Producing ST25 rice in the direction of biosafety

The ST25 rice production model in the direction of biological safety applies reasonable sowing density, only using biological pesticides to prevent pests and diseases when really necessary. At the same time, increasing organic fertilizer and reducing the amount of chemical fertilizer, so it is less toxic to the soil environment and friendly to the environment. The rice obtained ensures safety and quality in accordance 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, the 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 recent times, rice varieties bred by the Binh Thuan Agricultural Seed Center such as TH6, TH41, ML4, ML49, ML107, ML48, ML214, ML202... are 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 growing 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 dead rice 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 model of rice cultivation in the direction of biological safety has brought many benefits: not only creating safe agricultural products, beneficial to human health but also raising awareness, changing farming methods, contributing to protecting the environment and field ecosystems.

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 ST25 rice production 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 first thing is to reorganize production, concentrate production, form large fields, and link farmers. On the other hand, organizing a production cooperation 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