‘Fake’ rice seeds may lower crops
Down in The Delta, Viet Nam News reports that farmers are being ripped off by unscrupulous seed merchants with low quality, low yield varieties of rice as they struggle to find good sources of quality rice seed…
Nguyen Cao Huynh, owner of Huynh Huong rice seeds agency who uncovered the shop’s fraud, said relevant authorities needed to clarify where the fake rice seeds came from, otherwise farmers could continue to be cheated.
Locals said the fake or poor-quality rice seed could help sellers earn profits of VND4,500 ($0.26) for each kilo, but the damage incurred by farmers could not be estimated.
Despite being known as the country’s rice granary, the Mekong Delta is chronically short of rice seeds.
Figures from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development show the network of rice seed producers including research institutions, businesses and farming households can meet only 30 per cent of the actual demand.
Large numbers of farmers have therefore bought the poor-quality rice seeds that are more vulnerable to pests and produce low yields.
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