Rice production '3 decreases 3 increases', profit increases by 8 million VND/ha

Cost reduction of 16%

According to the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, in recent years, farmers in the South Central region have made many changes in rice production, using good, high-quality varieties; implementing mechanization in land preparation; field sanitation; dredging of intra-field canals... In addition, the level of intensive investment and application of technical advances in production by farmers has increased, which are important factors to improve productivity, output and quality of rice plants.

However, to intensively cultivate rice, farmers cannot avoid overusing fertilizers and pesticides, leading to reduced product quality, environmental pollution, and especially direct impacts on human health.

Therefore, the central agricultural extension project "Building a rice cultivation model towards reducing input costs in some provinces of the South Central Coast" of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment implemented by the South Central Coast Agricultural Science and Technology Institute (ASISOV) is an urgent requirement, in line with the policy of the agricultural sector in the South Central Coast region.

Visiting the rice production model applying the integrated farming package to reduce input costs in the 2024 summer-autumn crop in Nhon My commune (An Nhon town, Binh Dinh). Photo: V.D.T.

According to Mr. Nguyen Duc Tho, an officer of ASISOV - Project Manager, the project's goal is to synchronously apply scientific and technological solutions in rice cultivation, from using new varieties to reducing the amount of seeds sown by sowing in rows instead of broadcasting; increasing the efficiency of fertilizer use through balanced fertilization, making full use of and thoroughly treating by-products; watering and using pesticides appropriately... to reduce at least 15% of input costs, adapt to climate change, and contribute to improving rice production efficiency.

According to Mr. Tho's calculation, the average cost of the model field is 22.9 million VND/ha, lower than the cost of the control field by nearly 4.5 million VND/ha, equivalent to a reduction of more than 16%. Of which, the cost of purchasing pesticides is reduced by nearly 48% and the cost of spraying pesticides is reduced by 40%; the cost of sowing and tilling the land is reduced by nearly 35%...

In addition, the model also builds a chain of links between cooperatives, agricultural cooperatives and enterprises in organizing production and product consumption, including 2 models of linking product consumption in a chain from production to harvesting, preservation, processing associated with consumption and sustainable development enterprises, consuming over 60% of products.

Rice production model applying integrated farming package to reduce input costs in the 2024 summer-autumn crop in Nhon My commune (An Nhon town, Binh Dinh). Photo: V.D.T.

Based on the technical foundation of “3 reductions, 3 increases”, “1 must, 5 reductions” and applying advanced techniques in rice production, ASISOV builds a common technical process applicable to the models. From there, ASISOV staff consults local agricultural staff to make adjustments and supplements to suit the actual production situation.

The model uses new rice varieties BDR999 and BDR57 selected by ASISOV, meeting the requirements and objectives of the project. These are varieties with short to medium growing periods but ensuring high yields to replace long-term varieties to minimize the time the rice plants stand in the field, thereby reducing the number of irrigations and avoiding natural disasters at the end of the season.

Profit increased by more than 8 million VND/ha

Mr. Huynh Van Tho in Hoa Phong village, Nhon My commune (An Nhon town, Binh Dinh) participated in the production of 5 sao of rice in the project and said: If sowing using row sowing tools, the amount of rice seeds used is 80kg/ha, using cluster sowing equipment is 70kg/ha, sowing by hand (broadcast sowing) is 100kg/ha. Compared to the local people's sowing practice of 140kg/ha, the model has reduced the amount of seeds by 70kg/ha if applying cluster sowing, 60kg/ha if applying row sowing and 40kg/ha if applying broadcast sowing.

“Thanks to reducing the amount of seeds sown, the amount of fertilizer has been reduced. In addition, the model applies a combination of organic and inorganic fertilizers; balanced fertilization, no excess nitrogen fertilization from the rice panicle stage onwards, and applies the '4 correct' fertilization technique, so the amount of fertilizer has been reduced by more than 15% compared to before,” said farmer Huynh Van Tho.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Tho - Project Manager shared more: Production practice shows that the use of cluster seeding equipment has brought many advantages in rice production such as: Reducing 50% of seeds compared to traditional seeding, reducing labor for sowing and care, and making rice plants grow and develop better.

Rice production model applying integrated farming package to reduce input costs in the 2024 summer-autumn crop in Nhon An commune (An Nhon town, Binh Dinh). Photo: V.D.T.

Mr. Tho calculated: In the summer-autumn crop of 2023, the average rice price is 8,200 VND/kg, the total revenue of the average models reaches over 60 million VND/ha, 3.8 million VND/ha higher than the control. The profit of the model reaches over 38 million VND/ha, 7.8 million VND/ha higher than the control field, the economic efficiency of the model increases by over 15% compared to mass rice production.

In the 2023-2024 winter-spring crop, with an average rice price of VND 8,400/kg, the total revenue of the average models reached nearly VND 65.5 million/ha, higher than the control model by more than VND 3.7 million/ha. The profit of the model reached over VND 42.2 million/ha, higher than the control model by nearly VND 8 million/ha.

“The total revenue of the models averaged more than 62.8 million VND/ha, higher than the average control field by more than 3.7 million VND/ha, the profit of the model reached more than 40.1 million VND/ha, higher than the control by nearly 8.2 million VND/ha,” said Mr. Nguyen Duc Tho.

Rice production model applying integrated farming package to reduce input costs in the 2024 summer-autumn crop in Hoa Tri commune (Phu Hoa district, Phu Yen). Photo: V.D.T.

Not only bringing economic efficiency, the project "Building a rice cultivation model towards reducing input costs in some provinces of the South Central region" also helps producers access new science and technology in rice production; reducing the amount of seeds sown from 140kg/ha before to 70 - 100kg/ha, contributing to reducing production costs (seeds, fertilizers, pesticides), in addition to creating a chain of product consumption links, improving rice production efficiency.

The application of mechanization in production from land preparation to harvesting also contributes to reducing labor, solving one of the current difficulties in production which is the shortage of labor force, especially in rice production. Besides, it contributes to protecting the living environment for people in the region.

“Through the project models implemented in Binh Dinh, it shows that people participating in the model have implemented solutions to reduce production costs, bringing higher profits than traditional production. In addition, the application of collecting by-products and not burning straw after rice harvest has contributed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi To Tran, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Binh Dinh.