Circular agriculture model '3 in 1'

Organic rice interspersed with shrimp, fish, chameleon + tourism

Developing organic agriculture to improve the quality and value of production, gradually building agricultural product brands is the direction chosen by many localities in Ha Tinh, including Ha Tinh city. However, given that the land is not large, if only organic rice is grown, the income will not be much higher than that of traditional rice cultivation.

In order to make a difference and improve the value of income per unit area, Ha Tinh City has built a "3 in 1" circular agricultural model in a field of nearly 5 hectares in Lien Nhat village, Thach Ha commune.

This model was "born" from Resolution No. 15 of the City Council, issued on August 14, 2021. Accordingly, with support policies on land accumulation, support for plants and seeds, application of science and technology, etc., by the end of 2021, Lien Nhat Agricultural and General Service Cooperative has planted rice varieties. ST25 combines the farming of aquatic products such as fish, snails, and giant freshwater prawns with the construction of tourism and agricultural services.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Quyen, the owner of the model, said that after accumulating land into a large field, he stocked over 60,000 scads, 30,000 crayfish and over 20,000 fish of all kinds (perch, red snapper, fish). black carp) into the rice field. The model does not use chemical pesticides and inorganic fertilizers at all. Therefore, rice grows quite well, and all kinds of fish, shrimp, and snails grow quickly.

“In the spring crop of 2022, my family's rice was severely affected by a rice blast, but my family's rice was free of disease. There was only one stage when stem borers and brown planthoppers appeared, I pumped water to flood the rice, beat lime, and stir the fan well, after a few hours the worms died.

Even when yellow snails appear, instead of spraying pesticides, I raise black carp to destroy this natural enemy. In a word, this cyclic model is very effective and mutually supportive, "said Quyen.

After harvesting rice, Mr. Quyen uses probiotics to compost stubble, forming organic fertilizer for rice fields to reproduce for the summer-autumn crop.

In addition to growing rice in combination with aquaculture, this model also grows flowers and builds various types of tourism services for tourists to visit and experience.

Wonderful cycle

According to calculations by Lien Nhat Agricultural and General Services Cooperative, in the first crop, the "3 in 1" circular agricultural model is estimated to have a profit of over 300 million VND. With this amount, the model collects half of the investment cost.

Specifically, rice yield is nearly 5 tons/ha; seafood production of all kinds is about 40 tons. Particularly for tilapia, this time is the main harvest season, every day the cooperative sells about 40kg of fish at the price of 70,000 VND/kg in the field, 20,000 VND/kg higher than traditional farmed fish.

“Due to the large consumer demand for organic food, while the supply is limited, the entire output of rice and tilapia is harvested by traders coming to the fields to compete for purchase. It is expected that in about 1 month, we will start harvesting locusts and giant freshwater prawns ”, said Mr. Nguyen Huu Quyen excitedly.

The model owner further shared that if you want to produce organic agriculture, you must create a new effective cycle. Accordingly, the phytoplankton from rice cultivation will form food for fish, on the contrary, fish feces will become fertilizer for rice; using fish to eradicate natural enemies of rice...

After the initial success in Lien Nhat village, Mr. Quyen's cooperative continued to associate with farmers in Lien Thanh village, Thach Ha commune, to accumulate land and develop an additional 5ha model. In the immediate future, the high area will force the cooperative to only produce rice, while the low-lying area will combine rice cultivation and aquaculture.

Similarly, in Dai Nai ward, from the practice of traditional rice cultivation, which brings low income, Mr. Nguyen Van Hien (Residential Group 2) boldly accumulated land to grow rice in an organic combination. larva farming on an area of nearly 1.5 ha. The rice harvest results in a yield of nearly 4.5 tons/ha. It is expected that in the 8th - 10th lunar month, it will be in the harvest season.

Mr. Hien shared that the spring crop of 2022 is his family's first organic rice crop. Although the yield is not as expected, it has great potential. For ruts, from 2021, over 4,000m2 has been harvested with an output of over 40kg, giving an income of nearly 20 million VND. In August, the main harvest will begin here, promising a more successful mollusk crop.

According to research, the model of peri-urban circular agriculture is the ambition to help the city people get rich from agriculture that Ha Tinh City Party Committee Secretary Duong Tat Thang has cherished for many years.

In addition to the personal imprint of the Secretary, the drastic directing role of the City People's Committee, specialized departments and administrations of communes and wards in supporting land accumulation, model design consultancy, planting What flowers, what animals to raise, what rice to form a cycle ... is also very close and effective.

“The leaders of Thach Ha city and commune are very supportive of us. The Secretary of the City Party Committee personally directed and accompanied the process of forming the model. To tell the truth, without the support of the authorities at all levels, I couldn't do it alone. Of course, in the long run, to be sustainable, it takes time to verify," Nguyen Huu Quyen thanked the local government for the attention.

According to Mr. Tran Quang Hung, Head of Economic Department of Ha Tinh City People's Committee, with the city's limited land conditions, the construction of organic rice farming models combining aquaculture and service development Tourism is an inevitable direction, in line with the City's orientation in developing urban agriculture associated with trade - services and eco-tourism, as well as in the direction of sustainable and organic agriculture development. sustainability of the agricultural sector.

Starting with a model of nearly 5 hectares in Lien Nhat village, Thach Ha commune, the model has now expanded to 9 hectares across the city. In the near future, Ha Tinh City will continue to expand the area of organic rice cultivation in combination with aquaculture in Dai Nai ward, Thach Hung, Thach Ha, Dong Mon communes... with a total area of over 20ha. Depending on the conditions of each region, there will be suitable models such as rice - fish, rice - rui, rice - straw - fish... in combination with developing tourism services and building a rice brand for the city.

Policy is reward

“Ha Tinh city issued a policy, but only supported when the model was completed and produced a product. Our point of view is that the policy is a reward and a motivation to stimulate demand, but it must be done in essence to avoid policy profiteering.

Currently, the locality has not supported money for the models but always accompanies and creates all conditions and legal corridors for the facilities to deploy. After checking and taking over to ensure conditions, will support 50% of the money for breeding aquatic species”, emphasized Mr. Tran Quang Hung, Head of Economic Department of Ha Tinh City People's Committee.