Connecting Vietnamese and Cambodian rice expertise in An Giang fields

From “Smart Rice Farming” to “Healthy Soil - Healthy Crops”

On the afternoon of August 28, in Vinh Dieu Commune, An Giang Province, Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company hosted a delegation of leaders from Cambodia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, along with representatives from specialized rice-sector agencies, agricultural officials and farmers from Cambodia, for a field visit and study tour of rice production models in the Mekong Delta.

This marks the third consecutive year that Binh Dien has organized a program bringing Cambodian policymakers, experts and farmers to Viet Nam to learn from practical rice production experience. The initiative not only facilitates the sharing of technical advances but also strengthens connections and cooperation between the two countries in agriculture.

As part of this year’s program, the Cambodian delegation visited Phu Nong Xanh Service Cooperative in Vinh Dieu Commune to learn about the “Green Journey - Healthy Soil, Healthy Crops” model implemented by Binh Dien in the Mekong Delta. A key feature of the program was taking visitors directly into the fields, where they could exchange views with the cooperative and farmers and assess production outcomes firsthand.

Discussions focused on soil health management, balanced fertilizer application, improving nutrient-use efficiency, reducing seed and pesticide use, water management, and treating post-harvest residues.

This approach demonstrates that sustainable rice production is no longer solely about increasing yields, but is shifting toward greater economic efficiency, improved agricultural product quality and reduced environmental impacts. It also aligns with the project's goal of developing one million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice cultivation in the Mekong Delta.

Tran Thanh Hiep, Deputy Director of the An Giang Department of Agriculture and Environment, said rice is a key agricultural commodity for the locality. In 2026, An Giang has been assigned 183,597 ha under the one-million-hectare project.

During the 2025-2026 winter-spring crop, the area applying 3 key practices, alternate wetting and drying one to two times, reducing fertilizer use and reducing pesticide use, reached 159,667 ha, nearly 87% of the annual target. The area implementing four practices reached 115,666 ha, including more than 55,000 ha fully applying all five practices: reducing seed use, water management, reducing fertilizer use, reducing pesticide use and collecting rice straw.

By the 2026 summer-autumn crop, the area applying three practices had reached 160,955 ha, equivalent to 87.6%. The area implementing four practices reached 116,945 ha, while 56,358 ha applied all five practices.

According to Hiep, An Giang is shifting its production mindset from pursuing output toward prioritizing quality, efficiency, cost reduction and emissions reduction. The province will continue scaling up effective models, promoting water management through alternate wetting and drying, collecting rice straw, and strengthening measurement, reporting and verification (MRV), digital transformation and traceability.

The field as a “living classroom”

With a linked production area of approximately 3,000 ha, Phu Nong Xanh Service Cooperative currently has around 120 members. The cooperative supplies seeds and agricultural inputs and provides mechanized services, including land preparation and pesticide spraying using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), while also partnering with businesses to market and purchase rice.

Notably, around 400 ha of rice grown by farmers linked to the cooperative have obtained GlobalGAP certification.

During the 2026 summer-autumn crop, An Giang implemented demonstration models following the technical process under the one-million-hectare project, covering a total area of 1,400 ha, with a seeding rate of just 65-80 kg/ha. These results provide practical evidence for the Cambodian delegates to exchange experiences and compare them with production conditions in their own country.

Sok Visal, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Cambodia, spoke highly of Viet Nam’s field visit and experience-sharing program. According to Sok Visal, the trip gave the delegation a clearer understanding of techniques for producing high-quality rice while reducing production costs and emissions, as being applied in An Giang.

Sok Visal said that Binh Dien had previously organized technical training on rice production in Takeo Province, Cambodia. These activities demonstrate the practical support Viet Nam’s agricultural sector provides to Cambodia to improve rice production efficiency.

“The techniques introduced in Vietnam can be further studied and adapted to suit Cambodia’s production conditions,” Sok Visal said.

From “Smart Rice Farming” to “Healthy Soil - Healthy Crops,” Binh Dien’s journey of cooperation is evolving from technical knowledge sharing toward promoting a more sustainable production mindset. Farmers, cooperatives, businesses, scientists and government agencies are joining forces to build an integrated value chain.

For An Giang, Tran Thanh Hiep, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, emphasized that the province’s goal in the coming period is not only to complete the 183,597-ha target for 2026, but also to further develop raw material production areas, strengthen cooperatives, enhance linkages among farmers, cooperatives and businesses, promote mechanization, and invest in infrastructure for agricultural production.

“Direct exchanges in the fields therefore serve not only as opportunities for visits and learning, but also create a new channel for sharing agricultural knowledge between An Giang and Cambodia, toward more efficient, lower-emission and more sustainable rice production,” said Tran Thanh Hiep, Deputy Director of the An Giang Department of Agriculture and Environment.