At the Conference on the pilot model of the Project of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta (Project of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice) held in Soc Trang province yesterday (September 4), Mr. Ho Quang Cua - known as the father of the ST24 and ST25 rice varieties was invited by the organizers to speak.

Accordingly, in his speech, Mr. Ho Quang Cua proposed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development give special permission to circulate some products to help the Project of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice succeed faster.

According to Mr. Cua, in the Project of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice, the concern of the agricultural sector has also been discussed many times at events and seminars on how to bury and process straw quickly and effectively.

Recently, a unit of Can Tho University has selected Trichoderma strains that can quickly decompose stubble. "After harvesting the rice crop, just spray 2kg of this Trichodema strain, costing only 300,000 VND, to quickly decompose stubble for 1 hectare" - Mr. Ho Quang Cua said.

Mr. Ho Quang Cua added that over the past 5 years, this Trichoderma product has been continuously tested, with successful results and is being used by many farmers.

The second problem is that the Mekong Delta Rice Institute has created a green mushroom product to treat planthoppers and another product to treat pests very effectively. These two products are very reputable.

Through discussions with the owners of the above products, Mr. Ho Quang Cua learned that it is very difficult to register for recognition and circulation. Therefore, the owners of the products only produce on a trial basis and on a small scale.

Currently, the Project of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice has reached the stage of going into technical issues and realizing that the above publications are very good, Mr. Ho Quang Cua proposed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development give special permission to circulate them to serve the project.

"I would like to propose that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development give special permission to circulate and use available products to help the 1 million hectare high-quality, low-emission rice project become effective. Specifically, the products will greatly help reduce emissions and protect the environment," said Mr. Ho Quang Cua.

Regarding Mr. Ho Quang Cua's proposal, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam requested the Department of Crop Production to coordinate with the Mekong Delta Rice Institute and relevant units to consider research.

Then, if necessary, Mr. Nam will report to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan. However, according to Mr. Nam, the proposed products must ensure quality and effectiveness for the project.

According to the Department of Crop Production, the 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice project has piloted 7 models in the Mekong Delta. In the 2024 summer-autumn crop, the project will deploy 4 models in Can Tho City, Tra Vinh and Soc Trang provinces with a total area of ​​196 hectares.

The estimated results of the 4 pilot models in the summer-autumn crop of 2024 reached 64.52 tons/ha, about 4.63 tons/ha higher than the yield outside the model, the rice output with reduced emissions was 1,262 tons. According to calculations, the profit in the model is 12-20% higher than outside the model.

Calculations show that the 2024 summer-autumn crop in Can Tho City will result in the greatest reduction in emissions (due to collecting straw from the fields and applying alternating flooding and drying).

Specifically, it reduced up to 12 tons of CO2e/ha compared to farmers outside the model who continuously flooded the fields and buried straw in the fields; reduced 5 tons of CO2e/ha compared to farmers outside the model who applied AWD in the cooperative but buried straw in the fields; reduced 2 tons of CO2e/ha compared to farmers outside the model who continuously flooded the fields but sold straw (collected straw from the fields).

For the 2024 autumn-winter crop, 3 models (Dong Thap, Kien Giang, Can Tho) have been sown with a total area of ​​140 hectares, with an estimated average yield of 63.34 quintals/ha and an output of 157 tons, expected to be harvested from mid-September to the end of October 2024.

In the autumn-winter crop, Tra Vinh province will continue to plant 2 models after completing the 2024 summer-autumn crop harvest and Kien Giang will plant 1 winter-spring crop model on 10.79 hectares of shrimp-rice land (from September 15-25, 2024).

According to the plan, the 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice project will be piloted for 3 consecutive crops in each locality. After that, it will be expanded.