Con Cuong voters propose soil assessment in Thach Ngan commune to change crop structure

Reply:

On March 13, 2022, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development established a working group to work directly with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Con Cuong district and the People's Committee of Thach Ngan commune on the voters' request.

After working, the Working Group and the District Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the leaders of the Commune People's Committee agreed on the following contents:

Acacia garden in Thach Son village, Thach Ngan commune. Photo courtesy of KL

* On the current status of agricultural land use in Thach Ngan commune, Con Cuong district:

The total agricultural land area of ​​Thach Ngan commune, Con Cuong district is 914 hectares. Of which:

- Rice growing area: 244 ha.

- Area of ​​land for other annual crops: 614 ha, including: Main existing crops such as: Cassava 215 ha, sugarcane 45 ha, corn 30 ha, vegetables of all kinds 12 ha, grass for livestock 9.5 ha, peanuts 2.5 ha, sesame 5 ha and more than 209 ha of land for annual crops currently growing acacia.

- Perennial crop area: 56 hectares (Current crops: Lychee, longan, mango, orange, grapefruit, guava...).

* Regarding the current status of land and crops in the proposed conversion area:

- The total area of ​​annual crop production land that voters proposed to convert is 73 hectares, of which, in Thanh Binh village 40 hectares, Khe Dong 18 hectares, Thach Tien 15 hectares.

- Current crop status on proposed conversion area: Cassava 50 ha, sugarcane 15 ha and corn 8 ha.

- Economic efficiency of crops:

+ Cassava: Average yield is 25 tons/ha (the whole province is 26.8 tons/ha), total income is 42,500,000 VND/ha, profit is 26,500,000 VND/ha.

+ Sugarcane: Average yield is 61 tons/ha (the whole province is 60 tons/ha), total income is 61,000,000 VND/ha, profit is 36,500,000 VND/ha.

+ Corn (2 crops/year): Average yield 4 tons/ha (the whole province 4.6 tons/ha), total income 30,000,000 ha, profit 16,600,000 VND/ha/crop.

* Regarding the characteristics, soil properties, climate, irrigation conditions, and farming practices of the proposed land area for conversion:

- The proposed land area for conversion is 73 hectares, of which 58 hectares are sandy loam and 15 hectares are red basalt soil.

- Thach Ngan commune is one of three communes that often suffer from drought in Con Cuong district. Annual rainfall is unevenly distributed, mainly concentrated in September and October. There is no irrigation system, irrigation water depends on rainwater.

- The labor force of these villages is mainly elderly people, young workers leave to work far away, traditional farming practices of the villagers, and the application of technical processes is still limited.

* Reasons why voters propose conversion:

- Sugarcane prices in previous years decreased sharply, the sugar factory's payment method to people was slow (payment was only made in May of each year).

- The level of cassava cultivation of the people is not high, the cassava mosaic disease has caused serious damage, reducing productivity compared to previous years.

- The labor force in agricultural production is mainly elderly people, and the ability to apply technical measures is limited.

Officials of Thach Ngan commune instruct Dan Lai people on high-yield corn growing techniques. Photo: KL

From the current status of land use and the status of agricultural land in Thach Ngan commune, the Working Group and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development together with the leaders of the Commune People's Committee agreed on the following contents::

- Based on the nature of soil, climate, irrigation, farming practices and labor force in local agricultural production, cassava and sugarcane are currently the two suitable crops for restructuring in this area.

Currently, these two crops are being purchased 100% of raw materials by processing factories, creating conditions for farmers to stabilize product output. However, to achieve high economic efficiency on this land for sugarcane and cassava, the locality needs to focus on directing and guiding farmers to use new disease-free sugarcane and cassava varieties, invest in planting and caring according to the correct technical process, especially investing in enough fertilizer and preventing cassava mosaic disease...

- Work with sugar and cassava starch processing factories to receive technical support for planting, purchasing disease-free seeds and purchasing from farmers at reasonable raw material prices, quick payment,... ensuring farmers have profits to reinvest in production.

- Evaluating agricultural land as a basis for converting crop structure is necessary to increase production efficiency per unit area.

+ For rice, agrochemical maps have been created to serve intensive farming, crop restructuring and sustainable management of land resources in rice growing areas of Nghe An province. Therefore, it is recommended that the People's Committee of Thach Ngan commune and Con Cuong district review and guide people to convert crop structure on rice land appropriately to improve production efficiency.

+ In 2020-2021, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development advised the Provincial People's Committee to issue Projects to develop and expand the area of ​​fruit trees associated with the processing industry and consumption of products in Nghe An province for the period 2021-2030; Project to develop key agricultural products of Nghe An province for the period 2021-2025, with a vision to 2030; identify oriented land zoning to develop key products and strong fruit trees, currently this land fund has been integrated into the provincial planning to serve production.

However, the soil assessment in the province has only been conducted on rice fields and a small area of ​​fruit trees in some key districts. Other types of agricultural land have not been assessed yet because the assessment costs are quite large and it takes time and resources to do so.

Therefore, in the coming period, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will coordinate with departments, branches, sectors, and district People's Committees to advise on integrating resources for implementation.

Propose that the People's Committee of Con Cuong district consider balancing the budget to organize an assessment of agricultural land in Thach Ngan commune, as a basis for converting the current ineffective crop structure.