Crop rotation and organic fertilizer resulted in higher income for the farmers

On December 15th, Can Tho university, in cooperation with the Belgian Embassy, organized a local workshop of the project “Soil improving cropping systems for sustainable Rice production in the Vietnamese Mekong delta” - Susrice project - in Vinh Long province to disseminate the results of the sustainable rice research project to local agricultural experts and farmers.

The Susrice project, funded by the Belgian academic cooperation, has been implemented in Tra On district, Vinh Long province since 2017 with the aim of improving the soil quality and rice yield by introducing crop rotations (sesame, soy bean) and organic fertilizer amendment.

The Mekong Delta is the rice basket of Vietnam but due to the intensive rice production in the Mekong delta (3 yields a year) and the increased use of mineral fertilizer, the soil is getting exhausted, resulting in less productivity.

To restore the fertility of the soil, Can Tho university in close collaboration with Ghent university, conducted a joint research focusing on crop rotation, as alternative for the rice monoculture, and the use of organic fertilizer.

The field trial has been conducted for 9 consecutive seasons. The research results have showed the beneficial effect of crop rotation and organic fertilizer amendment on rice yield and soil quality resulting in higher income for the farmers. The practice of alternative cropping had also a positive impact on the greenhouse gasses produced by rice cultivation.

The workshop organized knowledge transfer of the research results to practical techniques to the local famers and staff.

The invited participants of this workshop were the local agricultural and extension staff and experienced farmers from Tra On district where the field trial was located and from other surrounding districts of Vinh Long province. The workshop introduced the research results and collected the comments from the participants.