Rice production adapts to climate change

The agricultural sector recognizes that the rice industry still has limitations. The income of rice farmers is still low due to small-scale production and uneven rice quality. Cultivation methods are still unsustainable, farmers still use a lot of fertilizers, pesticides and water resources. If the farming system does not change, it will cause the risk of resource depletion, waste of inputs and especially affect the environment, causing greenhouse gas emissions.

Competitiveness of rice products is not high yet.

Binh Thuan is a province with favorable conditions for agricultural development, in which rice is one of the main crops of the province. According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the annual rice cultivation area of Binh Thuan is over 100,000 hectares with an average yield of over 60 quintals/ha, the average rice output reaches 640,000 - 740,000 tons. Thereby, meeting the requirements of large-scale food production to serve domestic consumption needs and moving towards export.

However, in recent years, due to production conditions and technical problems, the productivity, quality and competitiveness of rice products are still low, and the added value is not high. In particular, it is clear that the province's rice production in association with climate change adaptation is currently facing many difficulties. In parallel, the application of technical advances in rice cultivation under climate change conditions, the connection between scientists, state management agencies, enterprises and producers is still limited, the output for products is not stable, and the use of fertilizers is not reasonable...

*Many rice fields were damaged by natural disasters.*

In order to gradually overcome limitations and improve production efficiency, in recent times, with the attention of the province, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has supported farmers in rice production in the context of climate change. In which, it has assigned specialized agencies to implement many rice models in the direction of using less water, seeds, and fertilizers. For example, the rice production model using the SRI method, converting crop structure on rice land, environmentally friendly rice cultivation, using fertilizers reasonably, water-saving irrigation, etc. The goal is to continuously raise awareness for producers, contributing to bringing income to rice farmers.

*Converting crop structure to improve production efficiency.*

Crop rotation on rice land

According to the provincial Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, from 2022 to now, the weather in the province has been quite favorable, the water reserves of irrigation works and reservoirs have ensured production. In addition, the area of crop structure conversion on rice land in recent years has achieved positive results, with a total area of over 19,000 hectares. Of which, in 2020 - 2021 it was 8,194 hectares; in 2021-2022 it was 5,198 hectares, and it is expected to be 6,000 hectares in 2023, the conversion season is mainly the winter-spring crop. The results of crop conversion on rice land show that most farmers have increased their income per unit area, with profits increasing compared to 3 rice crops by 2 - 3 million VND/ha (the 2 rice + 1 peanut model has the highest efficiency of about 10 - 20 million/ha).

*Display of rice products produced under the "environmentally friendly" rice project in Tuy Phong.*

In addition, the model of converting short-term crop structure on rice land (2 rice + 1 color, 1 rice + 1 color) achieves higher economic efficiency than pure rice production by about 10 - 30%. Compared to rice, other crops rotated on rice land all give higher profits. In particular, the average profit per hectare/crop including rice is 5 - 6.8 million VND; corn is 8.5 - 9.2 million VND; vegetables are 15 - 17 million VND... In terms of environmental efficiency, crop rotation on rice land helps limit the development of diseases, especially on rice plants, improve nutrition and health for the soil. In particular, it will save irrigation water, especially in the winter-spring crop when water is often scarce. Converting crops on rice land helps solve part of the idle agricultural labor force, gradually changing farmers' production habits. At the same time, creating a rich source of agricultural products, in addition to rice, helps solve local food needs.

According to the plan of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, by 2025, Binh Thuan strives to stabilize the area of high-quality commercial rice production at nearly 18,000 hectares, with an estimated yield of over 60 quintals/ha. Of which, about 50% of the area has links and contracts with enterprises in production and product consumption. At the same time, build about 15 demonstration models of rice production according to VietGAP standards or equivalent to increase productivity, quality and efficiency suitable to the conditions of each locality. Promote the production of high-quality rice according to the criteria of large fields in some key rice production areas such as Duc Linh, Tanh Linh, Ham Thuan Bac, Bac Binh and Tuy Phong to quickly shift to concentrated, large-scale, highly efficient commercial rice production associated with new rural construction, adapting to climate change.

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