Nghia Dan reduces orange and coffee acreage
(Baonghean.vn) -Coffee and oranges are two main industrial crops that have proven their effectiveness in Nghia Dan for decades. However, in recent years, due to various reasons, the area of orange and coffee cultivation in Nghia Dan district has decreased sharply.
In 2008, when Thai Hoa Town was divided, Nghia Dan district still had 535 hectares of coffee growing area and 1,004 hectares of oranges. But by the end of 2011, according to the statistics of Nghia Dan district, the total area of orange and tangerine growing in the whole district was only 401 hectares, and the total area of coffee growing was 167 hectares.
Mr. Vu Anh Tuan - Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture of Nghia Dan district, said: In the past decades, oranges, coffee, and sugarcane were the main industrial crops in Nghia Dan. Over the past decades, Nghia Dan oranges and coffee have grown strongly, consumed throughout the domestic market and exported abroad, bringing quite high economic efficiency. The orange and coffee areas are mainly grown in the following farms: Tay Hieu 2, Tay Hieu 3, Co Do, Nghe An 1/5 One Member Co., Ltd., 19/5 Vegetable and Fruit Company. In addition, there are some areas grown by people in the communes. However, in recent years, the orange and coffee areas have decreased significantly compared to before. The reason is that the pests and diseases on orange trees have no cure. In addition, weather conditions are increasingly unfavorable for crops, with drought and lack of irrigation water, especially during flowering and fruiting. Oranges and coffee both need irrigation water, so they often encounter drought. Some years, coffee berries dry in clusters on the branches.
To grow oranges effectively requires high investment capital and techniques.
Mr. Tran Quoc Hong (Son Dong hamlet, Nghia Son commune) shared: Nghia Son land has a tradition of growing oranges. In the last decade, orange trees have grown strongly, and many households growing oranges have high incomes. My family started growing 1 hectare of oranges in 1994. The orange trees grew well and brought in high incomes, so in 2003, my family expanded the orange growing area by another 1 hectare. However, the efficiency was not as high as in the beginning, even though the family invested more in care than before. It could be due to the loss of genes. Up to now, my family has handed over 1 hectare to TH Dairy Food Joint Stock Company. Currently, there is only 1 hectare left, but the efficiency is not high because the quality of the seeds does not meet the requirements. If we invest too much, we can easily lose money. Currently, we are intercropping green squash and winter melon to increase income.
Ms. Ho Thi Huyen (Tan Thinh hamlet, Nghia Hieu commune) said: My family has grown more than 2 hectares of oranges since 1994, receiving land from Tay Hieu 2 Farm to lease to workers. The area is on hilly land, far from water sources, facing difficulties in irrigation and care, so the efficiency is not high, on average, after deducting expenses, the annual profit is about 40 - 50 million VND/ha/year. Meanwhile, households growing oranges on alluvial land are highly effective, earning a profit of 150 - 200 million VND/ha/year.
Regarding coffee trees, during the period from 2001 to 2005, thanks to the investment of AFD loans from the Vietnam Coffee Corporation, the coffee growing area increased. However, during this period, the coffee price on the world market dropped sharply along with the prolonged drought, which affected the investment in care and growth. On the other hand, when planting coffee trees in remote communes, there was no long-term industrial crop production technique, so it failed. Currently, the coffee price is more favorable for producers, but most farmers lack the ability to invest in care and irrigation (mostly depending on natural rainwater), and coffee trees need stable irrigation during the flowering period of March - April every year, so planting coffee trees has not achieved the desired results.
Mr. Dau Thuong Hung - Deputy Director of Nghe An 1/5 One Member Co., Ltd., shared: Our unit used to be a farm specializing in growing key crops including rubber, coffee, and oranges. After many years of development, now only rubber trees are the main crop. About 10 years ago, our company's coffee growing area alone was 500 hectares, oranges 150 hectares, this entire area was contracted to workers to plant and care for, and the company guaranteed the products. But until now, the orange area has been completely wiped out, and coffee trees only have about 20 hectares intercropped with rubber. The reason for the sharp decrease in the planting area of the above two crops is due to unstable consumption market; many pests and diseases. Orange trees (once famous for Phu Quy oranges), now the company's orange growing area has reached the end of its 25-30 year exploitation cycle, is infected with diseases, affecting productivity and output. The source of pests and diseases is always latent in coffee and orange trees, causing the garden to decline rapidly, the product quality is low, and the business is ineffective. The application of scientific and technical advances in production and the implementation of intensive farming processes have not been focused on. In addition, the unstable price of agricultural products affects the long-term investment of producers. Therefore, people have switched to growing rubber and some other more effective crops. The Company has handed over the land for ineffective orange and coffee growing areas to TH Dairy Food Joint Stock Company.
Talking to us, the leader of the Department of Agriculture of Nghia Dan district said: the areas handed over to TH Dairy Food Joint Stock Company, mainly land planned for growing oranges and coffee in farms and companies, have not been effective so far. Households whose land is subject to land recovery will be coordinated with vocational training and job support. And households who have received contracts at farms whose land is now recovered, in addition to those who have reached retirement age, most of the rest will be given priority in arranging jobs suitable to their abilities at the facilities of TH Dairy Food Joint Stock Company...
Quynh Lan
