Three companies jointly build a smart rice farming 'super model'

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In the summer - autumn crop 2023, Binh Dien Fertilizer JSC, Bayer Vietnam Ltd, and Saigon Kim Hong Company along with the Agricultural Extention Centers of An Giang, Kien Giang and Soc Trang provinces implement a demonstration smart rice farming model adapting to climate change, applying seed reduction solutions by cluster sowing machine, smart fertilizer application and pest management according to the Much More Rice process.

An Giang Agricultural Extention Center has implemented the model in 5 households in Tan Loi hamlet, Tan Tuyen commune, Tri Ton district with a total area of 19.5 ha. 2.5 ha is used for the model rice field, the remaining 17 ha is for the control model field.

Le Van Ngo’s family in Tan Loi hamlet, Tan Tuyen commune is one of 5 households chosen to execute the smart rice farming model.

After harvesting the winter-spring rice crop, he plows and dries the soil, let the soil rest for 15 - 30 days, then pumps water into the field and flattens the surface. He makes a large trench with of 30 - 40 cm wide, 15-20 cm deep as the main water line, and cuts many drainage ditches 15-20 cm wide, 15 cm deep (herringbone cut) as an auxiliary water line to facilitate irrigation and fertilizing.

Ngo also combines several protection solutions, surrounding the banks with nylon to deal with mice, spraying with pre-emergence herbicides and eliminating golden apple snails before sowing. The field in the model uses the certified 18-grade OM rice variety. The seed quantity sown is only 60 kg/ha (reducing the quantity of seeds sown by 50% compared to the traditional farming method), applying the cluster sowing machine provided by Saigon Kim Hong Company.

As a result, the rice plant height of the model field at the stages of 20, 40 and 65 days after transplanting do not have much difference compared with the control average. However, 93 days after sowing, rice at the model field is 11 cm taller compared to the control field. Through regular monitoring and field visits, households notice that the rice plants in the experiment cluster sowing field grow well, with hard stems, straight and green leaves.

“The estimated productivity is 1 ton/cong (Vietnamese measurement, 1 cong equals to 1,300 m2). This is considered a successful rice crop with the highest yield ever for my family,” said farmer Le Van Ngo.

Profit increased by around 1.6 - 6 million VND/ha

According to the technical staff of An Giang Agricultural Extension Center, the application of cluster sowing has helped reduce the amount of seed sown in the model field by approximately 60 kg/ha compared to the control field.

Regarding the fertilizer application process, households that participated in the model use specialized fertilizers from Binh Dien Fertilizer JSC. As recommended by the company, the model fields follow the recommendation of the company and thus fertilize one time less than the control field following farmer's traditional farming practice.

Regarding the implementation result in Tan Tuyen commune, Tri Ton district, An Giang, the rice yield of the model field reaches an average of over 7 tons/ha, 0.32 tons/ha higher than the field outside the model. Profit increases by 1.6 million VND/ha. As for the case of Tan Hoi commune, Tan Hiep district, Kien Giang province, the profit increased by 6 million VND/ha compared to the control field.

Phan Thanh Tam, Head of Technical Department (An Giang Agricultural Extension Center), said that the smart rice farming model in the summer-autumn crop 2023 is considered a "super model” with three businesses joining force at the same time.

The cluster sowing machine of Saigon Kim Hong Company has brought good results and should be replicated in production to gradually replace the manual sowing method. Applying pest management according to Much More Rice of Bayer Vietnam Ltd shows better pest control, reduces pesticide sprays, thereby reducing production costs. Dau Trau specialized fertilizer provided by Binh Dien Fertilizer JSC adds trace elements (CaO, SiO2, Zn, S, Fe, etc.) to help rice plants harden, fall less and gain better resistance.

Some images of agricultural extension officers and farmers collecting data to compare the fields in the smart rice farming model with the control fields: