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Shortage of high-quality rice varieties plagues Delta farmers
Farmers in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta are seeking to plant high-quality rice varieties on the Government’s advice but are unable to obtain enough seeds.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development warned farmers in the delta, the country’s granary, not to grow low-quality rice after they were stuck with large quantities of IR50404 and OM 576 after the summer-autumn crop this year.
In Tra Vinh Province, for instance, after cultivating high-quality rice on just around 40 per cent of the land last crop, farmers plan to increase it to 100 per cent during the winter-spring crop that got under way last month.
But according to the Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute, there is only enough stock of high-quality seeds to meet just 30 per cent of demand.
Le Van Tam, a farmer who lives in Tra Vinh Province’s Cau Ngang District, said the shortage would force farmers to use rice they have in stock from their earlier crops for cultivation.
But this would affect the quality of the crop, Tam, who won the ministry’s Viet Nam Golden Rice Prize in 1989, said.
Dr Le Van Banh, head of the institute, ruled out importing of seeds, saying they would not suit the conditions in the delta.
Pham Van Quynh, director of the Can Tho Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said local rice farmers have shifted to high-quality strains in recent years after the city turned its focus to quality rather than quantity.
Quynh said the city also hopes to produce enough high-quality seeds to supply other provinces in the future.
Associate Prof Mai Thanh Phung of the National Agriculture and Fishery Extension Centre’s HCM City branch, said close co-operation is needed between the Government, enterprises, farmers, and scientists to ensure sustainable development of rice farming.
VNS
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