Illustrative image. (Source: VNA) Tra Vinh (VNA) – Farmers in Da Loc commune, Chau Thanh district of the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh have earned an extra 5 million VND (222.2 USD) for each hectare of rice applying the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) practice.
The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh reported the outcome after the pilot SRI application on 60 hectares of rice in this year Autumn-Winter crop (August to December).
Nearly 70 farmer households who participated in the pilot programme earned more than 16 million VND (711 USD) in profit per hectare thanks to the cut in costs for seeds, fertilizer, pesticides and irrigation.
The average yield was estimated at 7 tonnes of rice per hectare, 0.7 tonnes higher than that of traditionally cultivated crops.
Nguyen Van Nam, a participating farmer, said the practice required only half of the regular seed amount and water supply as well as 80 percent of pesticide use.
As a result, the production cost reduced from 3,100 VND to 2,100 VND per kilogramme.
According to Trang Tung from the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Tra Vinh has about 7,000 hectares of rice areas incapable of producing three crops per year due to lack of access to water and saltwater intrusion.
Applying SRI practice is among the province’s effort to develop rice agriculture in response to climate change consequences.-VNA
