Forming a concentrated commodity production area in Nam Dan

(Baonghean) - Nam Dan district is prioritizing investment in forming concentrated commodity production areas, building production models according to value chains, organizing linkages from production to consumption of the district's key products; at the same time, selecting regional specialty plants and animals to develop and build product brands.

Comprehensive but not groundbreaking

Evaluation after 5 years of implementing Resolution No. 04 on the implementation of the National Target Program on New Rural Construction in Nam Dan district for the period 2010 - 2020 and resolutions on converting crop structure and building specialized commodity production areas shows that agricultural production in this locality has developed quite comprehensively, and the rural appearance is increasingly improving.

Khanh Son commune has a total agricultural land area of ​​850 hectares, with rice growing area of ​​about 450 hectares, the rest is growing crops, corn, peanuts. In recent years, local agriculture has witnessed an effective shift towards commodity agricultural production, especially for corn.

From 2014 to now, on the alluvial land along the Lam River, Khanh Son commune people have grown corn, but due to the long care and harvest time and unstable output, the income from corn is not high. However, from 2014 to now, the locality has grown commercial corn on an area of ​​about 100 hectares of alluvial land to supply dairy cow raising enterprises in and outside the province, so the income has increased.

Chairman of Khanh Son Commune People's Committee, Mr. To Ba Thang said: "Because the harvest time of corn grown for sale to dairy enterprises is shorter, we can grow 2 crops per year, the production value per corn growing area doubles, with an average income of 1.5 - 1.6 million VND/sao/production crop".

In addition to corn, this year, Khanh Son is also cooperating with the District Agricultural Extension and the North Central Seed Company to produce over 5 hectares of TK10 peanuts in the form of production linkage to product consumption. This model is opening up a new direction for development with peanuts, which are a traditional crop of this locality but have long faced difficulties in output.

Growing passionflower in the field at Nam Xuan Cooperative, Nam Xuan Commune. Photo by Thanh Duy

According to the assessment of the Department of Agriculture of Nam Dan district, the production structure of the agricultural sector over the past 5 years has had many changes in the direction of increasing the value of goods per unit area; mechanization in agricultural production has increased rapidly; many models of crop structure conversion, applying new scientific and technical advances have been effective.

Livestock production has developed in a diversified manner towards commodity production, gradually shifting from small-scale household farming to concentrated farming far from residential areas, forming a number of large farms with chain production. Farm economy has developed rapidly in scale and quality; by October 2016, the total number of farms and farm-like establishments was 803, of which 46 farms met the criteria of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Despite achieving comprehensive results, Nam Dan's agricultural sector has yet to make a breakthrough.

The total area with a production value of over 50 million VND/ha/year is 10,774 ha, accounting for 88.1% of the total agricultural land area, of which the area with a production value of over 75 million VND/ha/year is 5,676 ha, accounting for 46.3%; the area with a production value of over 100 million VND/ha/year is 2,149 ha, accounting for 17.3%, an increase of 1,735 ha. There are 88 fields with a scale of 3 - 5 ha and 45 fields with a scale of over 5 ha with high income.

Building concentrated commodity production areas

Implementing the Resolution of the District Party Executive Committee on restructuring the agricultural sector of Nam Dan district towards increasing added value and sustainable development in the period of 2016 - 2020, with a view to 2025, the People's Committee of Nam Dan district has issued a Plan to develop key plants and animals in the district, accordingly, building concentrated commodity production areas on key products of the district.

Specifically, for the cultivation sector, this locality has identified key products including rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables and strong products such as lemons, persimmons, cassava, Nam Dan soybeans. Based on the specific conditions of each region, Nam Dan requires each commune to select 1-2 key crops to prioritize investment and development in order to promote product advantages and regional advantages.

For example, on copper soil with a total area of ​​1,916 hectares, mainly concentrated in the communes of Nam Anh, Nam Xuan, Xuan Hoa, Hung Tien, Nam Linh, Hong Long, Kim Lien, Van Dien, Nam Nghia, Nam Thanh..., these are considered favorable lands for the work of converting crop structure as well as applying scientific and technical advances and are the key areas for intensive investment for income of 100 million VND/ha.

Therefore, although the crop structure on this land is quite diverse, the district needs to focus on the main crops such as specialized vegetables, peanuts intercropped with corn for grain and glutinous corn, and flowers. In Nam Xuan commune, Nam Xuan Xanh Cooperative is one of the units that boldly pioneered development in this direction.

With an average value of 120-140 million VND per hectare, commercial vegetables are opening up new opportunities for farmers to get rich right on their fields. (Photo courtesy)

Established in April 2016 with a production area of ​​1.4 hectares, this cooperative has invested in growing cabbage, kohlrabi, and cauliflower in the first clean crop. The quality of the seeds is guaranteed and the care process is good, so the cooperative's cauliflower and kohlrabi are popular in the market despite their higher selling prices.

Recently, the Cooperative has registered to become a member of the provincial Cooperative Union's product consumption chain with two main products: lily and squash, and has now planted 8 sao of lily. Along with that, the Cooperative is investing in building net houses and sprinkler irrigation systems to plant high-value crops.

Mr. Vo Van Danh - Vice Chairman of Nam Xuan Commune People's Committee and also one of the founding members of the Cooperative said: The Cooperative aims to produce clean agricultural products in the direction of goods and make demonstration models to attract more members as well as link farmers in production in supplying seeds and consuming products. However, the current difficulty is that the capital and land fund of the Cooperative have not met the requirements.

In addition, the district also focuses on directing the development of advantageous crops such as lemon, orange, grapefruit, persimmon, turmeric, and shallots in the semi-mountainous communes. Similarly, in the field of livestock, Nam Dan has specified which breeds of animals are suitable for each locality to develop.

Nam Dan also aims to have 70-80 farms meeting the prescribed criteria by 2020; especially prioritizing the development of comprehensive farms associated with eco-tourism, community tourism and culinary services, forming chains linking from farm to table in areas with conditions such as Nam Hung, Nam Nghia, Nam Thanh, Nam Xuan, Nam Anh, Nam Kim.

It can be seen that the direction of Nam Dan Agriculture is consistent with the potential and comparative advantages of this locality. This is also consistent with the direction indicated in the working trip of the Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Dac Vinh and the provincial delegation with the Standing Committee of Nam Dan District Party Committee in January 2017, that is, Nam Dan should shape the development direction in order of priority, first of all, restructuring the economy with the focus on the agricultural sector towards goods, serving the market, associated with new rural construction, accelerating the development of tourism and services; attracting investment in labor-intensive light industry, high-tech industry, electronics.

Nam Dan strives to have 90% of annual crop land area reach a minimum production value of 75 million VND/ha/year by 2020; of which 70-75% of annual crop land area reaches 100 million VND/ha/year. Each commune must have at least 1 chain linkage model from production to consumption, with priority given to models in the crop sector.

Thanh Duy