Hau Giang: Raising the level of Vi Thuy clean rice


Clean rice production is one of the breakthrough models
implemented by the functional departments of the province and Vi Thuy district, bringing efficiency to the people.

With the strict application of production processes in the direction of food safety and hygiene, the product "Vi Thuy clean rice" is creating a great reputation for quality in the market; especially when it is recognized as a provincial OCOP product, the more the brand reaches out.

Making rice without chemicals

The company that is creating products under the brand name "Vi Thuy clean rice" is the Tan Long cooperative, located in Tan Long hamlet, Vinh Tuong commune, Vi Thuy district (Hau Giang). Currently, the cooperative has 51 members, with 59 hectares of land specializing in rice production. It is interesting that all members of the cooperative strictly apply the rice production process in the direction of food safety and hygiene when not using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, but instead that is using all organic matter.

Sharing about the farming process to create clean rice products, Mr. Nguyen Van Thich, Deputy Director of Tan Long Cooperative, said: “Before sowing rice, farmers treat the soil very carefully and spray with germicides. weeds and then leave the ground to rest for 7 days before sowing to isolate with chemical drugs. On the other hand, the seeds are also soaked and planted naturally, without the use of general sprouting stimulants. In the process of cultivation, all organic fertilizers and pesticides are used according to the growth time of the rice plant.

What is quite interesting and effective about the use of organic matter in the rice cultivation process of people in Tan Long Cooperative is the fact that farmers here mix fresh milk with raw chicken eggs to spray pest control. on rice. According to the people's explanation, when spraying these two compounds, the rice leaves will be thicker, so the worms cannot roll the rice leaves. In addition, the large, thick leaves of rice also attract many beneficial natural enemies to protect the rice plant, and at the same time help the rice plant absorb a lot of chlorophyll to grow.

Mr. Chau Thanh Bach, a member of Tan Long Cooperative, said: “My family has 5.2 hectares of rice applying organic production processes. In addition to creating clean, safe and quality products for consumers, the cultivation process also protects the health of the people who make clean rice grains because no chemicals are used. Thereby, contributing to environmental protection and adaptation to climate change”.

Besides the above benefits, the clean rice production model of Tan Long Cooperative also increases economic efficiency for the people here. Specifically, although the yield of rice produced in the organic form is only on average from 5.2-5.5 tons/ha (outside the model reaching more than 6 tons/ha), in return, the selling price is higher from 200-500 VND/kg compared to households outside the model. In particular, due to the use of organic matter, the investment cost for 1 hectare of rice is usually reduced by 7-8 million VND compared to the cultivation outside the model. Thus, rice production according to food safety and hygiene procedures has contributed to increasing the value of rice grains by 2-2.5 times compared to households that do not apply them. Currently, the rice varieties used by members of Tan Long Cooperative for cultivation are ST 24, ST 25, OM 18 and OM 5451. All rice production of the members of the cooperative is purchased by Tan Long Cooperative to buy and sell. milled, packed and sold in domestic and foreign markets.

Mr. Huynh Quoc Khanh, a household with 3 hectares of rice and a member of Tan Long Cooperative, said: “Rice cooked from rice produced by organic process has delicious quality, rich sweetness, and soft rice grains, to 2 days without being stale. It is the above characteristics that make the product "Vi Thuy clean rice" more and more popular with consumers, thereby creating very favorable output and attractive prices for farmers.

The first OCOP product of the district

Currently, the product "Vi Thuy clean rice" has a traceability stamp, is being considered by the National Office of Intellectual Property for trademark certification and the cooperative is applying for product barcodes. In particular, it is more honorable when the product "Vi Thuy clean rice" has just been evaluated and classified by the product evaluation and classification council under the provincial-level OCOP program (OCOP) unanimously submitted to the Provincial People's Committee to recognize the product as meeting the requirements of the provincial People's Committee. OCOP 4-star standard. This is the first product of Vi Thuy district to be certified OCOP at provincial level.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thich, Deputy Director of Tan Long Cooperative, added: When the brand of clean rice was first established, the number of consumers who knew about Vi Thuy's clean rice products was not much. However, since the provincial OCOP council reviewed and agreed to recognize the product as having 4-star OCOP standard, and at the same time introduced on the mass media, in recent times, the cooperative's clean rice products have been known by many consumers. Currently, the cooperative receives many offers from a number of companies from Hanoi to order as agents to distribute clean rice for the cooperative. On the other hand, many consumers in the Mekong Delta provinces, after learning that the cooperative has rice produced according to food safety procedures, also called to buy products. This shows that, when being recognized for OCOP products, it has contributed to raising the level of products in terms of the consumption market and the value of rice grains for the cooperative. From the great market demand, the cooperative continues to mobilize people to expand the area of ​​organic rice production to create clean rice products to meet the needs of consumers, while protecting the health of producers and farmers. environment. It is expected that in the upcoming winter-spring rice crop, the rice area produced under food safety procedures linked by the cooperative will reach about 1,200 hectares.

Mr. Truong Tran Trong Hieu, Vice Chairman of Vi Thuy District People's Committee, said: Vi Thuy has strengths in agricultural production, in which rice is the main crop. Therefore, over the past time, functional branches of the district have always been interested in supporting and implementing many programs and policies to create favorable conditions for people to develop production. In which, it is prominent to promote the introduction of mechanization into the rice production stages, especially the rice cultivation stage; at the same time organize the replication of smart rice production model and rice production in the direction of food safety and hygiene as Tan Long Cooperative is implementing very effectively and bringing high economic benefits to people. In particular, from the production model of Tan Long Cooperative, it has helped the locality to obtain the first "Vi Thuy clean rice" product that meets the district's OCOP standard. At this point, the locality continues to pay attention and support so that the product "Vi Thuy clean rice" is constantly developing. In addition, Vi Thuy is also interested in and nurturing three potential products of the district to come here to continue to propose the provincial OCOP council to consider and recognize the products meeting the provincial OCOP standards, including: clean rice of Kien Trung Cooperative, abalone mushrooms and watermelon meet VietGAP standards in Vinh Thuan Tay commune...

Hau Giang Newspaper