Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company: Investing right from the beginning of the season to achieve high sugarcane productivity

Stick to raw material area

In mid-May, raw sugarcane ofSong Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Companyis in the early stages of development. Mr. Nguyen Sy Hai - raw material area officer of the company said: At this time, sugarcane needs to be fully fertilized and cared for promptly before entering the hot season. Therefore, raw material area officers regularly visit the fields, instructing people on how to fertilize with the appropriate amount and type of fertilizer; at the same time, monitor pests and diseases on sugarcane for timely treatment.

Raw material staff of Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company actively stay in the fields to monitor the growth of sugarcane and grasp the situation of pests and diseases on sugarcane. Photo: Xuan Hoang

“Becauseraw sugarcanePrices are good and fertilizers have cooled down, so most people are excited to grow sugarcane and take proper care of it. Many families in Tan Ky district rent more land to grow sugarcane, increasing their income," said Mr. Nguyen Sy Hai.

Mr. Pham Van Luc - a farmer in Nghia Phuc commune (Tan Ky) said: After harvesting the entire 5ha sugarcane area, through calculations, the last sugarcane crop yielded over 70 tons/ha, with a profit of over 25 million VND/ha. Excited because the sugarcane was purchased by the factory at a high price, the family returned to take care of the sugarcane in the most timely manner. All fertilizers were paid back by the factory on loan, so they should be applied in reasonable amounts and cared for properly. Hopefully, next year, 1ha of sugarcane will yield higher than last year.

“We take care of it right from the beginning of the season, so the sugarcane sprouts a lot, the plants are strong, and mounding the soil high up to the base is a condition to withstand drought and limit the sugarcane from breaking when it rains and winds… When the sugarcane is tall, the family mobilizes manpower to peel off all the old leaves so that the sugarcane has good quality,” Mr. Pham Van Luc shared.

The raw sugarcane growing area in Tan Ky is developing well. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Mr. Nguyen Ba Quy - Deputy Director of Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company said: In recent years, the price of raw sugarcane has remained high at 1.1 million VND/ton, sugarcane growers have made a profit, especially sugarcane areas that have invested in intensive cultivation of new sugarcane varieties and applied mechanization from land preparation to harvesting, the yield has reached over 80 tons/ha, in some places it has reached 120 tons/ha, sugarcane growers have made a profit of tens of millions of VND/ha.

With profits from sugarcane, most farmers in the raw material area have invested more reasonably and taken proper care, so the average yield of sugarcane in the following crop is higher than the previous crop, reaching an average of nearly 60 tons/ha in the 2022-2023 crop year. The output of raw sugarcane last crop year reached 330 thousand tons, an increase of about 30% compared to the 2021-2022 crop year.

“By mid-May, most of the raw sugarcane area has passed the germination stage and entered the early stage of forming the internodes, so the sugarcane needs a lot of nutrients to grow and ensure future productivity. An important factor is that farmers need to apply fertilizer according to the recommendations of agricultural staff, to supplement enough nutrients in the soil for sugarcane to grow, and at the same time monitor pests: aphids, stem borers, etc. to handle them promptly” - Mr. Nguyen Ba Quy shared.

According to data from Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company, in the 2023-2024 sugarcane crop, the unit's newly planted sugarcane area is about 2,000 hectares, higher than previous years, bringing the total raw sugarcane area of ​​the factory to nearly 5,000 hectares. This is a signal that farmers in Tan Ky and neighboring districts have attached themselves to raw sugarcane.

Through research, it is shown that currentlysugarcane varietiesThe main varieties that people are growing are KK3 and LK92-11. These are two sugarcane varieties with high yield, good quality, and drought resistance, and have been planted in Tan Ky for many years. In order to continuously increase the productivity and output of the raw sugarcane area, Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company continues to select new sugarcane varieties with potential to gradually replace the old sugarcane varieties.

Ensure mutual benefit

To develop and maintain the sugarcane raw material area, Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company annually grasps the fluctuations of sugarcane in the region and in the country; at the same time, it accepts suggestions from sugarcane growers to come up with reasonable policies and mechanisms to ensure mutual benefits for both parties.

Bringing mechanization into sugarcane planting and care is one of the policies to support sugarcane growers of Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Accordingly, the factory's support policies include: Support for money to reclaim land, land converted from non-irrigated rice to sugarcane; interest-free loans to buy sugarcane seeds; loans for microbial and organic fertilizers paid later, support for 100% of treated sugarcane sludge...

In addition, the company also provides mechanical services for land preparation, planting, and sugarcane care, and supports road construction in raw material areas; at the same time, each sugarcane raw material area has agricultural officers regularly present in the fields to help farmers take care of and prevent pests and diseases in a timely manner.

In addition to the factory's preferential policies to attract sugarcane growers, the agricultural sector of Tan Ky district also coordinates with localities to mobilize farmers to grow sugarcane according to the planned area, instructing farmers to implement technical processes for growing sugarcane suitable to the cultivation conditions in each region, promoting the application of mechanization, improving sugarcane varieties, cultivation processes and using fertilizers reasonably and effectively in the direction of reducing inorganic fertilizers and increasing organic fertilizers to improve productivity and quality of sugarcane...