After harvesting rice from the pilot model implementing the Project on Sustainable Development of 1 million hectares of high-quality and low-emission rice cultivation associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta (MD) by 2030 (1 million ha Project) in Vinh Thanh district, with a scale of about 47 hectares, Mr. Tran Thai Nghiem, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) of Can Tho, had a brief discussion with Lao Dong about the lessons learned.
Accordingly, despite the association plan, the business ecosystem in Can Tho has not yet been well formed. Emission- reducing rice produces rice products but there is no brand to develop the market. Emission measurement is a new task, without a synchronous institution or policy.
Faced with the reality, the agricultural sector has had immediate solutions to implement the 2024-2025 winter-spring crop. However, in the long term, building a new technical infrastructure system is the optimal condition for producing high-quality rice in specialized areas participating in the 1 million hectare Project.
"First, support people to reduce costs by mechanizing the land preparation, sowing, irrigation, etc. Next, change the habit of burning fields to removing straw from the fields. This is also a solution to build a green growth rice brand," said Mr. Nghiem.
The Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development emphasized that having high-quality rice production infrastructure will also create many job opportunities for workers in the Mekong Delta region.
"For straw now, just one spark will burn the whole field, but if harvested in a planned manner, it will be possible to make the next series of products. For example, in theory, 5 - 7kg of straw will produce 1kg of mushrooms; 1ha of straw will produce 5 - 7 tons of straw. From there, we will have mushroom growing businesses and mushroom harvesting workers. Students and scientists from institutes and schools can also research and develop this industry.
Besides, when reducing fertilizer and pesticides to grow rice, mushrooms will be cleaner and of better quality. This helps make organic fertilizer, develop other crops, and make handicrafts" - Mr. Nghiem analyzed.
According to Mr. Nghiem, along with continuing to propose the construction of this infrastructure, the agricultural sector expects research institutes, universities and businesses to pay attention and support localities in solutions to use straw by-products, reduce field burning and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. If this value chain is effectively exploited, it will solve a large number of jobs after the rice industry, improving the economy of the Mekong Delta region.
