Nghe An: Lack of forestry roads makes planting and harvesting acacia difficult

Due to the lack of forestry roads, people have to carry heavy loads when exploiting acacia in Tien Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district. Photo: Van Truong.

These days, in the districtYen Thanh, many places are exploiting planted forests, but because there are no forestry roads, exploiting and transporting raw acacia is very difficult. Mr. Tran Van Binh in Tien Thanh commune shared: At this time, acacia is expensive, but the cost of transportation, hiring porters, and "increasing the markup" of goods to the main road is too high, so the profit from planting acacia is very low, not commensurate with the real value that the forest brings. On the contrary, if there are forestry roads, trucks can come to the place to buy, acacia growers will have high profits.

Mr. Phan Van Vu, Chairman of Tien Thanh Commune People's Committee also said: The commune has nearly 1,600 hectares of raw acacia (the largest in Yen Thanh district), currently there are only about 300 hectares of favorable raw material forests, along provincial road 538. The remaining area does not have forestry roads, so the transportation of seedlings and fertilizers for forest planting as well as exploitation by the people is extremely difficult.

During meetings with voters, people have suggested that forestry roads should be built to exploit the economic potential of acacia trees, but the current difficulty is the limited commune budget. Some people have joined together to temporarily open small-scale forestry roads, enough for small vehicles to "boost" to the main road.

Opening a forestry road in Bao Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district to serve the planting and exploitation of acacia. Photo: Van Truong.

Mr. Le Van Hong - Head of the Department of Agriculture of Yen Thanh district added: The whole district has over 12,500 hectares of raw acacia, annually harvesting over 3,000 hectares of acacia. Up to now, the district only has over 50 km of main forestry roads, such as Khua road to Thinh Thanh, Quang Thanh, Kim Thanh communes, road 22 to Dong Thanh commune...

The district is lacking forestry “branch” roads with a total length of over 200 km, connecting from the acacia area to the main roads. Exploitation and transportation costs are high, significantly affecting the income and reinvestment in forest planting of the people. To ensure this, Yen Thanh district is in dire need of the State’s attention in planning and building forestry roads to exploit the forest economy effectively.

Also in the above situation, the districtThanh Chuongis facing many difficulties in forestry roads. In the raw material forests in Hanh Lam commune, people have to carry seedlings and fertilizers up to the hills to plant acacia. Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh in Hanh Lam commune said: Because there is no raw material road, planting and exploiting acacia is very difficult, mainly having to use human power to carry, which is both time-consuming and costly.

The representative of Hanh Lam Commune People's Committee added: The whole commune has over 1,500 hectares of raw acacia, currently there are over 3 km of degraded residential roads, transporting raw acacia from both Hanh Lam and Thanh Son communes. The rest have almost no forestry roads to the acacia raw material areas, mainly still having to use human power to carry the acacia out.

Mr. Tran Phi Hung - Head of the District Agriculture Department said: Thanh Chuong has a large area of ​​raw acacia with over 22,000 hectares, mainly concentrated in 14 communes along the Ho Chi Minh trail. The most difficult problem now is that most of the communes do not have forestry roads, mainly people open their own roads to exploit acacia. Transporting acacia is extremely difficult, leading to a situation where traders squeeze prices.

At this time, only Song Hieu Agriculture and Forestry Company has built many effective forestry roads. The representative of the above Company shared: There are over 5,000 hectares of raw material forests, every year the Company invests in maintenance and construction of over 100 km.forestry roadto facilitate the process of planting, caring for and exploiting raw material forests.

Thanks to the forestry roads going deep into the forests, the unit has planned over 2,000 hectares of large timber forests, trucks can go directly to the site to transport and purchase, achieving high economic value, averaging over 200 million VND/ha of acacia. The difficulty with forestry roads is that they are temporary, so after the rainy season they are often damaged, so they have to be maintained and repaired every year.

According to the report of the Forest Protection Department, Nghe An currently has only over 200 km of forestry roads, most of which are degraded and damaged. Nghe An is planning a forestry development plan integrated into the provincial planning, including the planning of opening key forestry roads of about 450 km to meet development needs. The road standard is 4.5-5 meters wide, with gravel on sections serving people's lives. The "fishbone" routes connecting the exploited forest to the main road can mobilize social investment.

Mr. Nguyen Khac Hai - Head of Forest Use and Development Department (Forestry Sub-Department) added: Using forestry roads is convenient for transporting fertilizers, plant varieties, timber and non-timber forest products during the production process; using forestry roads as firebreaks and patrol roads to protect forests.

Trucks have to wait on the main road to transport glue in Quy Chau district. Photo: Van Truong.

In fact, in some districts, people pool their own capital to open forestry roads into the exploitation area. The roads are mainly designed and constructed simply, leveled (with compensation for excavation - filling), and reinforced with natural terrain (or existing trails). Before people have the need to build their own roads, the Forest Protection Department receives the documents, coordinates with the district's specialized departments to appraise, inspect, guide the preparation of design documents, supervise the construction of forestry roads, and check the land use right certificates and land use planning of forest owners.

The opening of forestry roads is important for the development of the forest economy, reducing production investment costs, increasing the economic value of planted forests, encouraging the development of the forest planting movement, contributing to improving and enhancing the lives of the people. In the long term, Nghe An needs to combine capital sources with the strength of the people to build forestry roads, creating favorable conditions for forest growers to develop in a sustainable direction.