Farmers discover the power of
flowers
Update: August,
18/2012 - 09:03
CUU LONG
DELTA — The flowers planted in rice fields in Mekong Delta An Giang Province
may look pretty, but they are there for a more sinister purpose: to attract
insects that kill pests.
Thousands of farmers in the province are taking part
in a programme launched in Tien Giang Province at the end of 2009 by the
International Rice Research Institute, in cooperation with the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development's Plant Protection Department.
This year, farmer Tran Duc Thanh of An Giang harvested
4.5 tonnes of paddy from his 0.6ha rice field, an increase of 360 kilo compared
to previous crops. He also saved VND600,000 (US$30) in production costs.
A member of the Tan Phu A1 Agriculture Co-operative in
Tan Chau Town, Thanh has planted flowers on the edge of his paddy fields to
attract bees, ladybugs and spiders, which eat brown planthoppers and rice-leaf
folders. By planting the flowers, he can avoid using pesticides.
The province has also taught farmers new techniques
and required that they plant quality seeds.
Under the programme model, they must reduce the number
of rice seeds sown and the use of nitrogen fertilisers and plant-protection
chemicals, as well as the volume of water used for irrigation. Post-harvest
losses are also expected to be cut.
Trinh Van Dut, chairman of the Tan Phu A1 Agriculture
Co-operative, said the cultivation of flowers near rice fields and the use of
advanced farming techniques had helped raise profits by VND3 million ($140) per
hectare per crop.
Nguyen Huu An, head of the An Giang Sub-Department of
Plant Protection, said that 1,600 farmers in An Giang had planted flowers
around 734ha of paddy fields.
He said that An Giang had set up 34 performance models
in the area to train thousands of farmers.
Because of cuts in labour costs and pesticides,
profits per hectare per crop are VND1.2-1.5 million ($50-70) higher than that
of normal paddy fields.
In Vinh Long Province, 25 farmers in a 30-ha area in
Vung Liem District's Hieu Nhon Commune have participated in the programme.
"Thanks to the prog-ramme, the costs to spray
pesticides have dropped significantly," asid Vo Thanh Hai, deputy chairman
of Hieu Nhon People's Committee.
Participating farmers have been given flower seeds,
five kilos of rice seeds and advanced farming techniques. Farmers plant the
flower seeds 10 days before they plant the rice seeds.
Sunflowers, daisies, cosmos, sesame, okra and other
varieties of flowers that are easy to grow and yield many blossoms are planted
along fields.
Farmer Ha Thanh Hung in Hieu Nhon's Hieu Minh A Hamlet
said that previously he had sprayed pesticides to kill brown planthoppers at
least three times for each crop. But now he does not use pesticides.
Vo Van Quoc, head of the Vinh Long Sub-department of
Plant Protection, said: "This has reduced pollution significantly and
created an ecological balance in the paddy fields."
Quoc said his department was drafting a plan to expand
the programme and encourage more farmers to grow flowers to attract useful
insects.
About 4,000 farmers, mostly in the provinces of An
Giang, Vinh Long, Kien Giang, Ben Tre and Long An as well as Can Tho, have
planted flowers along their paddy fields, amounting to a total of 2,000ha,
according to the Viet Nam Farmers Association. — VNS
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Kat Vietnam dah lama mereka telah
buat.... Kat Malaysia bila lagi nak mula? Bila lah agaknya Kementerian
Pertanian dan asas tani akan mulakan perkara yang sangat baik ini ?
..
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