Inadequacies from farmers using 'meat rice' for summer-autumn production in Nghe An
This summer-autumn crop, farmers in many areas did not buy rice seeds for production but instead used "meat rice" left over from the spring crop. This practice negatively affected their own production and that of other households.
Save money on buying new seeds
Every summer-autumn crop, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lanh, Hamlet 6, Nghi Dong Commune, Nghi Loc, uses the leftover rice (food rice) from the previous crop for sowing, instead of buying new seeds. According to her, the fields are often flooded in August and September, production is unstable, and there are often crop failures, so she does not want to invest. Even if there is a good crop, the yield is only a few quintals/sao, so like other households in the hamlet, she uses the rice seeds she left behind to save costs, and even if she loses them, she will not regret it.
“Self-storage seeds are definitely inferior, but each sao has 3-4 kg of seeds. My brothers and I work on 3 hectares of land, so the cost of seeds is a lot while production is unstable, so everyone keeps their own rice seeds,” said Ms. Lanh.
This summer-autumn crop, Nghi Loc planted more than 4,800 hectares of rice. The situation of farmers using rice seeds left over after the spring harvest is quite common in the area. According to Mr. Tran Nguyen Hoa - Head of the district's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, summer-autumn production in this locality is not as focused on by people as in key rice areas in Yen Thanh and Dien Chau districts... so directing production is quite difficult.
“People use rice as seeds the most in areas with unstable production, or crop failures due to drought and floods; and in areas with summer-autumn production mainly for making rice noodles and raising livestock, using mainly Khang Dan rice seeds,” said Mr. Tran Nguyen Hoa.
This summer-autumn crop, Ms. Pham Thi Binh in Hamlet 9, Chau Nhan Commune (Hung Nguyen) had to accept buying rice seeds for production, but because the rice from the previous crop was not very good, she could not save the seeds. But up to now, every year she has chosen beautiful fields with well-developed rice to save the rice for seeds for the next crop.
“I know that the yield will not be as high as the purchased variety, and that it is more susceptible to pests and diseases, but buying expensive varieties costs about 500,000-800,000 VND per crop,” she shared. To reduce the “weaknesses” of the self-cultivated rice varieties, Ms. Binh only uses the rice varieties that are kept from one crop to the next, and will buy new varieties for the next crop to avoid degeneration.
Reduced productivity and quality
Not only affecting their own rice fields, but the situation of farmers using "self-made" rice varieties also negatively impacts and affects the production of surrounding households.
As a neighbor of Mrs. Pham Thi Binh, Mrs. Phan Thi Xuyen in Chau Nhan commune (Hung Nguyen) buys seeds for every crop, although many households in the village keep their own seeds instead of buying them. According to her, she knows that buying seeds saves money, but in reality, it is a loss because the yield is low and she is often affected by pests and diseases.
“This spring crop, many households in the village planted seeds from last summer-autumn crop. Some households only harvested 4 bags of rice per sao, which is less than 100 kg. Not only was the yield low, but there was also a lot of broken rice and poor quality rice,” said Ms. Xuyen.
However, she is still very worried about pests and diseases spreading from the rice field, so when the rice is often damaged by pests and diseases, she has to regularly visit the field to be able to prevent pests and diseases in time.
In the production guidance documents of Nghe An, advanced rice varieties are recommended and directed for production; however, despite the recommendations of the professional sector, this situation has been going on for many years in many localities. The situation of farmers using meat rice or using rice varieties sold illegally outside is still quite common, with many potential consequences.
During the cultivation process, pathogens on rice will remain in the seeds, especially the empty, poor quality seeds, and it will continue to cause disease to the rice plants in the next crop. In addition, farmers who leave their own rice seeds will have a mixed seed ratio such as weeds and other rice seeds, when sowing the rice field, the uniformity will not be high, affecting the yield and quality of the product.
Mr. Nguyen Tien Duc, Head of the Provincial Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection
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