Uncertain signs about improved Khang Dan rice variety (DCG72)

(Baonghean) - People reflect: Is it true that Thanh Chuong District Agricultural Products Joint Stock Company arbitrarily raised the price of improved Khang Dan rice seeds to 32,000/kg to enjoy the people's subsidy of 15,000 VND or is the subsidy a trick to sell the product?

Feedback from the people

On August 23, 2016, Hamlet 13 Chief, Thanh Ha Commune (Thanh Chuong), Mr. Hoang Van Nam sent a petition to Nghe An Newspaper, stating that in mid-April 2016, Thanh Ha Commune held a meeting of Party cell secretaries and hamlet chiefs to convey instructions from superiors on the content of summer-autumn crop production in 2016, including the announcement of the structure of rice varieties to be produced. With the improved Khang Dan rice variety (DCG72) supplied by Thanh Chuong District Agricultural Materials Joint Stock Company, the price is 32,000 VND/kg; but people receive a subsidy of 15,000 VND/kg, only having to pay 17,000 VND/kg. Faced with the "attractive" price, even though they had never produced improved Khang Dan rice varieties, Thanh Ha residents still registered through the commune's agricultural service cooperative to buy 1.5 tons of rice seeds (village 13 alone bought 194 kg).

At the same time that the improved Khang Dan rice variety was supplied, people discovered that agents in the commune and neighboring areas were also selling this variety. And the selling price was only 17,000 VND/kg, equal to the subsidized price as advertised by Thanh Chuong District Agricultural Materials Joint Stock Company. Suspecting that the seed market was mixed with real and fake, Mr. Hoang Van Nam bought a bag of improved Khang Dan rice variety from an agent in the commune, and also brought a bag of rice variety supplied by Thanh Chuong District Agricultural Materials Joint Stock Company to report to Thanh Ha Agricultural Service Cooperative. Because the packaging was completely identical, the Cooperative could not distinguish between real and fake goods.

Nghe An Newspaper reporters investigate at the field producing improved Khang Dan rice variety.

Therefore, the Cooperative sent a representative with Mr. Hoang Van Nam to meet with the leaders of Thanh Chuong District Agricultural Materials Joint Stock Company to request clarification. The director of Thanh Chuong District Agricultural Materials Joint Stock Company, Mr. Vo Huu Hoan, acknowledged that both bags of rice seeds were produced and supplied by the same place - Nghe An Plant Seed Center. He also affirmed that the company did not supply seeds to outside agents; the selling price of 17,000 VND/kg was in compliance with the price regulated by Nghe An Plant Seed Center; and they were not responsible for the bags of improved Khang Dan seeds that were floating around the market... This matter was also raised by the people of Hamlet 13 at the voter meeting attended by the leaders of Thanh Chuong District, but they did not receive a satisfactory answer.

Unable to find an answer, Mr. Hoang Van Nam, on behalf of the people of Thanh Ha commune, raised two issues: Did Thanh Chuong District Agricultural Products Joint Stock Company arbitrarily raise the price of improved Khang Dan rice seeds to 32,000 VND/kg to enjoy the people's subsidy of 15,000 VND? Or is the subsidy a trick to sell the product? And, he requested Nghe An Newspaper to clarify.

Realizing that the content of the reflection is of concern and needs to be promptly investigated and clarified by the authorities, Nghe An Newspaper posted the information in the “Hotline” section of the daily newspaper published on August 24, 2016: “Some citizens of Thanh Ha commune (Thanh Chuong district) reflected: Thanh Chuong district VTNN Joint Stock Company arbitrarily raised the selling price of improved Khang Dan rice variety (higher than the market price) to enjoy subsidies. The incident was reported to the district by the people, but so far it has not been resolved.”

Questionable Response

Just one day later (August 25), both related units, Thanh Chuong District Agricultural Materials Joint Stock Company and Nghe An Plant Seed Center, simultaneously responded to the information mentioned above on the "Hotline" section of Nghe An Newspaper as mentioned above.

Regarding Thanh Chuong District VTNN Joint Stock Company, in Official Dispatch No. 39/CV-VTNN, there is the content: “Implementing the supply and announcing the selling price of improved Khang Dan rice varieties is according to the assignment of the District People's Committee and the price announcement of Nghe An Plant Seed Center (with the price announcement of Nghe An Plant Seed Center dated April 1, 2016 and the Summer-Autumn Production Project 2016 No. 587/DA-UBND of Thanh Chuong District). Therefore, the citizen's reflection at Nghe An Newspaper as above is not true to reality according to the policy of the District People's Committee and Nghe An Plant Seed Center. Therefore, our company makes this official dispatch so that the Editor-in-Chief of Nghe An Newspaper and the Chairman of the District People's Committee know and take measures to handle it”.

In Official Dispatch No. 238/BC-TTG, Nghe An Plant Varieties Center stated: “The improved Khang Dan rice variety (DCG72) is a purebred rice variety that has been researched and improved from the Khang Dan 18 rice variety. This rice variety was researched and selected by the JICA Project (Japan) in collaboration with the Center for Improved Crop Development - Vietnam Academy of Agriculture. Nghe An Provincial People's Committee and Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Rural Development assigned Nghe An Plant Varieties Center to conduct research, testing, evaluation and transfer in Nghe An province from 2014 to present.

Document responding to information on Nghe An Newspaper's Hotline of Thanh Chuong Agricultural Materials Joint Stock Company and Nghe An Plant Seed Center.

This is a shorter-term rice variety than Khang Dan 18 (12-15 days shorter), a variety that responds to natural disasters and floods, suitable for production in flooded areas. After the process of research, testing, and evaluation to help Nghe An farmers soon access this improved rice variety, quickly transfer the improved Khang Dan variety into mass production, in the summer-autumn crop of 2016, Nghe An Plant Seed Center used funds from the unit's production and business resources to support the price of the improved Khang Dan rice variety.

And affirmed, the reflection of some people in Thanh Ha commune is "not true"; and Thanh Chuong District Agricultural Materials Joint Stock Company "is a supplier authorized by Nghe An Plant Seed Center to transfer improved Khang Dan rice varieties to farmers in Thanh Chuong district. Thanh Chuong District Agricultural Materials Joint Stock Company lists the price of improved Khang Dan varieties according to the price announced by Nghe An Plant Seed Center (applying the form of support for farmers from the production and business sources of the unit...").

However, comparing the information of these two units with the documents that Mr. Hoang Van Nam sent with the application, there were signs of a lack of transparency regarding the source of subsidy funds and information about the improved Khang Dan rice variety... Specifically, in the document sent to the newspaper, Nghe An Plant Seed Center stated that the subsidy funds came from "the unit's production and business sources".

However, in the Notice on the policy mechanism to support the price of DCG72 rice variety (Improved Khang Dan) for the summer-autumn crop of 2016 sent by this same unit to the People's Committee of Thanh Chuong district (dated May 5, 2016), it stated: "For Ky Son, Que Phong, Quy Chau districts: Implementing the social security program sponsored by BIDV Bank, DCG72 rice variety (Improved Khang Dan) is supported at 32,000 VND/kg. For other districts in the province: Support is 15,000 VND/kg (implemented from the budget of the 2016 Agricultural Career Plan and the unit's development resources)".

In addition, in the Price Quotation Form dated April 1, 2016 of Nghe An Plant Seed Center sent to plant seed suppliers, the improved Khang Dan rice variety was noted as a “trial production” variety. In the Price Announcement of rice and corn varieties for the summer-autumn crop of 2016 sent to customers by Thanh Chuong District Agricultural Materials Joint Stock Company, the improved Khang Dan rice variety is a mass-produced rice variety…

At that time, when we contacted Mr. Hoang Van Nam to verify the information stated in the application. Over the phone, Mr. Nam replied: “We state it as it is, we dare not make a false application. Hearing a hundred times is not as good as seeing once, we request Nghe An Newspaper to send a reporter to Thanh Ha to check and clarify the matter for the people. Currently, we still keep the bags of rice seeds; the dealers of improved Khang Dan seeds are still there; moreover, Thanh Ha Agricultural Service Cooperative also knows about this matter…”.

(To be continued)

PVDT Group