Applying safe rice cultivation model

Farmers visit the IPHM model

Returning organic matter to the soil

Ms. Le Thi Minh Nguyet - representative of Mekong Lab Testing Institute, Can Tho City, said: “In agricultural production, soil plays an important role in increasing productivity and profits on the same cultivated area. However, farmers' continuous intensive farming and overuse of fertilizers and chemicals have caused the soil to lose nutrients, beneficial microorganisms in the soil are no longer present. Therefore, we need to pay attention to the health of the soil, limit the use of fertilizers and chemicals, and increase the use of organic fertilizers and microorganisms. If possible, farmers need to take soil samples for testing to see what active ingredients are lacking or in excess in the soil so that they can find ways to supplement and restore nutrients.”

Tay Ninh has a rice production area of ​​more than 600,000 hectares, of which the Dong Thap Muoi area is 347,000 hectares. The province's rice output is about 3.5 million tons/year, equivalent to 3.5 million tons of straw. To process straw after harvest, most farmers will burn the fields; the rest will be used as organic fertilizer, mushroom cultivation, animal feed. However, burning fields will cause many consequences such as environmental pollution, waste of resources, and killing beneficial microorganisms.

Deputy Director of the Provincial Center for Agricultural Extension and Services Vo Thanh Nghia informed: "Instead of burning fields, farmers should use biological products to decompose straw and stubble into organic fertilizer, returning nutrients to the soil. In addition, farmers using biological products can also kill weedy rice, helping to reduce production costs. Currently, there are many types of biological products on the market that only need 7 days to decompose straw and kill weedy rice".

The family of Ms. Tran Thi Thu Lam (Thanh Phuoc commune) cultivates 2 hectares of rice. Every year, after harvesting the Winter-Spring crop, she will sell the straw for 500,000-700,000 VND/hectare. During the Summer-Fall or Fall-Winter crop, due to little rain and straw, traders often do not buy it. To deal with the straw, Ms. Lam chose to burn the fields, but the rain made the process extremely difficult. She said: “Since using biological products, I no longer have to worry about burning the fields when it rains, and having to carry the straw to the dike like before. Now, after harvesting the rice, I mix biological products and hire a plane to spray the pesticide for a few days, and the straw will decompose into organic fertilizer, and all the weeds will die.”

Effectiveness of the IPHM model

In the Summer-Autumn crop of 2025, the Southern Center for Crop Production and Plant Protection in coordination with the Thanh Hoa Regional Center for Crop Production and Plant Protection selected Thanh Hoa commune as a demonstration site for the Integrated Plant Health Management model on rice (IPHM), with an area of ​​5 hectares, OM18 rice variety.

Here, 100 farmers were trained in the following contents: production organization, cultivation techniques according to IPHM, environmental protection, prevention and control of community pests, etc. At the same time, experts in the agricultural sector also organized many experiments such as: the impact of microbial organic fertilizer application, reducing nitrogen fertilizer on OM18 rice yield; the impact of simulated leaf rollers at different growth stages on OM18 rice yield the impact  of sowing density on OM18 rice yield.

Deputy Director of Southern Center for Crop Production and Plant Protection Huynh Thi Ngoc Diem said: “The goal of the IPHM model is to enhance plant health, helping plants to be resistant to adverse environmental factors, pests, diseases, thereby increasing production efficiency, maintaining biodiversity, food safety, and protecting the ecological environment. Specifically, in terms of economy, the IPHM model on rice in Thanh Hoa commune has a profit of 6.7 million VND higher than the fields outside on the same cultivated area, due to reduced production costs. In particular, farmers change their production practices, use fertilizers reasonably, and use safe pesticides according to the "4 rights" principle. Applying IPHM is a suitable solution in sustainable agricultural development, meeting the requirements of international integration and improving the Vietnamese rice sector.”

The overuse of pesticides has caused many consequences, such as unsafe agricultural products due to pesticide residues, ecological imbalance, environmental pollution. Therefore, growing rice in an organic direction, reducing fertilizers and inorganic pesticides, and paying attention to the health of the soil are considered inevitable direction of modern agriculture. Organic production is not only beneficial for the soil but also ensures productivity and profits - not inferior to inorganic production./.

By Minh Thu - Translated by Q. Thien

Source: https://baolongan.vn/canh-tac-lua-theo-huong-an-toan-a201068.html