Huong Trang cooperative is developing large-scale agricultural production in an area of 600 hectares. (Photo: VNA) Long An (VNA) – The Mekong Delta province of Long An is striving to have 60,000 hectares of rice under cultivation utilizing high-tech equipment and practices by 2025, according to Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Thanh Truyen.
Zoning off land for high-tech rice will help form a stable large-scale material area that contributes to improving the value of the rice supply chain and ensuring food security, he said, describing it as a bold step for effective rice production and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
The high-tech rice farming in Long An has proved efficient. To date, the province is home to nearly 47,200 hectares of rice cultivated with advanced technologies, accounting for 78.6% of the goal set for 2025.
The areas yield some 7,200-7,500 kilogrammes per hectare, or 300 kilogrammes higher than those planted with traditional methods.
The high-tech cultivation model helps farmers save an average of 1.4 million VND (57.61 USD) in production costs, while earning 27 million VND in profit for each hectare, or 3.2 million VND higher than other models.
Particularly, it enables farmers to reduce the amount of seedlings and the use of herbicides and pesticides, as well as change production practices towards modernisation and improvement of productivity and income.
According to Mai Van Ret, a farmer in Hung Thanh commune, Tan Hung district, his family has 6 hectares of rice cultivated under the high-tech model, which results in stable productivity, input cost reductions, and higher prices.
Director of the Huong Trang Agricultural Service, Production and Trade Cooperative in Moc Hoa district Tran Van Sua said that the cooperative is developing large-scale agricultural production in an area of 600 hectares, with mechanisation put in place from soil preparation, seedling plantation to harvest and preservation.
The cooperative has also worked to ensure stable markets for local farmers, he added.
According to the local agriculture sector, the province is on the right track to branch out the high-tech rice cultivation model. Advanced technologies have been applied to bring about production efficiency, while farmers’ awareness of the benefits of mechanisation in farming has been raised.
Truyen said the sector will continue working to develop high-tech rice cultivation, and carry out the mechanisation model together with the one that helps cut the amount of mineral fertilizers.
It will focus on human resources training to serve the development of high-tech agriculture, mobilise capital for construction of irrigation works, and support cooperatives to find markets for their products./.
