More than 100,000 tonnes of rice seed would be imported from China this year because of the shortage, which is affecting farmers nationwide, Nguyen Tri Ngoc, head of the cultivation department of the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry, said.

The Government has already delivered 740 tonnes of rice seed from the national reserve to the central provinces damaged by last month’s floods.

At least VND19 billion (US$1.18 million) will also be provided to the central provinces to buy rice seed for the winter-spring crop.

The ministry has met with provincial agricultural departments to help farmers select high quality, high-yielding and pest-resistant rice strains for cultivation.

Agronomists with the Cultivation Department have also helped farmers multiply and adapt rice strains to the local climate and soil conditions to boost yield.

A shortage of fertiliser also exists, primarily due to businesses taking advantage of global price hikes in raw materials, which has left the product unaffordable for some.

The Agriculture Ministry has proposed that the Government import fertilisers from China and that fertiliser companies under the Viet Nam Chemicals Corporation increase production
of urea and phosphate fertilisers.

The country’s rice output this year is expected to reach 36 million tonnes.

Despite crop failure in the northern and central provinces because of inclement weather, the Mekong River Delta provinces obtained a good rice crop harvest this year.

Local farmers are taking advantage of fertile alluvial soil deposits left from floods in the central provinces to reach next year’s target of 36.5 million tonnes of rice.