The effectiveness of maize cultivation in Anh Son district.

(Baonghean)From being a traditional crop grown in home gardens, corn has now proven its vigor on slopes, hillsides, orchards, rice paddies, and even in dry, high valleys... Corn has truly become a key cash crop, providing a fairly stable source of income for farmers.

We visited Phuc Son (Anh Son district), the first commune in Anh Son district to successfully experiment with the LVN 61 corn variety. This year's harvest covers over 160 hectares. This is also the time when farmers are focusing on tending their corn crops. Mr. Nguyen Van Can, from Hamlet 12, said: His family currently has 3 sao (approximately 0.3 hectares) of corn planted in Lang Co and Dong Dau areas. For nearly 10 years now, new hybrid corn varieties have been introduced, shifting the corn production structure from 2 crops to 3 crops per year. In particular, the LVN 61 corn variety has proven its superiority in the alluvial plains. Yields reach 3-3.5 quintals per sao, a threefold increase compared to previous local varieties such as rock corn and glutinous corn.

In Tuong Son, corn is grown four times a year: winter-spring corn, spring-summer corn, summer-autumn corn, and a third crop on land previously used for two rice crops. To develop corn cultivation, each year, each hamlet is allocated quotas down to the household level. Farmers receive technical training, visit demonstration models, and select suitable corn varieties. The commune encourages farmers to convert less efficient rice and other crops in dry, highland areas to corn cultivation. As a result, the corn planting targets in Tuong Son are consistently higher each year. In just three years, the average corn area in the commune increased from 150 hectares per crop to 320 hectares per crop (across the two main crops), bringing the total corn area in the commune to 650-850 hectares per year.

Residents of Hamlet 12, Phuc Son, are tending their summer-autumn corn crop on the riverside land.

In early 2013, recognizing the effectiveness of corn cultivation, Mr. Nguyen Dang Hung's family in Hamlet 5, Tuong Son Commune, converted an additional 3 sao (approximately 0.3 hectares) of rice paddy land to corn cultivation. Currently, he has 8 sao (approximately 0.8 hectares) planted with corn. Speaking about the effectiveness of corn cultivation, Mr. Hung said: "The yield of corn in the spring-winter and winter seasons reaches 3.2-3.6 quintals per sao. With market prices fluctuating between 600,000 and 650,000 VND per quintal, I earn around 20 million VND per crop. After deducting expenses, my 8 sao of corn yield a net profit of nearly 15 million VND per crop. Compared to rice, corn cultivation is 1.7 times more profitable and 3-4 times more profitable than other crops grown on the riverside."

Discussing the plan for developing corn cultivation in the area, Mr. Nguyen Van Linh - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Tuong Son commune, happily stated: "In the coming time, based on the improved and consolidated fields, the commune is determined to direct the planting of a third corn crop on double-cropped rice land in 10 out of 11 hamlets. From there, we will expand the area of ​​winter corn on paddy fields to 460 hectares."

Anh Son district currently has over 60,000 hectares of natural land, with nearly 6,000 hectares dedicated to agricultural production. The district has allocated nearly 7,000 hectares per year for specialized corn cultivation (3,500 hectares per crop). This includes 2,500 hectares of corn on riverside land, 500 hectares on sloping land, and 300 hectares of winter corn. In 2012, corn production reached 30-35,000 tons per year, with a yield of 3.5-3.7 quintals per sao (approximately 1000 square meters), exceeding the plan by 10-15%. Mr. Nguyen Cong The, Head of the Agriculture Department of Anh Son district, said: To improve crop efficiency per unit area, the District People's Committee has directed the implementation of land conversion and consolidation. Previously, each household received 2-3 riverside areas; now they only receive 1 concentrated area/plot, facilitating the introduction of mechanization into production and promoting intensive farming by each household.

The district facilitates investment and introduction of new crop varieties by companies and businesses. Based on trial models, localities select suitable varieties for inclusion in their crop structure. The district encourages farmers to convert less efficient crop areas to corn cultivation. Communes such as Hoi Son, Hoa Son, Tuong Son, Cam Son, Duc Son, Tam Son, and Dinh Son take advantage of available land in hillside fields, orchards, valleys, and double-cropped rice fields to grow corn and increase income. To date, many localities have developed three-crop corn cultivation on alluvial land and double-cropped rice fields, creating specialized corn farming areas, such as Hung Son (300 ha), Dinh Son (400 ha), Tam Son (400 ha), and Duc Son (420 ha). The remaining communes each maintain 200-250 hectares of corn per year.

Corn has become a crop that helps alleviate poverty, enabling many farming households in Anh Son to rise out of poverty and become wealthy.

Text and photos: Luong Mai