Fragrant gifts from the fields

(Baonghean) - “Nghe Yen Thanh, Thanh Nong Cong” means that Yen Thanh is the largest rice granary of Nghe An, just like Thanh Hoa has Nong Cong rice granary. With skillful hands and diligence, the people of the rice fields now know how to make many products from rice plants towards culinary products that are both rustic, traditional and modern, creating a unique feature for tourists every time they come to the rice district.

Harvesting by machine in Yen Thanh rice field. Photo: Ho Cac

“The old song of Nghe An has Yen Thanh. Who has ever been hungry, who has ever had a torn shirt. The rice grains of the homeland are full of sunshine and rain at both ends. Mother wades through deep rivers with her back bent to pound rice. The grains are for the homeland, the grains are for friends. Who can forget such a love for the homeland...”. The lyrics of the song “How beautiful is the rice fields of Yen Thanh” (Phan Thanh Chuong) evoke a land that is the largest granary of the province, containing so much affection and simplicity. The children of Yen Thanh, no matter where they go, are proud and remember the memories of a time with their mother, walking in the sun and rain on the golden rice fields.

I and the Head of the District Agriculture Department, Mr. Nguyen Van Duong, walked through the spring rice fields in their maiden stage, the scent of rice wafting over the wide, straight inner-field roads. The Yen Thanh rice fields are now like wearing a new coat. That is the whole district has completed the land conversion. The inner-field roads, the embankments, and the embankments have been widened and straightened, creating convenience for mechanized vehicles to enter and exit. That success is the solidarity and unity of the farmers, they have contributed their efforts and money to make a "revolution" in the fields.

Mr. Nguyen Van Duong, analyzed: Before converting the land, Yen Thanh had more than 13 thousand hectares of rice production for two crops. During the land conversion process, many fields had to be used to open roads, so after the conversion, the two-crop rice area decreased to 12,600 hectares, thus losing about 500 hectares of rice fields. However, the productivity and output of rice did not decrease compared to before, in 2014 the rice output reached 170 thousand tons (no decrease compared to before). The fields have been re-planned, each household has only 1-2 plots, which is very favorable for intensive farming to increase productivity. The land preparation stage is basically mechanized, thereby gradually reducing the labor force in agricultural production.

Talking about rice in his district, Mr. Duong is proud that Yen Thanh has many advantages to become the largest rice granary in the province. The fields are relatively flat, the people are hard-working, diligent, and have long-standing experience in intensive rice cultivation. In particular, it benefits from the Dao River irrigation system, originating from the Do Luong Ba Ra Dam, creating a natural water source for irrigation, serving 2/3 of the district's rice area. Remember, 15 years ago, Yen Thanh specialized in producing pure rice varieties, with good yield, but poor quality. That was due to the needs of society at that time, considering food as the top priority, not paying attention to quality. Many localities even planted rice on fertile land, growing only one unstable rice crop a year, with traditional rice varieties: bao thai, kim cuong, moc tuyen...

In the late 20th century, Yen Thanh basically ensured food, so the structure of the 600 ha area was converted to growing crops and rice, focusing on intensive cultivation on areas with 2 rice crops per year. Now Yen Thanh is proud that, out of the current 12,600 ha of specialized rice land, 2 thousand ha are producing high-quality rice and 1 thousand ha are producing rice seeds, to meet social needs and increase income for rice growers. High-quality rice varieties such as: AC5, BC15, Bac Thom, Huong Thom.

Among them, the most fragrant and sticky rice is AC5 rice variety, which Vinh Hoa Science Company Limited supplies and purchases for people, in order to serve the delicious rice brand. Otherwise, tourists can easily buy good quality rice as gifts, which are sold at kiosks along the town, or at rice milling points in the district. Now, many Yen Thanh people have invested in buying modern milling machines, producing shiny white rice products, serving as a hub for many rice selling points in the cities. That is also the future goal of the district, which is to build the Yen Thanh rice brand, in order to increase the economic value for rice growers and attract tourists.

The vast, flat rice fields facilitate the introduction of machinery into production.

In recent years, with the participation of the State, farmers in the communes of Lien Thanh, Cong Thanh, Do Thanh, Tan Thanh, Hau Thanh, Hung Thanh, Hoa Thanh... have boldly cooperated with companies specializing in supplying rice seeds, such as Thai Binh Seed Company; Central Seed Company 1; Institute of Agricultural Sciences... to produce rice seeds. Thereby, farmers have access to scientific and technological advances in rice cultivation, changing their perception from self-sufficient production to commercial rice production, farmers have stable product consumption, with purchase prices from 9 - 10 thousand VND/kg. Up to now, the whole district has 1 thousand hectares of rice seed production, supplying over 6 thousand tons of rice seeds each year to large rice seed production units nationwide, bringing economic value one and a half times higher to farmers, compared to commercial rice production.

In addition, Yen Thanh people do not eliminate pure rice varieties, serving the processing of traditional dishes, such as making banh muot, processing rice vermicelli... and raising livestock and poultry. Yen Thanh is one of the districts with the largest pig herd in the province, with over 200 thousand pigs and tens of thousands of poultry, contributing positively to the development of the household economy. Not only that, Yen Thanh rice now also creates many products with the culinary characteristics of the homeland. That is the fragrant sticky rice grains of the countryside, serving the famous Vinh Hoa banh chung wrapping village; pure rice is used to process cakes and vermicelli. In recent years, Yen Thanh has been known for its straw mushroom cultivation, rice by-products are used as raw materials for growing mushrooms.

The village of making banh chung Vinh Hoa in Hop Thanh commune is located next to Provincial Road 538, the gateway to Yen Thanh district. People who are attached to the profession of making banh chung here boast that: All the ingredients from the outside to the inside of the banh chung are provided by Yen Thanh people. Every year, the village of making banh chung Vinh Hoa consumes hundreds of tons of sticky rice, mainly purchased from farmers in the district, so the fragrant sticky rice is planted by the people every year, in addition to the family storing it for part-time work in the family, the rest is supplied to the village of making banh chung. The pork used to make the cake filling is also selected from large, delicious pigs, raised by the people according to tradition, using rice bran and ground corn, the meat quality is delicious.

Green beans are also purchased through the seasons, grown by farmers on fertile alluvial soil in the semi-mountainous region. The leaves used to wrap the cakes are basically banana leaves, the seeded banana leaves, cut and dried in the sun, both flexible and fragrant, used to wrap green Chung cakes, also grown in the home gardens of Yen Thanh people. Every day at the rural markets, Vinh Hoa villagers transport Chung cakes to sell, the people in the area bring banana leaves to exchange, not only sell the cakes, but also have banana leaves to bring back to wrap the cakes the next day. Just like that, the craft of wrapping Chung cakes in Vinh Hoa village is increasingly developing.

Then, in the craft of making rice noodles and making rice cakes, no other rice can surpass Khang Dan 18 rice. Because this type of rice has a thin shell, high walls, a certain stickiness, does not stick to the mold, and is easy to make rice cakes. Therefore, Yen Thanh still has 25% of the area planted with Khang Dan rice, a part of which is used to make rice cakes. The skillful and hard-working women of Hop Thanh, Vinh Thanh, Xuan Thanh, Trung Thanh... have opened rice cake making shops along Highway 333 and Highway 538, famous for their chewy and smooth cakes. The rice cake shops served with duck and offal soup are famous in the region, enough to attract customers every time they come to the rice land.

Mushroom farm of Mr. Nguyen Tho Hanh in Nam Thanh commune. Photo: XH

Coming to the rice district now, you can also visit the mushroom farm, enjoy dishes made from oyster mushrooms, straw mushrooms, and button mushrooms. Go against Highway 538, past Roc Market, turn back, cross the Dao River, and come to the mushroom farm of Mr. Nguyen Tho Hanh, in Nam Thanh Commune. In 2013, implementing the district's mushroom growing policy, Mr. Nguyen Tho Hanh, who was then Chairman of the Commune Farmers' Association, boldly invested in opening the largest mushroom farm in the district, with many high-quality mushroom products, such as oyster mushrooms, straw mushrooms, and button mushrooms. Up to now, his mushroom farm has created jobs for many workers, harvesting nearly a quintal of various mushrooms every day, creating a highlight for the mushroom production profession in Yen Thanh. The mushroom growing profession has also been expanded in Khanh Thanh, Son Thanh, and Cong Thanh, creating jobs and increasing income for rural workers, while creating tourist attractions for tourists every time they come to Yen Thanh.

There are still many things to say about the rice district, so when talking about the direction of further development for tourism in the district in the future, Mr. Nguyen Tien Loi, Chairman of the District People's Committee, enthusiastically said: With the goal of creating a highlight in the agricultural sector for tourists coming to the rural area of ​​Yen Thanh, in the coming period, the District People's Committee encourages individuals to accumulate and transfer land, aiming to create a large specialized area according to the ecological farm model, bringing high economic efficiency. From there, many agricultural products of commodity nature will be created, serving the sightseeing needs of tourists.

Xuan Hoang