Nam Dinh - the cradle of hybrid rice production

As one of the earliest people to see the benefit that hybrid rice brought to Vietnam’s agriculture, Mr. Doan Van Sau, Director of Cuong Tan Co., Ltd Nam Dinh, gleefully shared his story on how he and his enterprise paved the way for the prosperity of hybrid rice in Vietnam.

At first, as an enterprise, we also participated in the importation of hybrid rice from China, which could be said to be China’s largest production “root”, bringing hybrid rice into Vietnam. We were one among many businesses coming to the border to import the seeds, and we found it full of difficulties. The seeds from China must be delivered in large quantities. You always had to prepare money for transfer right after the transaction was a success, not to mention they offered an extremely high price. All businesses even chose to patiently lie in wait just to make a purchase. The seeds exported to Vietnam held that much value back then.

There was so much hardship, so I gave it some thought and decided to return with scientists in the country, including Dr. Nguyen Thi Tram of the Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA), who were among the first in the field of hybrid rice production. We had a conversation, and I then knew that they had brought the technologies from China back to Vietnam. I made an attempt with VL20 of professor Hoan (Dr. Nguyen Van Hoan), and later gave Ms. Tram’s TH 3-3 a try.

Having to both research and produce at the same time caused scientists to struggle, while on the other hand, the matter of domestic hybrid rice production is of great urgency to me. More discussions with the professors had been brought up with the goal to transfer the techniques to businesses. We gained some opportunities to follow the professors’ technical processes, then returned and started to organize production.

Those were the first years, 2005 - 2006 if I’m not mistaken. We underwent some trials. In the beginning it was hard, extremely hard. We struggled greatly just to carry out those processes. It was nowhere near easy. But when production had entered a steady pace, we gradually got used to it, and our work smoothened. We were deeply hooked on producing hybrid rice seeds, which was still a very new and extremely difficult technology recently applied in Vietnam.

But now things are changing at an incredible pace. I carried on with my pursuit, persistently so. And a bold idea came to mind: copyright purchase. I then bought the copyright of Ms. Tram’s Th 3-3. Not many people at that time gave much thought to copyright purchase. It was a daring decision, even for me.

Having acquired the copyright, I started producing the seeds myself. At the beginning phase we received significant supports from Ms. Tram and her students, helping the business gain the ability to follow the “regional production” direction.

The initial steps were truly arduous. Sometimes we felt like we had touched the depth of exhaustion. There were ups and downs, sure, but the happy moments, the feeling when the product was released and farmers benefited from it were truly wonderful. Bringing out such a product to farmers had helped me realize the immense value it possessed. The first thing we were able to feel was that farmers had shown favor to Vietnamese products. It was from that moment our exhilaration was ignited.

Professor Tram and her students traveled from North to South, literally everywhere, in order to produce and find the best production zone. And of course, among the three regions under our evaluation, there were places producing well but incurred with other conditions in the production process. The lands were wide but laborers were lacking, making it an evident obstacle. All businesses in Vietnam at that time started directing themselves towards the production field. China also provided several parental lines for Vietnamese enterprises to produce domestically, added with varieties created and produced in Vietnam. It was a vibrant scene in those regions. Many businesses transformed into companies specialized in hybrid rice production, all gathered in the hybrid rice area.

Even so, I still saw the obstacles in the production phase. When I came back, there were questions like: ”How did Nam Dinh become the largest hybrid rice seeds producer in the country?” It was actually a convergence of all we had. Firstly, Nam Dinh has abundant labor resources and land funds. Upon return, I had to come up with a strategy to rent fields in the locality and plan the region into large areas to organize production.

There were always favorable things, then unfavorable things appeared that we had to think about. And we once again made our way back to Nam Dinh. We came back to rent fields first, which was really difficult in 2008 - 2009. It was exactly like taking the first step in the business: full of hardship, but the knot was untied little by little. The first one or two years of rental were stacked with complications. When mentioning the area surrounding the field, we needed to rent another land for those farming nearby. Or when designing the field we even had to rent another place completely outside the area as an exchange. It was difficult for us indeed.

Now we can easily carry out the job, even further to the organizing of local farmers to form craft villages. From the “journey to hybrid rice”, we have witnessed a process, a time that changes so fast, more so in terms of rice varieties or the works done. At first we brushed (the pollen) using poles, now we use ropes, then cars, agricultural tractors,…, resulting in an expansion in scale. Families don’t stop at just 1,000 or 2,000 m2 anymore. We now work on tens of hectares. That's what we've improved which leads to a reduction in prices and many more things. Only now can we compete with China's hybrid rice.

Previously, rice was only planted by hand, so if calculated within 360 m2 of land, as Chinese regulations specified that the maternal line required 35 m2 for sowing, we only had about 12 trays to sow then transplant using machines (Note: time-consuming). Our application of technology from farms to houses is up to 90-95% at present.

Back in the day, we didn’t have a dryer. We let the rice dry in the yard, and they were all flooded when the rain came. We had no choice but to witness that. We lost an entire batch of rice, several tons of them. They were Bac uu 903 and 253. The grain got cracks in its husk, instantly became waste as the water seeped in. We waited, but the rain didn’t stop the next day. And the day after, we tried to dry them again, but it was no longer possible. The grains had all sprouted. It was already a loss. We now have mastered technologies, from planting, combined harvest technique using machines outside the fields to drying at home, along with spraying technology which uses drones. These are our updates to take a step forward. These are our achievements.

The production of hybrid rice seeds demands our levels to be heightened with each passing day. In the past, we didn’t even dare to work on varieties having a 20-25 days difference between the parental and maternal lines, but we are confident now. You can plant them however you want, but their flowering time must not be more than 2 to 3 days apart. That’s the hard part. Meanwhile many surrounding factors are in constant changes including climate conditions, weather, water level, etc. Up to the present moment we have had many improvements in our technology level.

And another thing: when it comes to scientists, the pressure is always present. Not only does it affect scientists but businesses also have to suffer. While they are unable to produce, scientists are still divided into two groups. One is to produce high-productivity rice in service of the processing and animal husbandry, while the other has to produce supremely delicious groups of rice varieties.

The Lai Thom 6 (TH6-6) that we have recently received copyright transfer from the University (VNUA) is a prime example. This rice is very fragrant, sticky, has a rich flavor when eaten. We have put Lai Thom 6 into production and business. From North to South, even the shrimp-rice areas in the Mekong Delta, we bring the seeds in and test them there. The results come out wonderfully: the rice is very delicious and very suitable for those lands.

Hybrid rice possesses high tolerance, suitable for rooting in acid and acid sulfate soils. Hybrid rice can still endure well even when faced with changes in weather. In my opinion, regions with complicated weathered conditions, areas suffering from salinity and acidity cannot leave out hybrid rice in general.

I believe there seems to have overall pressure, from businesses to scientists. The principal question lies in how scientists can research and create rice varieties that are of high quality, high yield, and super delicious as well, or like how we normally say: "delicious, nutritious, and cheap". That’s a real challenge.

On the other hand, companies have to search, give out strategies, conduct tests on different areas and rice varieties so that when the seeds come to the hands of farmers, production and trade can secure a reasonable price while maintaining the best quality. As a result, companies are now under people’s pressure as those criteria must be met. We still can’t call it a success even if those criteria didn’t exist.

Mr. Doan Van Sau, Director of Cuong Tan Co., Ltd Nam Dinh