(HBO) –Those who had a chance to taste Muong Chieng rice in Da Bac district, Hoa Binh province, are sure to remember its good taste. If cooked with a right water ratio, the rice is fragrant and soft, which tastes good even with only fish sauce. It is the reason why anyone who goes on working trips to Muong Chieng looks to buy this kind of rice to bring home.

Xa Van Lam, head of Ban Ha hamlet,
said the rice is good for both home use and selling. People from other localities
buy this rice for use at home or as gift. Local farmers now want to cultivate
only this rice variety – called the J02, which is planted in almost all areas
of farming land in the commune. Rice fields in the locality are green with nice
fragrance coming into hamlets.
"My family has 3,000 sq.m of rice
fields. We harvested 40 bags of rice, each weighing
45 kg, which translated into
a productivity of more than 8 tonnes of rice per ha during the past
winter-spring crop,” he said, adding that J02 has become a special rice variety
of Muong Chieng. The commune now has
14.5 ha of land cultivated with this rice
variety.
Xa Van Hung, Chairman of the Muong Chieng People’s Committee, said water
rice is the main plant of Muong Chieng commune where weather and soil
conditions are suitable for rice cultivation. Agriculture is the traditional
means of living, and local farmers are hard-working. In the past, locals used
to cultivate hybrid rice varieties such as Nhi uu 838, which had stable
productivity but rice seeds and cultivation materials cost a lot. Over the past
several years, the commune piloted J02, a purebred rice variety provided by the
Agricultural Genetics Institute. With the support of the district, in the 2017
spring crop, Muong Chieng continued to cultivate the rice variety in
8 ha of land with the
participation of 50 households in Na Muoi, Ban Ha, Na Phang and Na Nguom
hamlets.
After more than four years of implementing a project launched by the Hoa Binh Party Committee’s Standing Board on developing agriculture and promoting product consumption linked with building new-style rural areas for the 2021-2025 period, the province’s industry and trade sector has made significant strides, greatly contributing to local socio-economic development.
Luong Son district has identified 2025 as the year for the accelerated breakthrough to successfully implement the socio-economic development plan for the 5-year period from 2021 to 2025. The district has been focusing on executing the plans and trying to achieve a GRDP growth rate of approximately 15%.
Since the beginning of this year, under the direction of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the Sub-Department of Agricultural, Forestry, and Fishery Product Quality Management has strengthened the integration of the professional activities to promote and guide the organizations and individuals in the production and trading of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products to comply with the legal regulations regarding the use of chemicals, pesticides and veterinary medicines in crop cultivation, livestock farming and aquaculture. They also provide guidance to processing and manufacturing establishments on keeping the records to trace the product origins and using food additives from the approved list according to the regulations.
Hoa Binh province saw a significant rise in state budget revenue in the first two months of 2025, heard a meeting chaired by Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Quach Tat Liem.
Ha Thi Ha Chi, a 26-year-old graduate in law, has taken an unconventional path by returning to her hometown in Mai Chau district to establish the Tong Dau Cooperative, creating stable jobs for local women and bringing Thai ethnic brocade weaving to the global market.
As the Lunar New Year 2025 approached, pork prices surged, creating a profitable season for farmers in Tan Vinh commune, Luong Son district. Taking advantage of the rising demand, Can Minh Son, a farmer from Coi hamlet, sold over 30 pigs at 69,000 VND/kg, each weighing more than 100 kg. After deducting expenses, his family earned a profit of over 50 million VND.