VNR98 rice variety wins over farmers in challenging conditions

On August 12, Quang Nam National Seed Joint Stock Company, a subsidiary of VinaSeed Group, held a field visit to a demonstration model of VNR98. It is an inbred rice variety researched and bred by VinaSeed Group and officially approved for circulation by the Plant Production and Protection Department.

The model was located in Hamlet 1, Canh An village (Tuy Phuoc Tay commune, Gia Lai province). Representatives from the Agriculture and Infrastructure Division of Tuy Phuoc Tay commune, leaders of Tuy Phuoc Tay Agricultural Cooperative, and many local farmers also attended the field visit.

According to Vo Huu Nhan, Director of Tuy Phuoc Tay Agricultural Cooperative, VNR98 was grown on sandy soil with no reliable irrigation and relied mainly on rainfall. Farmers with the necessary conditions could pump water from wells for irrigation.

The 2026 summer-autumn crop experienced prolonged hot weather and very strong southerly winds, along with frequent sudden showers, creating unfavorable conditions for rice growth and development. As VNR98 was being grown in Canh An village for the first time under such adverse weather conditions, local farmers were understandably concerned.

However, VNR98 withstood the harsh weather and unfavorable irrigation conditions. The plants grew vigorously and produced a high yield, thus winning over local landowners and farmers.

VNR98 has demonstrated many outstanding advantages compared with the rice varieties previously grown by farmers in Tuy Phuoc Tay. Despite the harsh summer-autumn weather and the lack of reliable irrigation in this area, it produced surprisingly high yields.

Quyen, a farmer in Canh An village, harvested nearly two sao (local measurement, one sao equals 500 square meters) of VNR98 rice on August 11. He gained 500 kg of fresh paddy per sao. If the yield was this high in the summer-autumn crop, the winter-spring crop could produce an even higher yield, especially on fields with reliable irrigation. That was why farmers were head over heels for this variety.

“Farmers have traditionally been reluctant to accept new rice varieties because they fear they may not suit local soil conditions, but they have warmly embraced VNR98. I expect them to grow much more of it in the coming seasons,” Vo Huu Nhan said.

Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, Head of the Canh An Village Front Working Committee, could not hide her excitement at the field visit as she saw the VNR98 fields looking healthy and promising a bumper harvest.

“Rice production in Tuy Phuoc Tay commune in general and Canh An village in particular proves to be very challenging during the summer-autumn crop, especially when it comes to irrigation. Tuy Phuoc Tay Agricultural Cooperative currently manages 18 pumping stations serving more than 1,200 hectares of rice. The commune has four water reservoirs, but they are all very small and cannot supply the entire rice-growing area.

“During the 2026 summer-autumn crop, the weather was hot and dry. Farmers have traditionally stuck with old varieties rather than trying new ones. After seeing the outstanding characteristics of VNR98 this season, I am confident that farmers in Canh An village will adopt this variety enthusiastically,” Ha said.

Nguyen Van Nam, a farmer born in 1968 from Canh An village, Tuy Phuoc Tay Commune, directly cultivated four sao of VNR98. This season, he heard from other farmers that VNR98 performed very well, so he bought the seeds and grew it.

“This is my first time growing the variety. I found that it requires little fertilizer but grows very well. VNR98 has very strong stems. The southerly winds were extremely strong this season, but the rice plants remained firmly upright. The variety also has very good resistance to pests and diseases. My field still has a few days before harvest, but judging by the appearance of the crop, I expect to harvest more than 300 kg of dry paddy per sao,” he said.

Earlier, on August 10, Quang Nam National Seed Joint Stock Company also held a workshop on its one-hectare VNR98 demonstration model at An Tuong Dong Agricultural Cooperative in Hoai An commune, Gia Lai.

Farmer Dang Quang Hanh from Tri Binh village, Hoai An commune, who directly grew VNR98 during the 2026 summer-autumn crop, said this was his first season growing the variety and that it had clearly outperformed the varieties he had previously cultivated.

“VNR98 is very easy to grow. It requires little fertilizer, which reduces input costs. My VNR98 field has not yet been harvested, but with a crop that looks this good, I expect the yield to be close to 8 tons per hectare, an extraordinary figure for the summer-autumn crop. The weather has been harsh this summer-autumn season, yet the VNR98 plants are disease-free, and the grains are ripening fully. Farmers therefore love the variety,” he said.

According to Tran Ngoc Trung, Director of An Tuong Dong Agricultural Cooperative, the cooperative worked with Quang Nam National Seed Joint Stock Company to establish a one-hectare VNR98 demonstration model during the 2026 summer-autumn crop.

After monitoring the variety throughout its growth and development, Trung described VNR98 as “the poor’s variety” because it is easy to cultivate, does not require high levels of investment in inputs and still delivers high yields.

“VNR98 is resistant to lodging and has low pest and disease pressure. During the 2025-2026 winter-spring crop, An Tuong Dong Agricultural Cooperative also grew this variety, and its yield significantly outperformed other rice varieties, reaching 420kg of clean, dry paddy per sao.

“Now, after producing an outstanding yield again during the summer-autumn crop, the variety has once again won over local farmers. Consumers also loved VNR98 rice from the previous winter-spring crop. The cooked rice is soft, lightly chewy, fragrant and full-flavored,” Tran Ngoc Trung said.