Vietnam is a country with a long tradition and a rice civilization that few countries in the world have. Along with the diversity of culture, climate resources and farming practices, Vietnam also has a diversity of rice varieties suitable for different ecological regions. This has promoted the development of rice production in a remarkable way, increasing the value of the rice industry.

With the above results, since 1989, Vietnam has become the second largest rice exporter in the world. Vietnam’s rice output reached 32.9 million tons from 2000 to 2002 and the annual rice export volume is about 3.5 million tons. In 2009, for the first time, Vietnam exported 6.05 million tons of rice. That export output was not only maintained but also increased continuously in 2010 (6.75 million tons); in 2011 (7.10 million tons) and in 2019, exporting 6.37 million tons of rice, equivalent to 2.81 billion USD, an increase of 4.1%. Vietnam’s rice export output has provided food for 120 countries around the world.

Rice production in the Red River Delta (RD), the second largest rice granary in the country with more than 1 million hectares, accounting for 88% of the region’s food crop area and about 14% of the country’s rice growing area, plays a particularly important role in ensuring national food security and export. Rice productivity is highest in the provinces of Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Ninh Binh. In recent times, the application of scientific and technical advances in varieties and techniques has contributed to increasing rice productivity and output. However, along with the achievements, the efficiency of rice production is still low due to high production costs and unstable output prices. There are many reasons leading to limitations in rice production in the RRD: i) Technical advances in rice production have not been applied synchronously, there are many new rice varieties but very few varieties meet export requirements; ii). In the cultivation process, many chemical fertilizers are still used, unbalanced fertilization causes the phenomenon of rice falling, pests and diseases reduce productivity and quality (Nguyen Van Bo, 2014); iii). The abuse of pesticides and improper use of pesticides affects the quality of rice and pollutes the environment; iv). Rice fields are often flooded, causing waste of water resources and increasing greenhouse gas emissions (Tran Viet On et al., 2010). The rate of mechanization in rice cultivation stages is still low, only focusing on the stages of land preparation, sowing and harvesting, but there is still a lack of synchronization leading to high losses in harvesting, reducing the quality of agricultural products, and polluting the environment (Nguyen Thanh Hoi and Nguyen Bao Ve, 2007a, 2007b).

Currently, to meet the needs of domestic and international markets, Vietnamese rice must meet higher standards in both quality and quantity. Some demanding markets require “clean rice” that does not use many pesticides or fertilizers. Many technical devices have been applied in rice production such as “3 reductions, 3 increases”, in addition to the new program “1 must, 5 reductions” but they have only been applied individually, not synchronized into a package of farming techniques, so they have not solved the overall problems in rice cultivation in the region. In addition, the adverse impacts of climate change also have a significant impact on rice production in the region.

Based on the above issues, Associate Professor, Dr. Trinh Khac Quang and his research team at the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences conducted the project “Research on developing a package of advanced farming techniques to improve rice production efficiency for the provinces in the Red River Delta” with the goal of: Improving rice production efficiency based on research and application of advanced farming solutions to increase value, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change in rice production in the provinces in the Red River Delta.

After the research period, the project has fully implemented the research contents as approved. The scientific and technological products achieved the volume and quality as specifically registered as follows:

– Completed the survey and assessment of the current status of the application of technical advances in rice cultivation in the Red River Delta, developed 04 topics to assess the current status and analyze the limiting factors in rice production in the Red River Delta; organized 01 scientific consultation workshop and developed a draft of the Advanced Rice Cultivation Technical Process for the Red River Delta.

– Fully implement the research contents to build a technical process for rice cultivation for the Red River Delta region, including testing the draft of an advanced technical process for rice cultivation and researching new technical solutions to complete the Process for the ecological sub-regions of the Red River Delta region, including: Completed the Process of Advanced Technical Package for rice cultivation by integrating published technical advances and new research results, specifically as follows: The process is detailed according to the soil characteristics of the ecological sub-regions of the Red River Delta region with newly updated methods and technical advances; The technique of producing tray seedlings and transplanters with improved substrates is popular, easy to implement on a small scale, increasing the ability to apply mechanization in rice production; The technique of sowing and fertilizing with a seed sprayer and fertilizer sprayer helps reduce the amount of seeds used by 10-15%; The technique of spraying pesticides with a wide-area machine can spray simultaneously over a large area in the same short period of time (15-20 ha/day), quickly suppressing the epidemic, so it is possible to reduce 1-3 spraying times/crop, reduce the amount of pesticides by 40-60%, increase prevention efficiency and save labor ; Recommendations for using balanced and reasonable fertilizers with a 15-35% reduction in fertilizer; Techniques for using Trichoderma antagonistic fungi to decompose straw to increase rice yield; Recommendations for applying water-saving irrigation techniques in areas with suitable conditions to save water resources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8-15% and recommendations for rice cutting height to reduce the loss rate during harvesting to below 3%. The process has been recognized as a Technical Advancement according to Decision No. 321/QD-TT-CLT dated December 11, 2020 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

10 models of linking commercial rice production according to the “Advanced technical process in rice production in the provinces of the Red River Delta” have been built with a scale of 240 hectares in Hai Duong, Hanoi, Thai Binh, Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh. The models have synchronously applied mechanization solutions : sowing rice in trays – transplanting by machine, or using a sowing machine; spraying pesticides with a wide-range pressure sprayer; fertilizing with a fertilizer sprayer and harvesting with a combine harvester, bringing an average profit of 25 – 30 million VND/ha, higher than traditional farming by 8-10 million VND/ha (equivalent to 27-46%).

– Transferred the Advanced Technical Process in Rice Production for the Red River Delta to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Thai Binh and Hai Duong provinces for testing and application in mass rice production in 2021, with a scale of over 10,000/year.

The full text of the research report (code 20199/2021) can be found at the National Center for Science and Technology Information .

Source: Đ.TV (NASATI)