a 30-50% reduction in seeds, saving 30-70kg of fertilizer/ha, reducing 1-4 times of spraying pesticides and cutting 30-40% of irrigation water. At the same time, productivity increases by 2.4-7%, helping to increase farmers' income by 12-50%, equivalent to an increase in profit of 4-7.6 million VND/ha compared to traditional farming. The model contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with an average reduction of 2-12 tons of CO₂ equivalent/ha. Enterprises commit to purchasing all harvested rice output at a price 200-300 VND/kg higher, creating a strong motivation for farmers to participate. With these positive results, the pilot models have received strong support from cooperative farmers in the region. On that basis, the Ministry has agreed with localities to continue replicating the model, aiming to build a high-quality, environmentally friendly rice production system that is highly competitive in the international market.

In addition, strengthen training and transfer to rice-growing households, cooperatives and cooperatives to apply high-quality and low-emission rice production processes, straw treatment measures, environmental protection knowledge, climate change response, management knowledge, business, market, and digital transformation.

Connecting specialized production areas of high-quality and low-emission rice with innovation centers, logistics centers associated with specialized production areas with the participation of cooperatives, cooperatives and enterprises. Strengthening trade promotion, advertising, supporting the consumption of rice products; supporting the building of low-carbon rice brands, calling on enterprises to invest in product consumption...

Article and photos: THAO LY

Source: https://baovinhlong.com.vn/kinh-te/nong-nghiep/202509/de-an-1-trieu-hecta-lua-chat-luong-cao-dinh-huong-chuyen-doi-canh-tac-ben-vung-87e1104/