Lessons learned from the spring rice crop.

(Baonghean)Considered the highest rice yield ever, it can be concluded that the 2014 spring rice crop was a success. This is the time for the agricultural sector and localities to draw lessons from this production experience.

Harvesting the spring rice crop in Hung Nguyen.

This spring, Nghi Loc district's rice cultivation area increased by 200 hectares, all in previously less productive areas in semi-mountainous communes with limited water resources, bringing the total spring rice area in the district to 7,500 hectares. Not only did the area increase, but Nghi Loc's spring rice crop this year also achieved very noteworthy results. According to Mr. Nguyen Duc Tho (Head of the District Agriculture Department), the shift contributing to the increased efficiency of spring rice production is the restructuring of rice varieties towards more advanced varieties than in previous years. In addition to ensuring a minimum of 2,000 hectares of hybrid rice to meet food security targets, the area of ​​high-quality purebred rice has increased from 850 hectares (spring 2013) to 1,500 hectares, with quite superior varieties such as DT68, VTNA2, RVT, AC5…

Many large-scale model rice fields have been established. Besides the strict adherence to planting schedules, ensuring rice flowers bloom within the timeframe of the Grain Rain to Summer Solstice (April 20th - May 5th), the area of ​​direct-seeded rice throughout the district has also decreased by 1,500 hectares, and the rice plants are less affected by early-season rain and cold weather. The serious and effective implementation of plant protection and pest control measures is also one of the factors contributing to the average spring rice yield in the entire district reaching over 65 quintals/hectare, an increase of nearly 4 quintals/hectare compared to last year's spring crop.

The first positive achievement in this year's spring crop production in our province is the increase in planted area from 88,653 hectares to 90,024 hectares, mainly in some localities such as Nghi Loc and Yen Thanh. After land consolidation, localities have reinforced the field and irrigation systems, ensuring better irrigation. At the beginning of the spring season, although it was rainy and cold, the intensity was not as severe as in previous years, thus preventing rice seedlings from dying due to the cold. Other conditions for production were also better ensured, contributing to the increase in rice acreage. Along with that, this year's spring rice yield is also considered the highest ever – reaching over 66 quintals/hectare, an increase of 4.8 quintals/hectare compared to last year's spring crop and nearly 1 quintal/hectare higher than the spring crop with the highest "record" yield, which was the spring crop of 2011.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Lap (Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development), the first reason for our successful harvest was that at the beginning of the season, the weather was cold and gloomy, but there was no frost damage that would kill seedlings or newly transplanted rice. The prolonged cold and gloomy weather, lasting over 50 consecutive days in March and April, affected the growth and development of rice plants, causing all rice varieties to have an extended growth period of 5-10 days. However, thanks to the earlier arrangement of the agricultural calendar and the decisive direction from localities to ensure timely planting, the rice plants still bloomed during the most favorable weather period, from April 25th to May 5th. This was accompanied by a rational crop structure, ensuring a balance between hybrid and purebred rice varieties, and between high-yielding and fairly good-quality rice varieties, such as VTNA2, AC5, RVT… In addition, despite the very complex pest and disease situation, with widespread leaf blast, thanks to focused direction and decisive and thorough handling, the infected area and the extent of damage from neck blast were insignificant. These factors, along with the decisive direction of the province, localities, levels, and sectors, contributed to a successful spring rice crop.

A notable trend in this year's spring crop production is the decrease in hybrid rice cultivation by over 2,000 hectares, while the area planted with high-quality purebred rice has increased by nearly 3,000 hectares. As a result, in areas producing commercial crops, besides increased yield and output, farmers are also enjoying higher selling prices, leading to significantly greater economic efficiency. Farmers' awareness has also gradually shifted from focusing on quantity to quality in production.

Overall, while this year's spring crop yielded a large quantity, the production of rice and other agricultural products remains fragmented and small-scale compared to many other localities. Concentrating production into large quantities of goods is still difficult. The distribution system remains inadequate, and the amount of agricultural products under guaranteed purchase agreements is still limited. Although the province has implemented various mechanisms to encourage businesses to invest in agricultural production, only a few enterprises have participated in this sector so far, such as the Nghe An Agricultural Materials Joint Stock Corporation and Vinh Hoa Company Limited, which have invested in building large-scale model fields and guaranteeing product purchase.

The main reason for this situation is the fragmented nature of rice production in Nghe An. To purchase large quantities of agricultural products, businesses may have to sign contracts with hundreds of households. Meanwhile, coordinated investment in agricultural production with farmers is risky, and farmers are not yet fully aware of the importance of adhering to signed contracts. To solve this problem, according to Mr. Ho Ngoc Sy, appropriate and effective solutions are needed to enable businesses to sign contracts with farmers along the entire production chain – from production to processing and consumption – helping farmers avoid being passive and dependent on private traders as they are currently. Policies are in place, but to effectively connect farmers with businesses, it is necessary to implement synchronized mechanisms and policies from both the central and provincial governments to attract enterprises.

To achieve a successful harvest, valuable lessons learned from this year's spring crop are that the agricultural sector must base its planting schedule on the actual situation and specific weather conditions to ensure accuracy and suitability. The crop structure must be specific, precise, and appropriate for each region and locality to maximize the potential of each area and variety. Guidance must be coordinated and decisive, while also being highly flexible to specific developments, thereby providing solutions suitable for each time and locality.

Phu Huong