Quang Tri sends first shipment of organic rice to Europe

Quang Tri province opens up the prospect of building an organic rice cultivation area for export so that Quang Tri’s agriculture will develop sustainably.

The Kim Long Agricultural Cooperative in Hai Hue commune, Hai Lang district, was one of the first businesses in Quang Tri province to grow organic rice. 

The provincial Center for Agriculture Promotion and the Quang Tri Trading Corporation have collaborated to grow 20 hectares of organic rice, involving 80 farm households who have received rice varieties, organic fertilizer, plating techniques, transplanters, drones for fertilizer spraying, rice harvesters, and straw rollers. The process from land preparation to harvest is supervised and supported by managers and businesses. Farmers are guaranteed a product outlet.

Rice is exported to Europe at a price of 1,800 USD per ton, giving the farmers a gross profit of nearly 1,300 USD per hectare, much higher than growing rice traditionally. 

Nguyen Quoc, a member of the Kim Long Agricultural Cooperative, said that they don’t use chemical fertilizers for organic rice, so it benefits the environment and people’s health and brings in more revenue than conventional production. 

“When the environment is not polluted, snails, crabs, and fish are not killed. There are no long-term harmful chemicals in the soil,” said Quoc.

The Quang Tri Trading Corporation has worked with the Israeli Embassy in Vietnam to link the production and export of organic rice. The Corporation has worked with the provincial Department of Science and Technology, Hue University of Science, and the provincial Center for Agriculture Encouragement to set up a microbiological fertilizer production workshop, import rice transplanters and drones to spray bio-minerals, and assemble production lines to produce organic pest control materials.

Ho Xuan Hieu, Chairman of the Quang Tri Trading Corporation, said, “Quang Tri has 28,000 hectares of rice fields, but only 3,000 hectares eligible for organic rice production, about 10% of the total area, because growing organic rice requires extremely strict conditions.”

“The Corporation cooperates with farmers, who have land and only do the initial tilling. The Corporation does all the other steps. A strict process must be followed when the rice is harvested and milled if it is to be recognized as organic,” Hieu added.

Drones are used for fertilizer spraying. Photo by VOV.

Quang Tri’s organic rice contains Momilactone A and Momilactone B - two compounds that help to prevent diabetes, gout, and obesity. This is the competitive advantage of Quang Tri’s organic rice, said Nguyen Phu Quoc, Deputy Director of the provincial Agriculture and Rural Development Department.

He said, “Quang Tri organic rice has been asserting its position in the market. Local people have changed their way of thinking about agricultural production."

"The agricultural sector continues to provide maximal support to businesses, cooperatives, and farm households in expanding raw material areas, certifying products, and building and promoting brands for organic agricultural products,” Quoc added.

Quang Tri province has 200 hectares of rice certified as meeting organic standards, and wants to have more than 1,000 hectares of organic rice by 2025. Quang Tri exports 30-50 tons of organic rice a month to the European market. 

The agricultural sector continues to mobilize and integrate support resources to link growers and processors of rice products for export. Quang Tri intends to create a specialized organic rice farming area and expand organic rice production for export in the interest of attaining agricultural sustainability.

Source: VOV