COMPARING THE FINANCIAL EFFICIENCY OF TRADITIONAL VERSUS ORGANIC RICE FARMING IN TIEU CAN DISTRICT, TRA VINH PROVINCE, VIETNAM

This study aimed to analyze the  financial efficiency, determine influencing factors and propose solutions to developing organic rice farming models. The results showed that while it requires farmers to have more production experience and education, organic rice farming has advantages in producing more per land area with lower production costs and more stable product output. The lack of labor and tools for mechanization were the main difficulties of using this model. The average profit per crop of the organic rice model was1,768,000 VND/1,000 m2/crop, approximately 530,300 VND/1,000 m2/crop higher than the traditional rice model. Regression analysis results showed that the financial performance of the two models was affected by the educational level of farmers and types of costs such as fertilizers, pesticides and labor. Production experience of farmers also influences the efficiency of the organic rice production model, while factors relatedto seed and selling price affect the efficiency of the traditional rice production model.