Nghe An farmers earn tens of millions of VND/ha from sesame plants

This year, sesame in Dien Chau achieved an average yield of 800 - 900 kg/ha. Photo: Xuan Hoang

These days, farmers in some communes ofDien Chau districtgo to the fields to harvest sesame

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Quy in hamlet 11, Dien Thanh commune said that his family planted 2 sao of sesame this season. Because this summer the rainy weather affected the growth of sesame plants,productivityhas decreased compared to last year. From these 2 sao of sesame, his family will harvest 85 kg of finished sesame, last year they harvested nearly 100 kg.

Sesame is harvested whole and then transported home to dry, so it is quite heavy. Photo: Xuan Hoang

"Growing sesame requires little investment, 1 sao only uses 0.5 kg of seeds, 2 kg of nitrogen fertilizer, along with pesticides... totaling less than 100,000 VND. The care is also little, with 1 sao of sesame, for the whole season, the couple only needs to work 3 days to finish (1 day to prepare the land, sow seeds, 1 day to weed and 1 day to harvest). It gives a relatively high income compared to other crops on the same land", Mr. Nguyen Thanh Quy shared.

In the fields of Dien Trung and Dien Thinh communes... people have basically...harvestAfter finishing sesame, some households are now preparing the land to switch to growing summer-autumn peanuts. People said that the recent sesame crop, despite the impact of rain and wind, still yielded over 40 kg/sao. There are 2 types of sesame that people are growing, which areblack sesameand yellow sesame. Although the selling price is different, the economic efficiency/unit is equivalent. Because black sesame is sold at 40,000 VND/kg, but the yield is only 7 quintals/ha; meanwhile, yellow sesame is priced at 30,000 VND/kg, but the yield is over 8 quintals/ha.

Sesame is harvested, dried to separate the pods, then shaken to get the seeds. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Mr. Le The Hieu - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dien Chau district said: This year, the whole district sowed 1,900 hectares of sesame, concentrated in the communes of Dien Thanh, Dien Thinh, Dien Trung. Sesame is a drought-resistant plant, so people take advantage of planting it during the hottest summer season of the year.

In general, this year sesame yield decreased compared to last year due to the impact of rain and wind, but the average yield still reached over 800 kg/ha. It is an easy-to-grow plant, requires little care, requires insignificant investment, and has a short growing period of about 70 days, so people often call it a "playful, real-food" plant.

Farmers in Dien Thanh commune harvest sesame. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Sesame products are easily consumed on the market.marketHowever, people rarely sell sesame during the harvest season because sesame is a dry product that can be preserved for a long time, so most people save it to sell when the price is good. Like previous years, at the right time, sesame is often sold at 50,000 VND/kg, while at harvest time it is only 30,000 - 40,000 VND/kg.

After the harvest, some localities switch to growing summer-autumn peanuts, while others let the land rest, waiting for the day to plant winter crops./.