A field with the VD 20 rice variety meant for exports in Tien Giang province’s Go Cong Tay district. (Photo: VNA)Tien Giang (VNS/VNA) - Authorities in Tien Giang province’s Go Cong Tay district are encouraging farmers to grow only high-quality ricevarieties and want to export all of it.
Ngo Van Dung, head of the district’s Bureau of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, said the varieties include VD 20, ST 24 and OM 5451, and aremostly fragrant varieties that fetch high prices since they are much in demand.
The district, a major agricultural producer in Tien Giang, has 8,800ha of landon which farmers grow two to three rice crops a year.
It has developed 4,500ha for VD 20 in Thanh Nhut, Long Vinh, Dong Thanh, Vinh Huu,and Binh Phu communes. Go Cong Tay district is the province’s largest producerof the variety, which is fragrant and soft when cooked.
It has called on companies within the province and elsewhere to sign agreementswith farmers and rice co-operatives to grow VD 20 on large-scale rice fields.
Under the model, farmers pool their lands and grow the same rice variety, usethe same farming techniques and have the same crop schedule to increaseproduction efficiency through economies of scale.
The HK Trade Company Ltd. in the province’s Mỹ Tho City has signed contractswith farmers in Dong Thanh Commune to grow 100ha of organic VD 20 for export tothe EU.
It supplies farming inputs and teaches farmers modern techniques to grow thegrain and buys their entire output at 200 VND a kilogramme higher than themarket price.
Cao Hong Tiet, who has a contract with it, said he and other farmers are instructedto use techniques like the “one must and five reductions” and the “threereductions and three increases.”
The latter refers to reducing the use of seedlings, fertilisers andplant-protection chemicals to achieve increases in productivity, quality andefficiency.
Farmers with a contract use machines for the entire cultivation processes.
Chau Minh Hai, director of HK, said the company plans to expand contracts to200ha next year to export to the EU.
Mai Duc Tan, director of the Go Cong Tay Agriculture Services Centre, said thedistrict has instructed farmers to use advanced farming techniques and organicstandards to grow rice.
It has instructed them to grow flowers around rice fields to attract naturalpredators of brown plant hoppers, the main rice pest, he said.
The district has 3,000 – 3,500ha of rice grown with contracts with companiesevery year.
In the ongoing 2020 – 21 winter-spring crop its farmers are planting 8,800ha ofrice, including 1,000ha under contracts./.
VNA
