Winter crop production faces many difficulties due to unfavorable weather conditions; unstable product outputs… However, thanks to proactive crop calendars, changing the structure of crop varieties and implementing linkages in production, many localities have had good and creative ways of doing things, many "leverage" policies to encourage people to stick to the fields, improve economic efficiency from the winter crop.
In previous years, Thanh Lien commune was considered a typical example of Thanh Chuong district in winter crop production, especially commercial squash. There was a time when squash occupied a unique position in winter crop production, was the main crop, the crop that eliminated poverty and "made rich" in this locality. "There were years when squash had a good harvest and good price, each hectare brought in hundreds of millions of VND; after deducting expenses, the net profit was 40-50 million VND. Therefore, squash is considered a "key" crop with outstanding economic value," said Mr. Phan Ba Thang, a squash producer in Lien Khai hamlet, Thanh Lien commune.
However, in 2021, the price of green squash fell dramatically, with no place to sell. When it was time to harvest, the squash rotted on the trellis, but people did not bother to harvest it because the price was too low and there were no buyers. Many households, after harvesting, lined up on the bank; some families brought the squash home to store in the warehouse, in the yard and tried every way to sell it but could not. In the end, people had to go on social media to call for "rescue".
Last crop, Mr. Phan Ba Ngoc's family (Lien Khai hamlet) planted more than 1 hectare of green squash, spending more than 70 million VND. However, when it came to harvest, the squash had a good crop but the price dropped miserably, the selling price at one point "hit rock bottom" at only 2,000-3,000 VND/kg. 1 hectare of squash yielded 25 tons of fruit, the selling price was 2,500 VND/kg, but after selling out, they only made more than 60 million VND, which is a loss of tens of millions of VND, not to mention the 3 months of caring for, watering, and pollinating the squash. Therefore, this winter crop, Mr. Ngoc converted most of the squash land to corn.
Not only Mr. Ngoc, Mr. Hau, Mr. Thang, but also many households that previously had large areas of growing squash (from 0.5ha to 1.5ha) in the commune this year have switched to growing corn or other vegetables. Mr. Luu Cong Hiep - Vice Chairman of Thanh Lien Commune People's Committee said: "Squash is a strong crop, the main crop in the local winter crop production. However, due to complete dependence on output, unstable prices, especially in the last 2 squash crops, the price of squash has dropped sharply, causing people to suffer losses. Therefore, this winter crop, the area of squash has decreased sharply."
In addition to difficulties in the consumption market, the "barrier" in winter crop production is extreme weather and heavy rains and floods. In early October this year, due to the circulation after storm No. 4, Nghe An had heavy to very heavy rains, causing many areas of winter crops that had just been planted to be submerged in floodwaters. According to statistics, the flood caused by the circulation of storm No. 4 caused more than 6,000 hectares of winter crops to be completely lost, causing tens of billions of VND in damage. In particular, the most severe damage was in the localities: Quynh Luu, Hoang Mai Town, Thanh Chuong, Nam Dan... Following that, the impact of storms No. 5 and No. 6 made the soil wet, in many places, people had to do it again and again 3-4 times.
In many localities, up to now, the land has not yet dried completely to plant winter crops. Due to the lack of time, people have had to switch to other short-term crops. In addition, after the flood, the rat infestation has caused many difficulties for people in winter crop production. Mr. Nguyen Van Chuong, a farmer in Nam Anh commune (Nam Dan), said: "The first time, I planted 2 sao of cabbage, costing several million VND. The cabbage had just emerged from the ground when it was flooded and rotted. The water receded, the land was dry, and I planted the second batch, focused on taking care of it and fertilizing it, but when the cabbage was just starting to curl, rats destroyed it, biting the roots, and the 2 sao of cabbage wilted and were crushed. Now, I can only sow short-term vegetables to be in time for the season."
In addition to the difficulties in weather conditions, subjectively, there are still many limitations and shortcomings in the way of directing, organizing production, linking consumption to find stable markets and increase the value of winter crops. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dinh - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Luu district admitted that in the area, although some communes have quite favorable conditions, the results of organizing winter crop production, especially planting on 2-rice land are low compared to the cultivated land area. Some small-scale, fragmented models, intensive care is not guaranteed, the linkage of commodity production is not strong, difficult to replicate. While people are afraid of damage due to natural disasters, product output is unstable, the planning and area targets are not close to reality, production direction is not drastic and regular, so the winter crop production movement has decreased significantly.
According to Ms. Vo Thi Nhung - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, up to now in the province, after many times of land consolidation, the scale of land is still fragmented and small, causing difficulties in building large-scale commodity production areas as well as production linkages. Along with many other reasons, this is also a reason leading to the weak and insufficient application of safe production and chain production linkages with the participation of enterprises.
At the same time, the impact on the mechanization of land preparation is still limited, while the winter crop production workforce is increasingly lacking, due to the tendency to shift to other jobs and aging, affecting the progress and expansion of winter crop production area as well as the access to applying new science and technology in production. The problem of mechanization and the efficiency of some models is not high, not attractive enough for farmers, so the expansion of area is limited, especially models of growing corn and vegetables on 2-rice land.
In order not to be passive about the consumption market, in recent years, in addition to the connection of the province, district and locality on output linkage, many farmers have sought "customers" themselves, producing products according to orders to have stable output and profitable production. Mr. Nguyen Kim Nam, a vegetable farmer in Nam Anh commune (Nam Dan) said: "First of all, we must comply with clean production, organic direction to supply clean vegetables to the market. At the same time, we must proactively seek customers, seek places of consumption to produce according to orders from food stores. Therefore, we can be proactive in part with the output for the products". Currently, in addition to 5,000m2organic vegetables signed with a business in Vinh city, nearly 2 hectares of safe vegetables, he proactively connected with individuals and families who need to eat clean vegetables to supply.
The most favorable situation today is that when social networks develop, in addition to the traditional consumption market of markets and traders, many farmers have actively applied technology to expand the market share of agricultural products. In particular, winter products such as vegetables, tubers, and fruits are promoted and consumed through Zalo, Facebook, fairs, online groups, etc.
Mr. Le Dien, Dien Hai commune (Dien Chau) said: "This winter crop, my family planted 1,500m2I have been on Facebook, groups growing and consuming melons domestically to connect with consumers. There have been orders of tons to serve the Tet market. In addition, I have also gone directly to clean food stores in localities in the province, discussing the connection of consumption on consignment. At the same time, thanks to the relationship with my children who work far away, asking them to be collaborators to sell melons for me, so this is also an effective consumption channel. For several years, the amount of melons produced has been consumed."
In order to produce an effective and reliable winter crop, in recent years, Thanh Chuong district has paid great attention to promoting linkages. Mr. Le Dinh Thanh - Vice Chairman of the District People's Committee said: "In addition to selecting the main structure including varieties that are resistant to cold, flood, high yield and yield; production on high ground, less affected by floods and arranging a suitable crop calendar, promoting production linkages is highly valued. Accordingly, Thanh Chuong plans production in the direction of commodities, concentrated production, regional production to have a large enough quantity to link to consume products; encourages cooperatives to sign consumption contracts before organizing production for products that require large investments, to ensure the rights of the people. Up to now, there have been many effective linkage models in the production of squash, potatoes, garlic...".
In addition, some localities have applied advances in varieties, irrigation technology, net houses, greenhouses and safe VietGAP and organic production, thereby forming specialized production areas with valuable crops, bringing high economic efficiency. These include: Safe vegetable areas in Quynh Luu, Dien Chau, Nghi Loc; Potatoes in Nam Dan, Dien Chau; medicinal plants in Thanh Chuong, Con Cuong; Biomass corn in localities in the beach areas... In particular, the work of forecasting and predicting weather, natural disasters, irrigation, and crop pests is increasingly accurate and updated regularly, helping localities and people to be more proactive in production, limiting damage caused by natural disasters.
Accordingly, the agricultural sector needs to base on each specific land area to have each appropriate production plan. For example, on the 2-rice land, only sow in areas with proactive irrigation and good drainage; in the coastal fertile land of Nghi Loc, Dien Chau, Quynh Luu, farmers with qualifications and experience in intensive vegetable cultivation should be encouraged to expand the area of leafy vegetables, tubers, and safe fruits according to VietGAP, organic; especially in the alluvial land along the river that is prone to flooding, it is necessary to wait for the flood to end before sowing short-term varieties... At the same time, there should be proactive drainage plans to prevent local flooding, especially peanuts, vegetables and some corn and vegetable areas on 2-rice land during the rainy and stormy season, as well as to solve the irrigation water needs for vegetables and corn on 2-rice land, especially during the period when corn is flowering and silking.
