Dong Thap (VNA) - Nguyen Van Khanh,47, earns 3-4 billion VND (132,000-176,000 USD) a year from re-producing anexciting type of rice from Japan known as DS1. To do it, he had to acquire landfrom relatives and friends so that he can use mechanised farm equipment tohandle the large cultivation area.

The Japanese strain of rice, researched foryears, is soft, fragrant, very tasty and more productive than other strains,such as IR50404 which is hard, not so tasty and less productive. Theconcept has impressed rural and government authorities so much they areprepared to back it , seeing it as the start of a new era in national riceproduction which has been unchanged for centuries. 

The Mekong Delta farmer from Dong Thapprovince’s Phu Cuong village in Tam Nong district has accumulated 120ha of landto grow the new strain of rice, also known as Japonica, which has been importedby the Agriculture Genetics Institute (AGP). The rice meets high quality standardsfor export.

Khanh said that fertile land in the Dong Thapregion was famous for its vast length and breadth. A folk saying goes that itwould take all day for a stork to fly over it. But rice cultivation in thedelta has not changed much in several thousand years. Farmers continue to growcrops on tiny pieces of land that make it impossible to use motorisedequipment, such as rice harvesters.

Khanh discussed the problem with his brothersand sisters and asked them to let him use all the land left by their parents togrow ĐS1 rice. After several days of discussions, they agreed to let him manage80ha of land.

Khanh’s elderly brother Nguyen Văn Kha said: “Wesaw Khanh’s passion for rice growing, so we decided to transfer the right ofusing our land to him. Each year he pays us 18 million VND per hectare asrental.”

Khanh admitted he was initially worried aboutmaking a profit to pay them. "But my wife encouraged me to try. Weborrowed money from our relatives, friends and banks to buy tilling machines andharvesters to handle such an immense pieced of land,” he said.

He travelled to the nearby province of An Giangto learn about the ĐS1 rice seeds, which is highly resistant to diseases andpests and can adapt to the alkaline soil in Dong Thap. He also built a ricestorage shed and dredged out channels and a drainage system.

As a result, the first crop in 2012 producedbetween 6.2-6.5 tonnes of rice per hectare compared to the normal yield forVietnamese rice of between 4-4.5 tonnes/ha. Already, several riceexporting companies have signed contracts with him to sell them the rice from6,500 VND to 7,100 VND/kg.

“For each crop between 1,000- 1,1000, I earn aprofit of between 3-4 billion VND,” Khanh said.

Thai Van Thanh, a neighbour of Khanh, said,“ I have my land near Khanh’s and we cultivated the same rice seed, but becausehe has more land, he has higher yield and quality, so many companies arrived topay more for his special crop.”

By 2015, Khanh had accumulated a total of 120hato grow Japanese rice, harvesting 10 tonnes per hectares. By July the sameyear, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Le Minh Hoan made a tour toKhanh’s field, saying he appreciated the potential and prospective developmentof the model.

“You should learn more about business managementand stimulate more farmers to follow your model to produce the Japanese riceand then set up a large business to reduce costs and create more profits forfarmers,” Hoan told Khanh.

Khanh agreed with the provincial leader, sayinghe had plans to acquire 150ha of land to improve quality, reduce spending andincrease profit.

He proposed the State improve bridges and expandroads to create better conditions for transporting farming materials and rice.

Nguyen Van Thanh, chairman of the Tam Nongdistrict’s Farmers Association, said he highly valued Khanh’s rice cultivationmethods. He said Khanh had created stable jobs for nearly 30 workers on amonthly income of between 5-7 million VND, and millions of VND for communitycharities.

Chairman of the Tam Nong district Nguyen Van Nasaid: “ This is a unique model which has been researched by relevant agenciesand organisations so as to apply it into large-scale production from now to2020 and years later. We aim to contribute our cultivating methods andexperiences to Dong Thap province.

"We will also ask the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development to make a suitable policy for the country’sagriculture to help farmers escape from poverty.”-VNA