Rice cultivation using ratoons and the warnings involved.

(Baonghean) - Ramie rice (rice grown from seedlings) is becoming the choice of many people in the southern five-region (Nam Dan district) and is showing a tendency to develop in communes with low-lying areas. However, it must be emphasized that this is only a temporary solution, a farming method that is heavily manual, small-scale, and hinders food production.

The movement to leave rice seedlings uncultivated

In the Trang Nam rice paddy area of ​​Nam Trung commune, Mr. Hoang Van Son (hamlet 4), after harvesting 4 sao (approximately 0.4 hectares) of spring rice, still proceeds to fertilize the old rice plants to nourish the new shoots. Mr. Son said: “Previously, some households in the commune also left the rice stubble, but most did not harvest it, only using it to feed ducks or buffaloes and cows... But after observing many seasons in neighboring communes, we saw that the stubble from the previous crop continued to sprout vigorously, produce beautiful ears of rice, and some households that took good care of it achieved yields of 90-100 kg of rice per sao (a unit of land measurement), so we learned to do the same. To grow rice stubble, we didn't have to rush the land preparation, avoided early summer floods, and saved on seeds and fertilizers. To cultivate rice stubble for high yields, when the rice is about 80% ripe, we harvest it deeply, leaving about 20cm of the stubble. After about 15 days, the rice will continue to sprout. If you intend to cultivate rice stubble, you need to choose the right variety from the beginning of the season; you should use long-duration rice varieties with strong regenerative capacity, large clumps, and fast flowering, such as X21, X23, BTE1...”.

Despite the efforts of Nam Trung commune (Nam Dan district) to raise awareness and encourage farmers, many households still cultivate ratoon rice.

Nam Trung is a low-lying commune in Nam Dan district, and in recent years, the area planted with summer-autumn rice has often fallen short of the planned targets. For example, in the 2012 summer-autumn crop, the commune planned to plant 220 hectares but only sowed over 100 hectares, leaving 70 hectares for ratoon rice cultivation (an increase of 30 hectares compared to 2011); in 2013, the entire commune only planted over 80 hectares, leaving 160 hectares for ratoon rice cultivation. By 2014, despite the commune's strong leadership, the area planted with summer-autumn rice only reached 105 hectares (30% of the plan). Due to the high investment costs, approximately 500,000 - 600,000 VND per sao (a unit of land measurement), many households left the rice to regenerate, totaling nearly 100 hectares.

According to Mr. Nguyen Nhu Khoi, Chairman of the People's Committee of Nam Kim commune (Nam Dan district), in the 2011 summer-autumn crop season, people only planted rice on 160 out of 447 hectares, leaving the remaining area for ratooning in Duc Tho district. By the 2013 summer-autumn crop season, despite the commune developing a plan to implement it in every hamlet, pumping water from the beginning of the season, and regularly broadcasting information, people still kept ratooning rice on nearly 200 hectares, leaving the rest fallow and uncultivated. Faced with this situation, in the 2014 summer-autumn crop season, officials from the district's Department of Agriculture had to go to the commune to organize workshops and direct dialogues with the people; the commune coordinated with all departments, agencies, and organizations to encourage people to plant summer-autumn rice. After a period of guidance, the commune reduced the planned area from 300 hectares to 100 hectares to ensure more decisive action and to lay the groundwork for subsequent seasons. In addition to the general support from the district for the five southern regions, the commune also provided an extra 5,000 VND/kg for P6 mutant rice seeds, and funded the purchase of biological rat poison (80,000 VND/kg) to kill rats, with treatment organized every 10-15 days. Simultaneously, they received 4.1 tons of P6 rice seeds to supply to the people, assigning them to all commune committee officials, from commune secretaries to village heads, in all 21 villages to cultivate summer-autumn rice, averaging 2-5 sao (approximately 0.2-0.5 hectares). After reducing the designated area for guaranteed harvest to 100 hectares, some villages have completed their assigned areas, such as Ha Tuy village (10 hectares) and Tam Giac village (10 hectares).

And the warnings

While preliminary calculations show that ratoon rice production is beneficial for household economics, when considered on a broader scale, its social impact decreases, requiring more intensive farming techniques for the winter-spring crop. The reasoning put forward by Mr. Dinh Hong Quang, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Nam Trung commune, is also worth considering: "Raising rice is profitable, but if you calculate the total income, it's very low. For example, Nam Trung commune has 100 hectares of ratooned rice. If the average yield is 70-80 kg/sao (14-16 tons/ha), the total production would reach 1,400-1,600 tons of paddy. Meanwhile, concentrated summer-autumn production with an average yield of 50 quintals/ha would yield a total food production of 5,000 tons. This difference would become social income, as it covers service costs, labor costs, meaning it creates jobs and provides income for a significant portion of rural people. The costs also include fertilizers, pesticides, etc., which means boosting the circulation of goods... When discussing this issue, Mr. Nguyen Nhu Khoi also commented: Not every year will ratooned rice yield 70 kg/sao." kg/sao (a unit of land measurement), in some seasons people only get about 30 kg/sao, and in some areas there are only empty rice grains, with no harvest at all.

The ratoon rice crop has two fundamental limitations. Firstly, mechanization cannot be used in harvesting. To cultivate ratoon rice, the spring crop must be harvested by hand, not by machine, because it relies heavily on the parent rice; if the stubble breaks or falls, the plant will grow poorly. Secondly, it is difficult to introduce high-quality, high-yielding rice varieties because these varieties often have poor ratoon growth capabilities.

According to statistics from the District Department of Agriculture, from 2011 to 2013, the trend of summer-autumn rice production decreased. Some communes left their fields uncultivated, such as Nam Cuong and Nam Kim; Nam Phuc commune cultivated only 12 hectares out of 222 hectares, and Nam Trung commune cultivated less than 100 hectares out of 257 hectares… In light of this situation, the District People's Committee assigned the Department of Agriculture to organize a workshop on rice cultivation versus rice rations in Nam Kim, Nam Trung, and Nam Cuong communes, while also promoting and encouraging people to cultivate summer-autumn rice, preventing land from being left fallow. During the direct dialogue, people in these communes raised difficulties such as water shortages for production, rodent damage, difficulties in protection due to fragmented and unorganized work; high risk, and low profit margins compared to other jobs. To thoroughly address the above issues, the district has proposed solutions: regarding irrigation water, the Irrigation Enterprise is committed to providing sufficient water for the five southern regions; regarding pest control caused by rats, funding will be sourced from the "Protection and Development of Rice Cultivation Land" support program for rice-growing localities according to Government Decree 42/2012/ND-CP dated May 11, 2012, to support farmers with a support level of 25,000 VND/sao (1 sao = 360 square meters). At the same time, the district's Plant Protection Station is tasked with monitoring and launching rat extermination campaigns at the right time, ensuring accurate forecasting and prediction; and guiding communes to plan for concentrated production areas, avoiding separate production zones to facilitate field protection... Also at the workshop, the Department of Agriculture presented calculations showing that concentrated production yields 30% higher profits compared to the two production methods. After direct dialogue, the people's mindset has changed to some extent regarding summer-autumn crop production. Currently, Nam Kim commune has cultivated 100 hectares out of 300 hectares planned, Nam Cuong 20 hectares out of 68 hectares, Nam Phuc 50 hectares out of 222 hectares, and Nam Trung 105 hectares out of 257 hectares.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh The, Deputy Head of the Agriculture Department of Nam Dan District, added: “The practice of ratooning rice is a long-standing farming method that the district has advised people against, because the immediate benefits are low while the long-term consequences are significant. Ramtooned rice creates a favorable environment for many pathogens to persist in the fields; the most serious of which is rat infestation. From ratooned fields, disease outbreaks will threaten the adjacent summer-autumn rice crop… For example, in the Bau Non area, in the 2012 summer-autumn crop, farmers left nearly 200 hectares of land fallow, resulting in a very high density of armyworms, ranging from 300 to 500 worms/m2. In 2014, the district's policy in communes with low-lying areas unsuitable for summer-autumn crop production was to have farmers plow the land to both increase soil fertility and limit the development of pathogens.”

Text and photos:Ngoc Anh