'Anh Ca of purple rice' wins first prize in the Sustainable Agriculture Transformation Contest

Boldly growing purple rice following a bio-organic process

All people in Thanh Tri commune, Thanh Tri district, Soc Trang province surely know about Pham Thanh Ca who has been growing 20ha of new purple rice varieties for more than 7 years. Thus, it is easy to know the way to his house and to his field. 

Ca's field is very recognizable as it emerges in the middle of the golden rice area with green leaves and purple rice grains standing. On an early afternoon in April, in the midst of the blazing sun, we followed him visiting the fields and seeing the rice leaves standing upright, green and sturdy without a trace of pests and diseases. 

People say his rice variety is strange with purple grains. Asking about the new rice, we were replied that this is a purple variety developed and owned by engineer Vo Thi Ngoc - Director of MS 2019 Vietnam Food Co., Ltd. (in Song Phu commune, Tam Binh district, Vinh Long province). This rice variety has been registered with the National Center for Plant Seeds and Seedling Testing and Experimenting to grow in some localities of the Mekong Delta in the name MS2019 charcoal purple rice which is reportedly the only purple rice variety (plain rice) in Vietnam so far.

The outstanding feature of this rice variety is its resistance to blast and leaf scorch. This is very good for rice production following the organic model without using chemical pesticides. Besides, through testing, this rice variety is very suitable for growing in different soils of many regions.

In his locality, Ca works as Deputy Director of Thanh Tri Agricultural Service Cooperative. According to him, the Cooperative has been supported by VnSAT Project with many training courses on technical advances. Having received the precious rice variety, based on the scientific advances transferred by the VnSAT Project, Ca had boldly rented more land and cooperated with MS 2019 VN Company to build a value chain for both producing and experimenting with the new rice seedling.

Currently, Ca is taking care of his 20ha of purple rice following the bio-organic process guided by engineer Ngoc. He only uses organic fertilizer from Long Binh Fertilizer Factory (Long An) for the whole crop. He also applies 4.0 technology in seedling, fertilizing, and spraying nutrients by drones.

He excitedly said: “Applying the technical process trained by the VnSAT Project, first of all, we should use the seed that must be certified and recommended by local authorities. As for the breed, I have it myself. I follow the safe rice production methods of VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards. For the whole crop, I only use biological products to prevent insects that damage the rice."

The MS 2019 purple rice has been recently planted following the bio-organic model, but applying the "1 must, 5 decreases" technique transferred by the VnSAT project. The yield is good, not 'inferior' to other rice varieties in other regions. In particular, rice yield is very stable between crops. The winter-spring rice crop's yield is about 7-7.5 tons/ha while that of the summer-autumn is less than 0.5 tons/ha. These are very encouraging signs for this new but promising rice variety.

Currently, Ca's 20ha of purple rice is committed by MS 2019 VN Food Co., Ltd. to purchase at a fixed price. Production according to the bio-organic process with output and input links has created stability, so he is very happy and assured of production.

First prize at the Sustainable Agriculture Transformation Contest

Soc Trang is one of the localities supported by the VnSAT Project. Up to now, over 16,700 farmers and 13,300 farmers in the province have been trained in the "3 decreases, 3 increases" and "1 must 5 reductions" techniques respectively. Thousands of farmers are supported with training to utilize rice by-products, crop rotation, duplication certified rice, and producing VietGAP rice.

In the first phase, the province is supported to invest in infrastructure with 11 sub-projects worth a total of over VND83 billion. In the second phase, the province will be supported with 12 more infrastructure investment sub-projects, worth over VND110 billion (including VND87 billion from the IDA).

Thanh Tri Cooperative has 38 members under the VnSAT project's support with VND9.8 billion to invest in 2 pumping stations, 1 1.5km road, a warehouse, and a power transformer station. Recently, to strongly promote advanced techniques in rice production, the VnSAT Soc Trang Project Management Board in collaboration with Thanh Tri District People's Committee organized a contest for sustainable agricultural transformation in projected areas of 5 communes of Thanh Tri district.

Farmer Pham Thanh Ca excellently won the individual first prize in this contest.

In 8 provinces/cities in the Mekong Delta, rice in the VnSAT Project's cultivation areas have been consumed by agricultural enterprises and through evaluations, it keeps continuously increasing. By the  2021summer-autumn crop, contracts have been signed for purchasing about 61,372ha of rice.