“Pairing” of organic farming with the highlands

Ta Leng is a highland township in Tam Duong District of Lai Chau Province, where the peak of Pu Ta Leng Mountain is higher than 3,049 m. The whole community has more than 882 households with more than 4,612 people, the people here are mostly Mong people who mainly live from agriculture, growing rice, corn, raising cattle, pigs and chickens…

The Mong people of Ta Leng have a valuable rice variety called Te Rau. It is the kind of rice that is planted in the fields, the picturesque terraced fields. People call it strawberry rice and only grow one crop a year. Perhaps thanks to its cultivation at an altitude of thousands of meters above sea level, where soil, air and mountain wind are in harmony, it becomes a rice with long and mushy grains that, when cooked, have a sweet flavor and aroma . Can be mixed with any other rice.

However, as people are still familiar with traditional farming methods and use many pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers, this has affected the quality and brand of this strain for many generations.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Quan, head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tam Duong District, said that since the beginning of this year, based on the contents of the Memorandum of Understanding on Investment Commitments between the Lai Chau Provincial People’s Committee and Guilin Group on Cooperation in Development Zur development of organic farming, the model of organic rice production was introduced by Te Rau.

The model was originally intended to be used on a large scale, but mobilizing people to participate encountered many difficulties. Guilin Group staff, together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chairman of Ta Leng Township, have repeatedly held meetings with a number of village heads in the township and typical peasant households to introduce the objectives of the linkage model, ideas and ideas The Importance of organic production of Te Ray rice, building a rice brand in Lai Chau province…

However, with the mindset of local people, they want to change agricultural practices from intensive farming, using fertilizers and chemical pesticides to clean agricultural production, protect producers’ health, and protect land and environment. Increasing income is a very difficult subject. People need to see the impact of the model clearly before they can change to follow. Despite active campaigns, but in the end only 9 Hmong households in Nung Than Village, Ta Leng Municipality signed a contract to become the first Mong people in this heaven to grow organic rice.

Covering an area of ​​5.1 hectares of 9 households in Nung Than Village, Guilin Group has guided farmers in techniques of growing and cultivating rice towards organic production and supporting 100% organic fertilizer. . After harvesting, Guilin buys all the products at 15,000 VND/kg.

With this linkage method, Guilin Group has supported organic Te Rau rice farmers in Ta Leng with an amount of VND1.26 million/1,000 m2. The total cost of the group to support households in the first harvest is more than VND 52 million. In addition, people will be supported in participating in the model by providing technical advice, financing the transport of surveying and inspection experts during the implementation process. Only after the first case did a very clear difference become apparent. Te Rau Organic Rice is gradually replacing the traditional method of growing rice on the skytop of Ta Leng.

Hang A Kho’s family in Nung Than village has been growing Te Rau rice for many years. He shared, “In the past, the Mong people who grew rice used many pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers. Later it became known that this affected the quality of the rice and especially after propagation. First of all, directly affects people’s health. After I partnered with Guilin Group to produce organic rice, my family found many good things.”

Mr. Kho said he also grows rice, but it is very strange that he does not need to use chemical fertilizers and does not need to spray pesticides and herbicides, but the rice plants still grow and develop well, with few pests and diseases, which is particularly high Yield ensures yield, rice quality and health security for farmers. Although the harvest time has not yet come, the rice yield will certainly be higher than that of conventional rice cultivation.

Create a brand for Lai Chau’s Te Rau rice specialty

Recently, the Guilin Group and Tam Duong District also held a workshop to evaluate the organic model of Te Rau rice in Ta Leng. Mr. Nguyen Chi Hoi, Chairman of the Ta Leng Municipality People’s Committee, said: By implementing the model of linking Te Rau rice cultivation in an organic direction, the municipality realizes many benefits for farmers, such as: rice plants grow and develop well , fewer pests and diseases than conventional rice cultivation.

“Compared to the control model, the productivity, output and investment cost indicators all have outstanding advantages. Most importantly, people have changed their minds and understood production techniques. Produce organic rice, ensure product quality and health, protect the soil and the environment… In the coming period, we will continue to expand the area, build an organic rice area step by step, locally,” said Mr. Hoi.

The biological model of Te Rau rice cultivation in Ta Leng is one of the results of cooperation between the Guilin Group and the People’s Committee of Lai Chau Province. Talk to newspapers Vietnamese cultureMr. Tran Tien Dung, Chairman of Lai Chau Provincial People’s Committee, said, The development philosophy of agriculture is toward multi-value, toward concentrated raw material production and development of specialty products related to the value chain.

In order to restructure and develop the agricultural sector, the connection between people, cooperatives and enterprises to create a chain of links is very important, helping to help people change their lives, change their mindset, sustain production , reduce poverty, achieve the goal of escaping poverty, improve knowledge, integrate faster in the context of digital technology…

With potentials and advantages in land and climate, Lai Chau’s agricultural development orientation must be combined with deep processing, branding, standard organic production and export orientation.

At the meeting to summarize and evaluate the biological model of cultivation of Te Rau rice in Ta Leng, the participants and participating farmers all shared the same assessment that the rice in the model has large, long roots and a large, hard leaves with light green Color, so there are few pests and diseases, often below the control threshold, so from planting to harvest there is usually no need to prevent pests and diseases.

The cultivation process has reduced to 1-2 sprays compared to outdoor, which is not harmful to the health of the grower and the environment. Meanwhile, outside the model of people, the mass production fields suffer from severe blight disease, the density of leaf rolls is low, and the stem borer is much higher than in the model. To prevent the above objects, some households need to spray 1 -2 times with chemical drugs.

In addition, local people are still used to the practice of 100% NPK chemical fertilizer fertilization, the leaves are dark green, longer and the leaves are younger, so they are not stiff, thus attracting more pests. According to a Guilin Group representative, this is an issue that needs to be further changed, as according to plant nutrition experts from the Institute of Soil and Agrochemistry, the current application of chemical fertilizers to rice in Vietnam only trees can be used 40-45% of the Residue hardens the soil, remains in the soil and in groundwater and surface water, affecting soil and human health.

In order to further implement the Memorandum of Understanding on Organic Farming Development Cooperation between Guilin and Lai Chau Province, Guilin Group intends to cooperate more closely with management agencies, specialized agencies at provincial, district and municipal levels, and especially ethnic farmers in 2023 and subsequent years of Lai Chau Province continue to implement models of organic production, organic production and organic agriculture to jointly introduce and promote the endemic products of Lai Chau Province to consumers across the country.

“After long research, it is known that Guilin Group is a leading company in the field of organic agriculture. In December 2021, the Lai Chau Provincial People’s Committee signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate with Que Lam Group. Forestry to develop organic agriculture in the province Along with promulgating support policies, Lai Chau Province always creates the most favorable conditions for companies and investors to come and accompany the province to develop sustainable agriculture like Guilin Group,” said Mr. Tran Tien Dung, Chairman of the Lai Chau Provincial People’s Committee.