Tien Giang (VNA) – Go Cong Tay district in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang plans to expand organic rice-growing areas to nearly 200ha this year, as part of the effort to promote the potential of the locality.
According to Mai Duc Tan, director of the district Agricultural Service Centre, in the winter-spring crop of 2021-2022, the centre cooperated with HK Co.Ltd to deploy the safe organic rice production model in line with European regulations on 132 hectares in Dong Thanh, Binh Phu, Thanh Tri, Yen Luong and Thanh Cong communes.
The model has brought about positive results as it helped produce safe agricultural products meeting European standards with a high yield.
Participating farmers were provided with 100 kilogrammes of rice seeds and 54kg of organic fertiliser per hectare, instructed in using advanced techniques, and given guidance on how to sow rice under certain schedules to avoid damage from the brown plant hopper.
The sale of rice cultivated under the model was guaranteed by businesses with prices higher than the market ones. Joining in the model, farmers can reduce the production cost by 2 million VND (88 USD) for each hectare.
The organic rice farming without using banned pesticides has been supported by farmers as it does not only increase their profits but also helps build a value chain on specialty rice, create safe rice materials for export to fastidious markets, and move toward the building of a brand for "Go Cong specialty rice"./.