Delta farmer introduces new rice seed in Central America

A Vietnamese farmer from the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of An Giang recently came back from Nicaragua where he shared his experiences in creating new rice varieties by cross-breeding.

"I was surprised at Nicaragua’s agriculture," Tran Thanh Hung said. "They grow sorghum and plants without using any organic fertilisers."

Last year, Hung, who is often called Hai Lua, introduced a new variety, which is named NV1, which can produce 7 tonnes of rice per ha.

The 55-year-old farmer was born into a family that grew rice for many generations in Tinh Bien District. Hung started growing rice when he was just 10 years old.

After graduating from high school, Hung came back to growing rice although his family was able to afford his higher education at university.

Due to working hard and applying new technologies, he harvests about 4 tonnes of rice each year.

Since he attended a training course about crossbreeding technology in 2004, he started to try to develop a new rice variety at a corner of his house’s terrace.

Huynh Quang Tin, a co-ordinator of a project to preserve and develop community biodiversity and Hung’s interpreter in Nicaragua, said the new rice variety would provide hope for the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta’s farmers.

The NV1 could compete with Thai and other countries’ rice because of its high quality and productivity, he added.

Hung said he was now researching 20 varieties of crossbred rice varieties and expected to field four of them during the 2010’s winter-spring crop. (VNS)