Difficulties in planting sugarcane in the new season in Anh Son.
(Baonghean) - At this time, in the sugarcane fields of Thanh Son commune (Anh Son district), many newly planted sugarcane fields are being cared for. However, compared to previous years, the newly planted sugarcane in the fields is uneven and of lower quality. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue, from Hamlet 5, Thanh Son, confided: "My family planted 1 sao (approximately 1000 square meters) of sugarcane, but this year the harvested sugarcane was completely infested with pests, so there are no shoots left to keep. It's very difficult to grow new sugarcane; we have to remove a lot of shoots to ensure a good harvest." Many people said that because they couldn't keep the roots, many households had to go to hamlets with better quality sugarcane to buy shoots for planting, which are more expensive than regular sugarcane, costing over 1.3 million VND per ton.
Mr. Bui Huu Chung, an agricultural officer in Thanh Son commune, said: "To date, the company has purchased all the sugarcane from the farmers in the commune. This harvest season, the commune has 112 hectares of sugarcane in production, but the ratooning capacity is only over 37 hectares. To implement new planting, the factory's agricultural department and the commune's agricultural officers are specifically inspecting the area of sugarcane already planted by the farmers, and implementing replanting to ensure the correct density. In addition, they are guiding farmers on the process of fertilizing, caring for, and controlling sugarcane diseases, along with increasing investment in planting more than in previous seasons."
According to the plan, the Song Lam sugar mill began directing farmers to plant sugarcane for the new crop season from the beginning of December of the previous year and finished in the beginning of February of this year. However, by the end of April, the newly planted area was still not fully covered. Mr. Tran Trong Nhi, Head of the Agricultural Department of Song Lam Sugar Mill Joint Stock Company, said: Currently, the factory has planted over 1,500 hectares of standing sugarcane, but only 1,400 hectares have been harvested, yielding 7,800 tons of sugarcane. The yield is low, at 55 tons/ha, and the sugarcane-to-sugar ratio is 1/4 less than in previous seasons, resulting in sugarcane quality only reaching 75% of the plan. The reasons stem from the fact that in the early stages, the sugarcane that was cut and left at the base suffered from cold weather and pests, preventing it from growing. Farmers had to uproot and replant, resulting in many areas like Tho Son having to replant 180 hectares out of the planned 120 hectares, and Binh Son having to replant 105 hectares out of the planned 50 hectares. In addition, many newly planted sugarcane areas did not develop due to being submerged in rainwater, and some raw material areas such as Bai Phu, Tho Son, Binh Son, and Hung Son started planting sugarcane too slowly. These difficulties directly affect the sugarcane planting and care process for the new crop season in the raw material areas.
In that context, according to Mr. Nhi, to ensure the new planting plan, the factory has adopted the principle of encouraging farmers to select suitable varieties for planting. Communes such as Hoa Son, Dinh Son, Tho Son, and Thanh Son are re-examining the entire planted area to replant, avoiding uneven planting density which would make cultivation difficult and affect the quality and yield of the main sugarcane crop later on.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue, from Hamlet 5, Thanh Son, said, "Growing sugarcane this season has been difficult from the beginning because of the lack of seeds. Now, with the added cost of investing in nitrogen fertilizer, many sugarcane fields are growing poorly and require more nitrogen fertilization, so both labor and capital are very expensive." This is also a common difficulty currently faced by sugarcane growers in the raw material area of Song Lam Sugarcane Joint Stock Company.
Luong Mai
