Hanoi reduces GHG emissions through improved organic-oriented SRI

Rice transplanter working in the lowest field area of Cháy Region

At 72 years old, Mrs. Le Thi Hanh continues to cultivate three sao (local measurement, approximately 1,080 m²) using the improved SRI rice model, which is oriented toward organic production to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While lifting the fallen rice plants, she said, "If I had fertilized according to the recommended formula, the rice would not have fallen. But I added more nitrogen and potassium, and since the field is too low, about one sao got flattened."

Mr. Do Van Hi, Director of Dong Lo Agricultural Service Cooperative (Ung Hoa New Commune, Hanoi City), explained that officers from the Hanoi Plant Protection and Cultivation Sub-Department had conducted three training sessions on the application of organic fertilizers for the three stages: base, growth, and heading. However, a few farmers did not attend all sessions and therefore did not fully grasp the process.

"When transplanting by machine, fertilizers must be applied within the first week while the rice develops roots, but some people wait ten days before fertilizing. When they saw the rice growing slowly, they became anxious and added chemical fertilizer, which made the plants prone to lodging. Most farmers who followed the recommendations found their rice sturdy, upright, yellowing like turmeric leaves at maturity, with good yields and no need for pesticides throughout the season," Mr. Hi added.

The Cháy Region area is already low-lying, and Dong Lo is even lower. For years, some farms in Nhan Trai and Ngoc Truc hamlets, areas that are supposed to discharge water, have blocked the drains to retain water for raising ducks, exacerbating the waterlogging problem and preventing the land from drying between crops. Recently, the cooperative has taken decisive action to address this issue. After the summer-autumn harvest, the cooperative completely drained the canals and fields until December, allowing the land to rest, harden, and become suitable for machinery.

"Because our land is so low, we used to raise and transplant seedlings by hand, which was very laborious, costing up to VND 650,000 per sao. Starting from the spring crop of 2024, the cooperative organized visits for farmers to view seedling trays and machine transplanting models, and then held meetings to promote their implementation. I explained to the farmers that, with VND 650,000, the cost of hand-transplanting one sao, they could machine-transplant two sao instead, without having to raise seedlings, buy nylon covers, and still receive city subsidies. Thanks to that, most farmers agreed, and now we have expanded machine-transplanted rice to about 200 hectares," Mr. Hi said.

Concerns about purchase prices

When Mr. Hi and I returned from the field, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Kim Dung from the Plant Protection Division of the Hanoi Plant Protection and Cultivation Sub-Department also arrived at the cooperative’s office, braving the rain to gather information and prepare for the upcoming project review. Depending on the rice growth stage, she visits the cooperative regularly, at least once every ten days, to coordinate production guidance.

The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) offers numerous benefits, including promoting balanced growth, increasing yield, conserving water, reducing pesticide use, and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. However, in the past, this technique was difficult to expand in many localities around Hanoi because it required manual transplanting, which was labor-intensive, while rural labor became increasingly scarce and expensive.

Therefore, in the spring crop of 2025, the Hanoi Plant Protection and Cultivation Sub-Department piloted two advanced improved SRI models using seedling trays, machine transplanting, and organic-oriented production in Lien Mac and Xuy Xa communes. One model was tested for the summer-autumn crop in Ung Hoa commune.

Six production teams in Ung Hoa applied this method on a total of 50 hectares. The cooperative organized drainage twice, during the tillering stage and before harvest, to allow the soil to "breathe" and loosen. In practice, machine transplanting not only reduced input costs but also helped the rice grow more evenly, resist pests better, and achieve a fresh paddy yield of about 230 kg per sao. However, the current purchase price remains low at only VND 6,000 per kg, posing a challenge to sustaining this organic production direction in upcoming seasons.

The improved SRI model oriented toward organic production and greenhouse gas reduction has shown clear advantages over traditional practices: saving 20% of seed; reducing at least two irrigation rounds per crop; minimizing pesticide use, thus protecting human health and the environment; increasing yield by 12%; and improving the quality and safety of agricultural products.

* $1 = VND 26.403 - Source: Vietcombank.