Illustrative image (Source: nongnghiep.vn)

Hanoi (VNA) – Hanoi is working to cultivate high-quality rice varieties in 80% of the local rice farming area in a bid to build trademark for the product in the 2021-2025 period.

The city is currently home to more than 200 concentrated rice production regions with a total area of about 40,000 hectares.

It aims to maintain and develop 200 Japonica and high-quality rice production regions towards VietGAP and organic standards for export. The capital city plans to form 3-5 domestic rice supply and export linkage chains in the period.

Ta Van Tuong, Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that thanks to the high-quality rice production programme, the city has enhanced the productivity and economic efficiency of rice production by 15-20%. Particularly, Hanoi’s Japonica rice has been exported to the US, Japan, and Australia.

Economists held that currently, the world rice market is experiencing many fluctuations due to India’s restriction of export, leading to a drop in the global supply. Meanwhile, El Nino phenomena are also affecting the production of the food in some Asian country, they said, predicting that the price of the grain will rise by 50-100 USD per tonne, which is a chance for Hanoi in rice export.

However, they pointed out that Hanoi is facing many difficulties in building rice trademark due to small-scale production, loose linkage among famers and businesses, and unstable markets.

Nguyen Trong Khien, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Thanh Oai district, said that in order to promote rice production and enhance the product’s quality, the district plans to coordinate with municipal departments and agencies to support Tam Hung commune and Tam Hung agricultural cooperative in designing production regions and build processing facilities, while boosting trade and product  promotion activities.

The city Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has coordinated with localities to develop large-scale rice farms and support farmers in applying science and technology in production as well as mechanising rice production activities.

♛ Hanoi will strengthen investment in infrastructure system and irrigation system serving rice production, while continuing to assist local cooperatives and businesses in building their brands and increasing trade promotion./.