The Mekong Delta province of Ca Mau has planned to expand its large-scale rice fields to cover 15,000 hectares by 2015 and 20,00 hectares by 2020, said a provincial official.

According to Director of the Ca Mau Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Van Su, the average rice output of the province is expected to reach 6.2 tonnes per hectare by 2020 instead of 5.7 tonnes currently.

A massive freshened area covering U Minh, Tran Van Thoi and Thoi Binh districts in U Minh Ha region will be developed to large-scale areas, he said.

After three years of implementation, the model has proved efficiently, helping mechanise production, promoting connections between farmers and businesses, contributing to sustainable development and creating stable incomes for rural labourers, according to Su.

The large-scale rice field area in Ca Mau currently totals 9,000 hectares and will be added by 1,000 hectares by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, Le Dung, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said with the application of the model, the southernmost province targets two-fold rise in income for local farmers by 2020.

The Mekong Delta, one of the key regions applying the model and the country’s largest rice granary, comprises of 12 provinces and one centrally-run city with a total area of 40,000 square kilometres and a combined population of 18 million. It has been tasked with ensuring the country’s food security.

From now to 2030, the region is growing rice across an area of 1.8 million ha, more than half of which is for export. It is also striving to maintain an annual output of 24-25 million tonnes of rice.-VNA