Growing purple rice, earning a profit of VND 70-80 million/ha

Profit from VND 70-80 million/ha

In the early morning, on the rice field of Tan Dien commune (Go Cong Dong district, Tien Giang), many farmers, representatives of local government, and members of Tan Dien Agricultural Cooperative were present to be ready to harvest purple rice first deployed in the early winter-spring crop.

 Mr. Vo Thanh Tam, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tan Dien Agricultural Cooperative, excitedly said, "This purple rice model is planted completely according to the organic process, not spraying pesticides and foliar fertilizer and only spreading slow-release organic fertilizer from the beginning of the crop. So, it ensures the quality of clean rice when coming to the market." 

According to Mr. Tam, this is the first crop that farmers in the Cooperative boldly implement the model of growing purple rice (SR21) on an area of 5 ha. Of which, Saty Holding JSC and Dr. Dao Minh So, author of the SR21 purple rice variety and head of the Plant Breeding Department (Institute of Agricultural Science for Southern Vietnam), support all rice seeds as well as provide technical guidance for people to follow the process.

Currently, Tan Dien Agricultural Cooperative has more than 300 ha in coordination with businesses to grow rice according to orders. The Cooperative has applied safe, emission-reducing production methods according to the agricultural sector's recommendations to ensure safety for producers and supply delicious, clean rice to the market.

The first crop of the purple rice growing model implemented at Tan Dien Agricultural Cooperative has given results beyond expectations, with the yield of 7-8 tons/ha, equivalent to regular rice. However, thanks to the business's consumption at a price of VND 14,000/kg, farmers earned a profit of VND 70-80 million/ha. This is the unprecedented profit level in this locality.

"We are very excited that right from the beginning of the crop, the business has signed a contract to consume the whole rice at a high and stable price, helping farmers have more profits than growing other rice varieties. Moreover, due to appropriate soil, the same variety of rice grown here is more delicious than in other regions," Mr. Tam affirmed.

According to Mr. Le Van Be, one of the first households to plant 2 ha of SR21 purple rice, the purple rice variety is easy to grow, with strong trees, firm seeds, and no pests. Moreover, this model is also implemented according to the "1 must 5 reductions" program: reducing fertilizer, reducing pesticides, and reducing the amount of seeds from 130 kg/ha to 100 kg/ha, even to 80 kg/ha at some households, but still achieving high productivity.

Typically, Mr. Luu Van Nhu's household in Rach Bun hamlet, Tan Dien commune, planted 1.5 ha of purple rice and so far harvested with unexpected productivity. According to Mr. Nhu, he divided the field in half and sowed on one side 10 kg and a sowing side of 8 kg to be a control. As a result, the sparse sowing side gave the yield of 8 tons/ha, superior to the control field.

"For decades of growing rice, I have never seen rice achieve a high yield as this crop. In previous years, after deducting all costs, I only earned an average profit of VND 30 million/ha, even only VND 15-20 million/ha in years of bad price. But in this crop with purple rice, I earned an unexpected profit of VND 85 million/ha. Therefore, we are looking forward to expanding the purple rice area associated with product consumption," farmer Luu Van Nhu happily said.

Replicating the model, creating linkage chain

In recent days, the purple rice-growing area of ​​Tan Dien Agricultural Cooperative is urgently harvesting the first crop. Many farmers burst into joy at the "good harvest, good price" at the beginning of the new year.

According to Tan Dien Agricultural Cooperative, the Cooperative's entire field has only produced some varieties for decades, with unstable output markets and low profit. Therefore, when Saty Holding JSC raised the issue of deploying the purple rice farming field and signing a consumption contract from the beginning of the crop, the Cooperative was very assured.

In addition, the company also provides an automatic water level gauge and insect vacuum using solar batteries for farmers, so the investment cost is very low. Up to now, when the model is effective, many farmers around the region also wish to participate in the production of this rice variety in the next crop. 

"In the coming crop, the Cooperative continues to ask the company to replicate the model of organic purple rice production and sign consumption contracts with more farmers. Even if the market is stable and towards export., the price will rise to over VND 14,000/kg to increase profits," Mr. Vo Thanh Tam affirmed.

Mr. Nguyen Thai Viet Huy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saty Holding JSC, said, “We have learned about many localities in the Mekong Delta region and know that Go Cong district (Tien Giang) has produced very delicious rice lines; farmers are also very advanced; and the conditions of the land and wide fields are also very suitable for the company to implement the purple rice growing model."

According to Mr. Huy, the purple rice growing model is also implemented under the Government's 1 million ha of high-quality and low-emission rice program. This is the first crop in which the company cooperates with Tan Dien Agricultural Cooperative to implement the model of growing purple rice (SR21) completely according to the organic process. The first crop’s output is still small, so all the rice has been consumed according to the orders and as gifts for trial. The selling price of purple rice is VND 108,000/kg, and the business plans to expand the raw material area in this locality in the coming time.

According to Dr. Dao Minh So, author of the SR21 purple rice variety, to grow SR21 purple rice, people first need to find output because this is a completely new product. Therefore, people should not plant spontaneously but need to participate in a linkage chain with businesses and receive standard varieties from businesses as well as at the Institute of Agricultural Science for Southern Vietnam.

"When studying the purple rice variety, our expected yield is only about 6-6.5 tons/ha. Unexpectedly, the rice variety from the laboratory to the field brings profits beyond expectation, even though the model is small. This is a new rice variety belonging to the nutritious rice group that has been researched since 2016 and has just been granted copyright at the end of 2024.

SR21 rice has the outstanding characteristic of the Glycemic Index at 48, while sticky rice has a GI index of more than 70 and dried rice at an average of 55-70. Additionally, purple rice has high antioxidants, suitable for dieters. This rice is delicious and easy to cook, like normal white rice," Dr. Dao Minh So said.

*USD 1 = VND 25,250 (Exchange rate updated on February 17, 2025)