The Hanoi Department of Agricultural and Rural Development on December 30 held a ceremony to launch the “Nam Phuong Tien – Chuong My organic Japonica rice”, making it the third high-quality Japanese rice produced in Hanoi for exports.

Delegates look at the new rice strain at the sideline of the launch. Photos: Anh Ngoc

At the launch, the Director of the Hanoi Rural Development Sub-department Hoang Thi Ha said in 2021, the agency has set up 25 farms of up to 1,370 hectares for high-quality rice cultivation at 22 communes under 10 districts.

“Japonica rice brings much higher economic value than other rice varieties, such as Khang Dan 18, by VND10.3-43 million (US$452-1,886) per hectare in a harvest,” Ha added.

In addition to rice production, Ha noted the agency would continue to build brands of high-quality rice for localities in the city.

In 2020-2021, the Hanoi Farm Extension Sub-department in cooperation with S&D Trade and Investment Company supported the brand building of three collective Japonica rice, namely the “Nam Phuong Tien – Chuong My organic Japonica rice”, “My Thanh – My Duc Japonica rice”, and “Binh Minh – Thanh Oai high-quality rice”.

Overview of the launch.

According to Ha, the expansion of Japonica and other high-quality rice cultivation in Hanoi helped ensure food security in the city, at the same time raising the awareness of the people in safe agricultural production and meeting requirements on origin tracing.

“Locals are now having the opportunity to access high-quality rice products capable of competing in international markets,” Ha said.

In 2020, the areas under Japonica rice cultivation in Hanoi nearly tripled compared to 2018 with over 9,300 hectares.

This year, the proportion of high-quality rice in Hanoi’s total rice exports is estimated at 60.9%, higher than the rate recorded in 2020 with 54.7%.

Vice Director of the Hanoi’s Department of Agricultural and Rural Development Ta Van Tuong said the city targets to take the proportion to over 80% by 2025, with 80-100 farms dedicated to Japonica rice production.