The Hanoi Agricultural Extension Center has supported farmers to implement circular agricultural models, including rice-fish and rice-fish-duck models. These models not only enhance product value but also protect and preserve the living environment and build rural landscapes.

Ms. Vu Thi Huong, Director of Hanoi Agricultural Extension Center, said: In 2022, the center carried out rice-fish and rice-fish-duck models on an area of 15ha in five districts of My Duc, Thuong Tin, Me Linh, Thanh Oai and Quoc Oai. These models create a double effect because fish and rice have a symbiotic relationship. Fish waste is a source of organic fertilizer for rice while fish can find its natural feed sources in the rice field and kill rice pests, helping reduce the use of chemicals in rice care and bringing in more benefits and higher rice yield. Aquaculture on rice fields has proven high economic efficiency as fish grow very well. When harvested, a fish weighs 0.9kg each on average, or 10 tons per hectare. The profit per hectare is VND80-90 million, 4.6 times that of traditional rice culturing systems.

In the coming time, the center will continue to coordinate with localities to open training courses to equip farmers with knowledge about circular agricultural production and limit the use of chemical plant protection drugs and antibiotics in agricultural production to create safe and environmentally friendly products. “Furthermore, the center will support seedlings and stocks and capital for farmers to apply this model successfully to increase their incomes. Localities need to effectively inform and help people change their perception, not abandon uncultivated fields and adopt this model for low-lying fields," she added.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dai, Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that the Agricultural Extension Center brings scientific and technical advances and supports plants, seeds and breeds to farmers. To meet new requirements, the center needs to build a multi-value agricultural extension model which combines the transfer of technical progress with cooperative-led production reorganization and improves product value and market access along the chain link. Last but not least, it is necessary to promote the role of agricultural extension as a "bridge" to receive and transfer technical advances, deploy high-tech application models, and organize field trips to help farmers approach and apply new models creatively in line with reality.