Effectiveness of winter potato growing model on alluvial land in Dien Chau

Positive effects of potato plants in Dien Chau

In the field, while taking the opportunity to re-hoe the soil before making beds, Mr. Nguyen Van Tan in hamlet 11 excitedly said: except for the organic fertilizer that households put in themselves, from seeds to fertilizer materials are all provided by businesses, the products are guaranteed to be consumed, so the family set aside 200 m² try it. The family potato plant has been planted for nearly a month and is growing very well. According to the plan, it will be harvested after January and if it is effective, next year we will use 2 sao of sandy land to grow potatoes.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tan in hamlet 11 took the opportunity to plow the furrows to apply NPK fertilizer according to instructions to help potatoes grow roots and tubers. Photo: Nguyen Hai

According to Mr. Tan, his hamlet 11 has just started construction so it is still waiting, but Hung Nghia hamlet is doing it faster. Hundreds of households in the hamlet are working on it and the area has reached dozens of hectares.

Hung Nghia Hamlet is one of the leading hamlets in bringingpotato plantabout fertile coastal land of Dien Hung commune. In just the past 2 years, the commune has planted 21 hectares of potatoes.

Indeed, through observation, we realized that, along with peanuts, potatoes have become the main winter crop of the people here. The reason why winter potatoes are favored by farmers is because the output is quite good, the products are purchased by Orion Company. After purchasing, a part is used for seeds, the rest is used to produce snacks.

To limit frost that causes leaf rot, potatoes must be watered regularly in the morning and afternoon when the weather is dry. Photo: Nguyen Hai

In addition to Dien Hung commune, previously, since 2019, throughconnection of the Department of Science and TechnologyIn the province, a business also provided seeds and consumed the products, so potatoes were planted in Dien Phong commune and expanded very quickly.

After only 2 years, the area has increased to 100 hectares and the last crop yielded an average of 2.4 tons/hectare. With the current selling price of 6,000 - 7,000 VND/kg, after deducting expenses, each sao of winter potatoes brings a net profit of 4 million VND.

Farmers in Dien Phong commune harvest winter potatoes in 2020. The average yield is 1.2 tons/sao, equivalent to 24 tons/ha. Photo: Contributor

The above achievement is the product of the cooperation between three parties: farmers, the State and businesses in Dien Chau. After the successful model of supporting seed and consuming potato products by enterprises, the district proposed to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to supplement the policy of supporting potato seeds. Potatoes grown in Dien Chau are of two types: white potatoes and yellow potatoes, and all types of potatoes grown by farmers are purchased by the consuming units.

Representative of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dien Chau district

From a new plant intoDien Chau area3 years ago, it was shown that both white and yellow potatoes are suitable for coastal soil. Therefore, from only a few dozen hectares of potatoes in Dien Phong, a business supported seeds and product consumption. Up to now, Dien Chau has increased the potato growing area to 160 hectares, accounting for nearly half of the province's winter potato growing area. Currently, Dien Phong grows the most with about 100 hectares, followed by Dien Hung with nearly 21 hectares and the rest are communes such as: Dien Hong, Dien An, Dien Trung, Dien Thinh... from 5-7 hectares/commune.

Potato is a short-term winter crop with the most stable output, suitable for the winter crop in cold climate provinces like Nghe An, and less susceptible to damage by rats. The potential for potato development in Nghe An is large, but for many reasons, the biggest reason is that the variety is expensive, so it cannot be widely propagated. At its peak, the province had over 1,000 hectares, and now it is only about 500 hectares. Recently, thanks to the participation and cooperation of a number of businesses, potatoes have been re-introduced and expanded in Dien Chau.

Mr. Phan Duy Hai - Deputy Head of the Provincial Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection

Concerns about output and seed prices?

Learning more, we learned that potatoes, especially yellow potatoes, are temperate crops that have been winter-grown in our province quite early. The advantage of potatoes is that there is no need to worry about output and the harvested products can be preserved simply. The finished potato products can be used for many purposes, used as daily food or for processing enterprises to make cakes and instant noodles. Therefore, the output is always guaranteed by enterprises.

After harvest, the company buys all the potatoes, most of which are processed to make cakes and some are preserved to be used as seeds for the next crop. Photo: Contributor

That is why, in previous years, people in some districts such as Nam Dan, Quynh Luu or Nghia Dan planted and at times the area reached thousands of hectares. However, when the production scale was quite large, the output was stagnant, the selling price was low. The paradox is that the price of finished products is cheap but the seeds are quite expensive, so people are not interested in expanding the area. Mr. Phan Duy Hai - Deputy Head of the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection added: Previously, people in Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen,Tan Ky, Nghia Dan... quite excited but after a few years of planting, there was flooding, causing damage so it was not expanded anymore.

Currently, farmers sell potatoes to businesses for 6,000 - 7,000 VND/kg, but businesses sell seeds for 21,000 - 26,000 VND/kg, 3 times higher, which is too expensive. To grow 1 sao of potatoes, 80 kg of seeds are needed, equivalent to 2 million VND. Therefore, if the State or businesses do not support the provision of seeds, not many farmers want to do it.

(Dien Chau District Agriculture Department)

While potato seeds are quite expensive, the province's support policy is almost only at the encouragement level. For example, from the province's support source of 2.5 billion VND to buy winter-spring seeds in 2021; Dien Chau district was allocated 267.7 million VND, prioritizing the above budget to support potato plants. However, with 160 hectares of potatoes, people only received less than 2 million/sao in support while the minimum should be 5 million/sao.

This is one of the reasons leading to the rift in the link between the “3 producers” - consumers of potatoes in the 2019 crop in Dien Chau. The reason is that seeing the high price of potato seeds, some farmers “trimmed” the tubers in the beds to sell or keep for seeds, causing the harvest yield to be lower than expected, putting businesses in a difficult position.

After just one successful crop, the potato area in Dien Hung increased from 5 hectares in 1 hamlet to 3 hamlets with an area of ​​up to 21 hectares. Photo: Nguyen Hai

On the other hand, according to farmers, growing potatoes requires careful soil preparation, and potatoes are sensitive to weather conditions such as drought or frost, so watering must be done regularly to reduce stem wilting and leaf burn that affects the tubers. During the process of expanding and caring for potatoes, farmers need to pay special attention to this.

From actual implementationwinter potatoes on fertile soil,Dien Chau district recommends that the province should prioritize calling for investment projects in potato processing factories in general and potatoes for the people; at the same time, have a plan to develop a large enough raw material area for the factory; gradually take the initiative to research and produce seed potatoes to reduce prices for the people. Based on the assessment of the potential of winter potatoes on fertile land, the province should consider policies to increase the level of support; localities that grow a lot according to the plan should increase the level of support.

Dien Trung farmers harvest winter potatoes in 2020. Photo: Contributor

On the other hand, there should be early guidance to advise farmers to learn from experience while doing, produce crops that are safe and sustainable; only expand potato growing areas according to plans and contracts to ensure output. Maintain the structure of other winter crops such as sweet potatoes, peanuts, corn, and vegetables to avoid repeating the situation of "good harvest, low price" or when favorable, rushing to plant, breaking the plan but when sales are slow and prices are not good, they are ready to cut down./.