The golden time to reduce the cost of rice cultivation in the Mekong Delta: [Part 1]: No profit because production costs are too high

Under the pressure of increasing prices of agricultural materials, especially fertilizer prices. People in the Mekong Delta are forced to reduce production costs to be able to profit from rice cultivation. The 5-part series "Reducing the cost of rice cultivation in the Mekong Delta" will analyze this issue in depth.

Fertilizer prices continue to increase

Surveying a number of stores selling agricultural materials in Dinh Mon commune, Thoi Lai district, and Can Tho city, we recorded a record high price of fertilizer. If, in 2020, the price of urea fertilizer was only 340,000 VND/bag of 50 kg, but now it has increased to 895,000 VND/bag, with DAP fertilizer (China) also increasing continuously from 645,000 VND/bag to 1,440 .000 VND/bag, while potash fertilizer increased from 430,000 VND/bag to 950,000 VND/bag.

In Tan Hoa commune, Chau Thanh A district, Hau Giang province, fertilizer prices are less volatile, but still at a high level. At the beginning of the summer-autumn crop in 2022, farmers in the commune buy fertilizer at a price of 860,000 VND/bag which has remained stable until now. With DAP fertilizer has reduced 30,000 VND/bag, to 1,020,000 VND/bag. As potash fertilizer continues to increase from 850,000 VND/bag to 900,000 VND/bag. According to some farmers in the commune, this price has increased by 30-50% compared to last year's summer-autumn crop.

Fertilizer prices in Ke Sach district, Soc Trang province remained high. Specifically, urea fertilizer 900,000 VND/bag; DAP (China) is 1,350,000 VND/bag and potassium is 1,100,000 VND/bag.

Flipping the book to record the purchase diary for each season, Mr. Phan Thien Khanh, a farmer in Dinh Khanh B hamlet, Dinh Mon commune, Thoi Lai district, Can Tho city, clearly showed us that fertilizer prices are related to each season. continued to increase over the past two years. In 2022, the price of this commodity will increase by about 2.5 times compared to 2021, especially for plant protection drugs, it has also increased by 30%.

Mr. Khanh's family cultivates 1.5 hectares of rice OM 5451, the last winter-spring crop 2021-2022, the average yield is about 1 ton of fresh rice/work (1,000 square meters) and sells for 5,400 VND/kg.

Analyzing the profit and loss of the crop, Mr. Khanh mentally calculated, that the production cost for a rice crop is about 2,500,000 VND/worker, including labor for tillage, rice seed, fertilizer, pesticides, and irrigation pump. , the cost of renting a cultivator, mower... not to mention the effort you and your family spend on a whole crop. "So the profit of rice farmers like us is just enough to cover their lives in the months of taking care of the fields, where can they make a profit" said Mr. Khanh wistfully.

In the same situation, Mr. Nguyen Van Chien in hamlet 6B, Tan Hoa commune, Chau Thanh A district, Hau Giang province for more than 50 years with the rice farming industry, but is now "bored" when the price of fertilizer continuously increases, while the price of rice did not increase.

Mr. Chien said that at the time when fertilizer prices were stable, he earned an average of 4 - 5 million VND/work in a rice crop, but now the cost of materials is high, pulling profits down from 40 - 50%. Chien estimates that harvesting this summer-autumn crop of 2022, with a profit of 2 - 3 million VND/person, is just enough to invest in fertilizer for the next crop, provided that fertilizer prices remain stable as they are today.

For farmers who rent rice land for cultivation and have to bear the increased cost of materials, they also have to bear additional fees due to the increased land rent. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hong, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Toan Phat Cooperative in Thanh Phu Commune, Co Do District, Can Tho City, said that currently, the cost of renting rice land in the commune ranges from 4 5 - 5 million VND/year, an increase of 1.5 - 2 million VND compared to the previous time. "Farmers who want to cultivate profitably must ensure a profit of about 4 million dong/worker, but in the current context of rising materials, it is difficult to achieve if they continue to cultivate in the old and traditional way." Mr. Hong shared.

Abuse of fertilizers and pesticides is like a "double-edged sword"

For many different reasons such as changing weather, and many new harmful organisms appearing in the field, farmers form the habit of using too many fertilizers and chemical pesticides. It is this abuse that has become an invisible "double-edged sword" that leaves many inadequacies in production.

Mr. Do Van Van, Director of the Southern Center for Plant Protection, pointed out the current reality, due to the excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides, leading to drug resistance, forcing farmers to use them once ineffectively, must use a second time, and even more.

In August 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a conference to assess the status of the use of pesticides and fertilizers in the Mekong Delta. The results show that in 2020, farmers in the region use a high amount of fertilizers and pesticides. The amount of chemical fertilizers used in localities in the Mekong Delta region is 35.3% higher than the national average, the use of chemical pesticides is also up to 24,587 tons, an average of 5.40 kg/ha, accounting for nearly 59% of the number of pesticides used in the whole country. In particular, in some localities, a rice crop uses 9-10 times of pesticides, using too high a quantity of nitrogen fertilizer (urea), leading to a great risk of pest outbreaks.

Hau Giang province is one of the localities in the Mekong Delta region with a high amount of chemical fertilizer use, averaging from 5.63 to 16.17 kg/ha. According to the provincial agricultural sector, the diversity of the fertilizer market has led farmers to use it emotionally, not according to demand.

With the current pressure of fertilizer prices, the awareness of localities and farmers is gradually shifting towards more sustainable and environmentally friendly agriculture to improve profits, in which the focus is on the use of fertilizers. organic fertilizers. And this transition roadmap, according to Mr. Hoang Trung, Director of the Plant Protection Department, "needs some time and it must be accelerated".

"The old custom of farmers wanting to increase production through the use of chemical fertilizers has become subconscious and cannot be changed immediately or in a short time," said by Trung.

According to Mr. Trung, if farmers can reduce the amount of seed sowing, it will reduce investment stages in production costs, and pest management will also be easier. Therefore, farmers will minimize the number of spraying times, even without using drugs. Improve predictive capacity for harmful organisms.

According to a representative of the plant protection industry, Vietnam has great potential in the field of organic fertilizers. Particularly, the potential waste by-products are more than 200 million tons, if making the most of this product to contribute to reducing costs, towards organic agriculture, green agriculture, and creating habits for people to change their thinking in the field. agricultural production, it is not always necessary to use chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

According to reports from the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Mekong Delta, in the winter-spring crop of 2021-2022, the cost of rice production in the provinces increased by about 15-20% over the same period last year, due to high input prices. However, due to the foreknowledge from the beginning of the season, besides the implementation of many outstanding rice production models of the provinces, it is both economically effective and helps farmers' awareness gradually change in the transformation. The farming method is safe and cost-effective, so although the investment is low in seeds and fertilizers, the rice yield is still high.