New direction in agricultural production in Nghia Dan

(Baonghean) - As a district mainly producing agriculture, in recent years Nghia Dan has had many measures to change the crop structure, helping people increase output per unit area; strengthen linkages in agricultural production, find output for products... gradually increase farmers' income, helping them stay attached to the fields.

Mr. Hoang Van Minh in Be village, Nghia Yen commune has "experience" in growing watermelons. According to him, if the harvest is good and the price is good, each hectare of watermelon will bring a profit of 50 to 100 million VND. However, achieving both of these factors is not simple, because in reality, when the harvest is good, the price drops, when the price is high, the watermelon crop fails. Not to mention, watermelons are only suitable for new soil, so after a few crops, they have to switch to other crops. Therefore, although he has land, this year he has to rent 1 hectare of land for 10 million VND in Nham hamlet, Nghia Yen commune to grow watermelons. Unlike last year, to avoid price risks, this year his family does not plant all at once, but 50% of the area is planted before Tet and the remaining 50% of the area is prepared for planting after 1 month. Mr. Minh shared: “It takes 90 days to harvest watermelons. If everything goes well, each hectare can earn 1 million VND per day, but the whole family has to build a hut and be on duty 24/7 to take care of them, check for pests and water them. In previous years, the whole village and commune worked together until the watermelons were ripe and traders forced down the price. If they didn’t sell them, they would spoil, so a lot of effort was put in but there was no profit, and many families suffered heavy losses.”

Nghia Duc farmers grow new sugarcane variety LK9211 in spring crop 2014.

In 2014, Nghia Yen planted 200 hectares of watermelon, this is also the commune with the largest watermelon area in Nghia Dan district (the whole district planted more than 700 hectares). To avoid massive harvesting, which is easy to be forced down by traders, Nghia Yen commune has directed people to plant in separate crops, so, in addition to the areas of watermelon that have grown well, at this time some households are preparing the land to plant watermelons. Mr. Nguyen Van Nho, Vice Chairman of Nghia Yen Commune People's Committee said: "According to the commune's orientation, watermelon is the main crop to help people eliminate hunger and reduce poverty. When we have not found an outlet for the product, we must first find solutions to help people avoid disadvantages. This year, we have promoted people to plant watermelons at many times, 5 to 7 days apart, even a month. Firstly, if the weather is unfavorable, the area is less at risk; secondly, when harvesting, avoid the situation where watermelons ripen massively at one time and then the price is forced down".

That is for crops that have not been guaranteed output, and for crops that are guaranteed output such as sugarcane, farmers also face many difficulties in terms of price and depend on the time of purchase. Necessity is the mother of invention, many farmers have found many ways to "keep up" with the factory. Nghia Dan district currently has 8,600 hectares of sugarcane, to increase productivity per unit area, Nghia Dan has taken many measures, including introducing new varieties with late ripening time. For example, in Nghia Duc commune, the commune that grows the most sugarcane in the district with 800 hectares, in previous years the commune introduced the QD 93159 sugarcane variety, which has a much higher yield than the old sugarcane varieties.

However, according to many people, this sugarcane variety also has many disadvantages such as early flowering, if the factory purchases slowly, the yield will decrease. In that situation, the commune has propagated LK9211 sugarcane for people to grow. Ms. Nguyen Thi Sam, hamlet 3, Nghia Duc commune, this year planted 3 sao of LK9211 sugarcane variety, said: "Previously, planting the old sugarcane variety was also productive but the plants were weak, easily fell and quickly flowered, the factory purchased slowly, waiting until the factory purchased, sugarcane growers like us suffered double losses. Therefore, this year I bought LK 9221 sugarcane variety to grow, high yield, high sugar content, but late flowering". In 2014, Nghia Duc commune planted 100 hectares of sugarcane, of which 20 hectares were propagated with LK9211 sugarcane variety, this is a sugarcane variety that Nghia Dan district developed for testing and achieved higher economic efficiency than other varieties.

The problem of what to plant to have both productivity and good price is always a concern not only for farmers but also for the agricultural sector of Nghia Dan district. In that situation, the district's Department of Agriculture has also encouraged farmers to plant new crops and coordinate to find outlets for these products. In Nghia Thang commune, in the winter crop of 2012, the district's Department of Agriculture directed the experimental planting of 2 hectares of chili, and in the winter crop of 2013, they continued to plant 5 hectares. When planting this type of crop, farmers are given credit from the company, which means the company lends fertilizer, seeds, and production costs. At the end of the crop, the company purchases the products. According to the assessment, this is a fairly positive model because people are given loans and guaranteed product consumption. Mr. Vu Anh Tuan, Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture of Nghia Dan district, said: “Determining the output for products is an important issue in agricultural production, so in the past, the department has advocated cooperation in production. In the near future, the department will continue to coordinate with the company to sign contracts for people in the three communes of Nghia Thang, Nghia Phu, and Nghia Tho to grow 15 hectares of solid pumpkin for export. With this area, people can also borrow credit and have their products consumed, with prices agreed upon right from the beginning of the season, with pumpkins at 3,000 VND/kg; hot peppers at 6,000 to 10,000 VND/kg”.

In addition, Nghia Dan also encourages people to use new methods of care and fertilization to increase efficiency per unit area and reduce investment costs. The connection between 4 parties: farmers, the State, and enterprises has opened a solution to the problem of agricultural crops in Nghia Dan. This is not a new story, the problem is whether this connection is maintained regularly and closely or not? This does not only depend on farmers and the district's agricultural sector, but also requires more attention and sharing from enterprises.

Article and photos:Dinh Thuy