Hoa Son Agricultural Processing Company Limited: Affirming the position of cassava

(Baonghean) - After nearly 2 years of operating in the production and processing of cassava starch for export, Hoa Son Agricultural Products Processing Company Limited has created a new highlight in attracting investment in the Western Nghe An region.

Cassava efficiency in the West

In 2016, Ms. Ha Thi Lam in Bac Son village, Mon Son commune (Con Cuong) planted 7 sao of cassava on land used for growing acacia and it was effective, so Ms. Lam continued to expand the cassava area on the remaining acacia hills. Ms. Lam said: At the harvest stage, cassava yields 1.2 tons/sao (25 - 30 tons/ha), when transported through Khe Lung, the factory's truck will buy all the products; the price of cassava is purchased by the factory according to the contract commitment of 130,000 VND/quintal, my family earns 2 million VND/sao, after deducting costs, the net profit is 12 million VND/year on land used for growing acacia. According to Ms. Lam's calculation, if cassava is planted with acacia in the first years, it can help increase income by 2 - 3 times compared to before.

Cassava raw material area of ​​Hoa Son Agricultural Products Processing Company Limited. Photo: Luong Mai

Mon Son is a mountainous commune in Con Cuong district with a population of mostly ethnic minorities. Mr. Luong Viet Tung - Chairman of the People's Committee of Mon Son commune, said: "In 2016, the commune coordinated with Hoa Son Agricultural Processing Company Limited to review ineffective land funds such as fallow land, acacia plantations, and land that has long been planted with one crop of corn to switch to growing cassava as raw material for the company. Cassava is an easy-to-grow plant, digging holes, weeding once, low investment costs, and purchase prices are committed to the contract. Thanks to that, in the first year of planting cassava, people have developed over 30 hectares. In particular, the model of planting 4 hectares of cassava of Mr. Vi Van Tuan's household - Xieng village planted the new cassava variety KM94, with a yield of 30-35 tons/ha, starch content of over 27%, and the ability to adapt to many types of soil, so people are very excited".

Mr. Ngan Van Duong - Chairman of Mau Duc Commune People's Committee said: "Thanks to the raw material purchasing factory, people have now developed 170 hectares of cassava, mainly concentrated in Na Duoi, Ke Noc, Ke Sung, with an average yield of 25 tons/ha. The company purchases cassava for people at market prices, from 80,000 - 100,000 VND/quintal (excluding boron and impurities). Most of the harvested products are purchased by the company and transported to the factory, there is no situation of cassava remaining or being forced down in price."

In Anh Son district, raw cassava is grown on 720 hectares, mainly on fallow land, growing one crop of sugarcane, unproductive corn or land used to grow acacia in the communes of Thanh Son, Binh Son, Tho Son, Hoa Son, Hoi Son and Phuc Son. Mr. Nguyen Dinh Dang - Head of the Department of Agriculture of Anh Son district said: "The company coordinates with the communes to plant cassava according to the planning. Localities that sign contracts with the company are guaranteed a stable purchase price. The rest of the purchase price is adjusted and fluctuates according to each land area, each planting area closely linked to the living conditions of people in the raw material area".

The cassava planting model of KM94 variety in Xieng village, Mon Son commune (Con Cuong) gives an income of 30-35 tons/ha. Photo: Luong Mai

After nearly 2 years of operation, Hoa Son Agricultural Processing Company Limited has planned the cassava raw material area to reach over 2,750 ha/3,350 ha according to the plan, mainly concentrated in the 2 districts of Anh Son and Con Cuong (Tuong Duong and Ky Son are in the planning process). Thanks to the good development of the raw material area, investment in modern production lines, in 2016, the company consumed over 110,000 tons of fresh cassava tubers, with a capacity of 570 tons of tubers/day (equivalent to 150 tons of starch/day), produced 30,000 tons of exported starch, achieved revenue of over 200 billion VND, and paid 15 billion VND to the budget. The factory creates jobs for hundreds of rural workers with an average salary of 5.5 million VND/person/year.

Encourage the development of raw material areas

With a modern equipment chain system invested with hundreds of billions of VND, Hoa Son Agricultural Processing Company Limited is striving to achieve the target of exporting 35,000 tons of cassava starch each year to Japan, Korea, China, and Taiwan.

The Company's investment policy and form of cassava raw material area starting from the 2016 - 2017 production season have many new and clear points. Mr. Nguyen Van Giang - Deputy General Director of Hoa Son Agricultural Processing Company Limited, said: "The subjects that are invested in the planning area are families with an area of ​​1 hectare or more, contiguous plots; collective villages and hamlets with an area of ​​5 hectares or more. Outside the planning area are families with an area of ​​2 hectares or more; collective villages and hamlets with an area of ​​7 hectares or more. The company invests according to the request of households or collective groups including: NPK fertilizer: 6-4-8, seedlings, investment cooperation of 20 hectares or more contiguous plots, full investment, after harvesting, minus investment costs, profits will be divided at a ratio of 6:4. The standard investment rate for fertilizer is 800 kg/ha, KM94 cassava variety is 100 bundles/ha. Collectives and families that violate the plan are forced to reimburse the investment cost plus an interest rate of 1.5%/month according to the time of receiving the investment. In addition, the company also supports the cost of purchasing 50,000 VND/ton, cost of loading cassava onto truck 50,000 VND/ton. For contracts receiving investment from the factory, the cost of organizing the purchase is 100,000 VND/ton, the cost of loading cassava onto truck 50,000 VND/ton. The company strictly prohibits agents from arbitrarily reducing the purchase price of cassava at the field without the opinion of the General Director. For direct sellers and those who have signed a contract with the company, they will be paid directly after delivery according to the price issued at the factory. In February 2017, the company issued Decision No. 06/TB-TBS committing to the cassava purchase price for farmers according to the contract at the field.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Dang - Head of the Agriculture Department of Anh Son district, emphasized: "To ensure the sustainability of cassava, the factory, the district and the communes need to coordinate and calculate to come up with a clear plan for the land areas to rotate in a beneficial direction (cassava, sugarcane), and should not maintain the plan according to the extensive farming method. Doing so will solve the problem of intensive farming, ensure raw materials for factories in the area, ensure the area, care of the people and not affect the quality of the soil".

Mai Son