Sowing Rice Seeds on New Land

After more than half a lifetime tied to the fields, Mr. Nguyễn Văn Hùng (63), from Trường Thắng Hamlet, Trường Long Tây Commune (Cần Thơ City), still vividly remembers the day he first set foot on this land.

He is originally from Bình Định Province. In 1976, after the complete liberation of the South, he and his family moved to the Mekong Delta to reclaim land and build a new life under the economic resettlement program.

Rice farming was his family’s main livelihood at the time, with an area of about 8,000 square meters. In those years, people still worked hard with hoes and sickles, without water pumps or dikes. When the water rose, the fields were flooded; when it receded, the soil cracked dry. Each year, farmers could grow only one long-season rice crop lasting 8–9 months, with yields of just about 3.5 tons per hectare.

In addition to growing rice, villagers worked year-round as hired labor for households with larger landholdings. Younger people weeded, dug canals, and planted sugarcane, while the elderly stayed home to look after the fields.

“At that time, the land was fertile and rich in alluvium, and we didn’t use fertilizers or pesticides. But the fields were uneven—some parts were high, others low. When growing seasonal rice, farmers could harvest on higher ground, but low-lying areas were completely flooded when the water rose,” Mr. Hùng recalled.

By 1990, when the old-style cooperatives were dissolved, farmers were allocated land, issued land-use certificates, and gained autonomy in deciding production methods. From then on, embankments and irrigation systems were invested in. Two-crop, then three-crop rice fields were established, helping farmers increase yields and income.

However, as yields increased, production costs also soared. From just a few kilograms of fertilizer per công (1,000 m²), usage rose to as much as 50 kg. Pesticides became an “indispensable companion” in the rice fields. “The soil is no longer like before. If we keep pouring on fertilizers and spraying chemicals, we see no real profit—only the environment growing more exhausted. With three intensive crops a year, the soil is continuously turned over and loses its fertility,” Mr. Hùng said.

When new farming programs such as IPM and “One Must, Five Reductions” were introduced, Mr. Hùng was among the first to participate. At first, it simply meant reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides, actively managing pests, sowing more sparsely, and protecting beneficial organisms. Gradually, as production became more effective, many farmers in the hamlet gained confidence, adopted more progressive thinking, and followed suit.

Mr. Hùng noted that in the past, farmers had not really thought about low-emission production, but everyone was concerned about finding ways to cut costs. Five to seven years ago, rice yields had stopped increasing, profits were shrinking, and this forced farmers to reduce expenses in order to improve returns and ease pest pressure.

Thanks to this foundation, when the Project on 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice was launched, farmers in Trường Thắng hamlet acted in unity and became one of the pioneering localities to participate. Mr. Hùng affirmed that by now, people in the hamlet have mastered the Project’s farming procedures, especially the practice of collecting straw from fields after harvest to reduce emissions, which has become a good farming habit.

Today, Trường Thắng hamlet has become a bright spot of Trường Long Tây commune, with nearly 150 households jointly building a 170-hectare area of high-quality, low-emission rice. The hamlet has also established three cooperative groups producing according to the Project’s procedures. Fields after harvest are no longer shrouded in clouds of straw smoke as before. Farmers now collect straw to sell or reuse it as fertilizer.

Mindset shift toward low-emission rice cultivation

In the Tân Phước area, Thới Long Ward (Cần Thơ City), Mr. Đồng Văn Cảnh – Director of the New Green Farm Cooperative – is also creating a movement to promote low-emission rice farming.

In 2018, he was introduced to the “1 Must, 5 Reductions” technique through the Sustainable Agriculture Transformation Project in Vietnam (VnSAT). He realized that reducing seed rates, fertilizers, and plant protection chemicals did not lower yields; on the contrary, it helped rice grow healthier, restored soil fertility, and increased farmers’ profits.

Mr. Cảnh shared that at first, it was very difficult to persuade farmers to change their cultivation habits toward low-emission practices: “Just talking doesn’t convince anyone — you have to build a real model. When they see that my fields are effective, they follow.” From a few experimental hectares, all 148 hectares of the cooperative now apply low-emission practices, and even external partner households voluntarily do the same.

He envisions: “If we collect straw, grow mushrooms, then use the spent mushroom substrate as organic fertilizer, we can create a closed-loop chain.” From this idea, he began producing organic fertilizer from straw — initially on just 400 m², now expanded to 2,000 m², supplying about 100 tons of organic fertilizer per year. Not only does it serve the cooperative, but farmers in surrounding areas also seek it out because it is “cheap and good.”

As a result, straw is no longer burned, reducing emissions and increasing income. The cooperative is also considering expanding greenhouse mushroom production, creating more jobs for farmers. This new production mindset helps farmers move beyond “farming to survive” toward “farming to grow and thrive.”

In Đồng Tháp Province, Mr. Nguyễn Thiện Thuật — Deputy Director of Quyết Tiến Ecological Agricultural Production Cooperative — has taken a different approach by combining low-emission rice cultivation, organic rice farming, flood-season fish conservation, and community-based tourism.

On the vast flooded fields in Long An A Hamlet (Phú Thọ Commune), farmers are enjoying a bumper harvest this season thanks to the abundant wild fish stored right in their rice fields. When floodwaters rise, fish return to breed and farmers set nets to retain them. When the water recedes, the fields become organic rice paddies — clean and healthy once again. In this cycle, as Mr. Thuật puts it, “the land rests, the water nourishes, and people are fed.” He believes this model not only conserves aquatic resources but also increases farmers’ incomes.

A year before reporters visited, the model covered only about 20 hectares. At that time, some households engaged in open fishing opposed it. However, once the model proved successful — with more fish, larger fish, and better prices — farmers unanimously requested to join, expanding the area to 170 hectares today.

Mr. Thuật happily shared that community-based tourism has grown unexpectedly this year, with visitor numbers doubling compared to the first two years, reaching an estimated 500–600 visitors, mainly families and young people seeking to experience the riverine lifestyle. Although the cooperative is still small, with limited manpower and not yet able to formally partner with travel companies, these signs show that this direction is gaining increasing trust.

Quyết Tiến Cooperative currently cultivates 100 hectares of rice under the 1-million-hectare high-quality, low-emission rice program. In addition, it has 20 hectares of organic rice linked for consumption with Tấn Đạt Cooperative (Vĩnh Long Province) and Bách Mộc Agricultural Products Co., Ltd. (Vĩnh Long Province).