Rice growers making good profits amid difficulties

“Living well” amid the pandemic

Being a district specialized in agroproduction in the eastern coastal region of Tien Giang province, Go Cong Tay district has 8,800 ha of rice land in total, cultivating 2-3 crops a year.

In order to sustainably develop specialized farming areas, Go Cong Tay encourages businesses both inside and outside Tien Giang to sign production linking contracts with collective economic units and households specialized in cultivating VD20 rice following the model of large fields. This will be win-win cooperation, especially for farmers as there will be many profits to gain. In spite of the Covid-19 pandemic, the majority of locals are still “living well” thanks to production linking.

HK Co., Ltd, for example, has formed a link with farmers to plant 100 ha of VD20 rice under European’s organic processing standard. The enterprise supplies agricultural materials, transferring input technology and underwriting at a price VND 200 - 500/kg higher than the market average.

According to Mr. Chau Minh Hai, Director of HK Co., Ltd, the company makes a lump-sum investment at the beginning of the crop for material costs which includes seeds, organic fertilizers, and pesticides in the form of zero-interest capital support, motivating farmers to participate in the model. Upon the harvest, after paying for input material costs, HK Co., Ltd will also support farmers with VND 50/kg of final paddies (approximately VND 300,000/ha). In order to receive the support and product underwriting, farmers must strictly follow the cultivation process given by the company and the agricultural industry in general. They are required to use the VD20 special fragrant rice variety provided by the company.

“Although the production of farmers and the company has been suffering heavy blows throughout this year’s Covid-19, HK Co., Ltd still guarantees to purchase over 3,000 tons of rice, following the commitment of VND 5,500/kg which is VND 300/kg higher than the market. A slight decrease in purchase price compared to the same period last year seems inevitable, but farmers can rest assured that the profits are good enough to consider reproduction,” said Mr. Chau Minh Hai.

The VD20 rice product has recently been certified 4-star OCOP standard. SGS Vietnam Co., Ltd. also verified that VD20 meets 13 European standards. This would be an advantage for HK Co., Ltd to prepare necessary procedures and promote the exportation of this specialty fragrant rice variety of Tien Giang to the European market.

Being one of the first farmers to join the production link chain, Mr. Cao Hong Tiet (Dong Thanh commune, Go Cong Tay district) shared that his family owns 2 ha of land, growing average, low-economic value rice varieties in the traditional way.

After joining the link chain and receiving consultation from businesses to cultivate VD20, he realized that this rice variety is more than just resistant to the typical saline soils of the locality. VD20 became popular in the market thanks to its sticky and aromatic rice grains that can be sold at a high price.

Enterprises also sent technicians to the field to do "hands-on work", transferring scientific and technical advances as well as supplying input materials. The underwriting price is higher than the market average, so farmers now brim with excitement.

“Rice production in the area was extremely difficult this year. Covid-19 made walking to the field almost impossible. It was even harder during the harvest. The big question is finding who to sell the product to after the harvest. Many self suppliant farmers had no choice but to abandon the field. Thanks to HK Co.,Ltd offering the production link chain and reaching out a helping hand in every stage from harvesting to purchasing, my family feels more encouraged than ever, ” said Mr Cao Hong Tiet.

According to Mr. Ngo Van Dung, Head of Go Cong Tay Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the production linking and assurance of output for the specialized production area of high-quality, fragrant rice for export in the district has recently received great attention and brought many good results.

At present, the production area following the model of large fields in the locality reaches 3,000 - 3,500 ha/year on average. To achieve this result it is necessary to mention the role of businesses. HK Co., Ltd can be considered the trend pioneer in the locality.

“In the 2020-2021 autumn-winter crop Go Cong Tay sowed nearly 9,000 ha of land. Most of the area is underwriting-guaranteed by organizations and businesses. So farmers in general and those who grow VD20 rice for export in particular all feel reassured. They enthusiastically promote intensive farming and apply agricultural technological advances synchronously with the goal to achieve bountiful crops," said Mr. Ngo Van Dung.

Towards 110 link chains

According to Tien Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, upon implementation of the “Agriculture Restructuring Scheme”, the province established two concentrated rice-growing areas. The first area is a high-quality rice-growing area of 31,100 ha in the western districts and towns with an output of approximately 600,000 tons/year, including Cai Be, Cai Lay, and Tan Phuoc. The other one is a specialty rice-growing area of 23,500 ha in the eastern districts and towns with an output of approximately 250,000 tons /year, mainly in two coastal districts of Go Cong Dong and Go Cong Tay.

Aside from HK Co., Ltd, other businesses and organizations such as Vinh Hien Co., Ltd, Tien Giang Agricultural Extension and Service Centre (MARD) also participate in creating production linkage with the locals.

Mr. Tran Hoang Nhat Nam, Tien Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shared that in order to focus resources to develop the agricultural commodity value chain thus encouraging production linkage, the provincial People's Committee has issued a list of important agricultural products and industries.

The local authorities prioritize support in creating links associated with product consumption, attracting businesses' investment in agricultural fields according to the Government Decree No. 98/2018/ND-CP dated July 5, 2018, regarding “encouragement policies for cooperation, production linkage and agro-products.”

The locality also effectively organized and managed the agro-products value chain, encouraging small-scale production and business households to join hands and coordinate with each other, getting in contact with product consumption partners in the agricultural value chain, and solving issues concerning output and market demand.

Tien Giang’s agricultural sector, together with all levels and branches, will encourage farmers to participate in the new-style collective business, creating advanced production relationships as the first step to connect the value chain.

“Thanks to that, Tien Giang has formed 93 agro-products production and consumption models up until the present date. In regard to cultivation, there are 80 models with an area of 13,000 ha and an output of 121,800 tons/year. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the agro-product production and consumption links between farmers and businesses have proved to be very effective. The most prominent feature is the production and consumption of vegetables, rice and several other crops,” said Mr. Tran Hoang Nhat Nam.

With goals to strive for by 2025, Tien Giang supports the construction of 110 agro-products production and consumption link chains between farmers, cooperatives and businesses in order to reduce the situation of small, fragmented businesses lacking quality control, while aiding the connection of sustainable development.

Tien Giang thus establishes 30-40 chains from production to preliminary processing, processing and product consumption, forming a point model for replication. On the other hand, the province actively invites businesses to invest in agriculture and rural areas, coordinating with relevant units to encourage trade promotion for key agricultural products.