Producing ST25 rice in the direction of biosafety

The biosafety-oriented ST25 rice production model applies a reasonable sowing density, using biological pesticides only when absolutely necessary. At the same time, increasing organic fertilizers and reducing chemical fertilizers is less toxic to the soil environment and environmentally friendly. The rice produced is guaranteed to be safe and of quality in line with the development orientation of the agricultural sector.

According to the Binh Thuan Agricultural Seed Center, although Vietnam has the third largest rice export volume in the world, its value is still modest. In the context of international economic integration, in order for Vietnamese rice to penetrate large markets, increase competitiveness and sustainability, the conversion of rice production towards high quality and safety, building safe rice material areas, safe rice associated with consumption enterprises is a right direction, aiming to increase production value, increase income for farmers to restructure the rice industry in the direction of shifting from low-end markets to high-end markets and gradually build a rice brand.

Meanwhile, the role of rice in our country has changed significantly when the goal of food security has been resolved, people need other food sources rich in vitamins. This has led to a decrease in rice consumption per capita, and the income of rice farmers is still low. However, the average rice consumption per capita in Vietnam is still high at 120-130 kg/year, so the role of rice is still important for the whole country. In Binh Thuan, in the past, rice varieties bred by the Binh Thuan Agricultural Seed Center such as TH6, TH41, ML4, ML49, ML107, ML48, ML214, ML202... were mainly to solve the problem of food security and adapt to natural conditions, with a short growing period. These rice varieties are now widely used and strongly developed in the provinces of the South Central Coast and the Central Highlands. However, due to weather conditions and farming regimes, the relatively long survival time of these varieties in production causes some rice varieties in production to degenerate, reduce productivity, quality, and become susceptible to disease.

In that context, the biosafety-oriented ST25 rice production model has been implemented at the Binh Thuan Agricultural Seed Center with an area of 2 hectares in recent years. According to the center's assessment, the ST25 rice variety has a growth period of 105 days, average tillering ability, long, white rice grains, soft, sticky rice, hard rice plants, slender leaves favorable for photosynthesis, and good resistance to pests and diseases. The yield is 5.2 tons/ha, the selling price of rice is 9,000 VND/kg, the total revenue is 46.8 million VND/ha. After deducting costs, the profit is 11.7 million VND/ha.

Comparing the economic efficiency between model fields and fields producing ST25 rice varieties according to farmers' practices shows that the rice yield of model fields is not higher than that of farmers' fields, the selling price is higher but the profit is the same. The reason is that model fields have to buy high-quality ST25 rice varieties, weed and remove rice husks by hand, the selling price of rice from model fields is not higher than that of mass-produced ST25 rice. However, initial results show that the biosafety rice farming model has brought many benefits: not only creating safe agricultural products that are beneficial to human health, but also raising awareness, changing farming methods, contributing to protecting the environment and the field ecosystem.

In recent times, ST25 rice has produced the "best rice in the world" with its stickiness, aroma, and suitability to consumer tastes, so it is very popular and has a high selling price. Therefore, along with expanding the production of ST25 rice in the direction of biosafety, to develop high-quality rice products in a sustainable and safe direction, bringing the rice industry deeper into the global economy, the Provincial Agricultural Seed Center believes that the prerequisite is to reorganize production, concentrate production, form large fields, and link farmers. On the other hand, organizing a cooperative production model brings the best income to rice growers. In particular, science and technology is one of the key solutions in organizing production to adapt to climate change and develop new markets.

Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/san-xuat-lua-st25-theo-huong-an-toan-sinh-hoc-119725.html