Thanh Chuong develops cassava raw material area.

(Baonghean.vn) - People in Thanh Chuong district and some other mountainous districts are gradually escaping poverty and becoming wealthy thanks to cassava cultivation.

For many years, Mr. Tran Huy Ba and the people of Ngoc Thuong village, Thanh Ngoc commune, Thanh Chuong district, have never had the concept of agricultural idleness. Besides growing rice, vegetables, and raising livestock, they have also cultivated a large area of ​​cassava for raw materials. Some households cultivate a few acres, while others, like Mr. Ba, cultivate over 10 hectares.

According to Mr. Ba and other cassava farmers, in the past, after harvesting the summer-autumn rice crop, they could only sit around doing nothing. Since they started growing cassava as a raw material for the factory, their work has become much busier, but in return, they have a more stable income, averaging 26 million VND in profit per hectare. Mr. Ba shared: "Cassava is a short-term industrial crop that is easy to grow, drought-resistant, and requires little care, so we can utilize all available land. We call it the crop that eradicates poverty."

Mr. Tran Huy Ba and the people of Ngoc Thuong village, Thanh Ngoc commune, Thanh Chuong district are harvesting cassava to sell to the factory.

Mr. Tran Huy Ba and the households in Ngoc Thuong village are just a small part of tens of thousands of households in Thanh Chuong district and other western districts of Nghe An province that have been growing cassava to supply raw materials to the Intimex Nghe An cassava starch factory.

The Intimex Nghe An cassava starch factory is operating stably with an annual consumption capacity of 120,000 - 180,000 tons of cassava tubers. In the 2015-2016 production season, they purchased 173,163 tons of fresh tubers, processed 40,681 tons of products, and achieved a total revenue of 362 billion VND. Of this, Thanh Chuong district accounted for approximately 45,000 tons, Tan Ky district 30,000 tons; Anh Son and Nghia Dan districts each accounted for about 15,000 tons; and Con Cuong and Nghia Dan districts each accounted for about 10,000 tons.

The people of Thanh Son - Thanh Chuong resettlement area have considered cassava as their main crop. This year, Thanh Son commune planted nearly 300 hectares.

The purchase price is determined by starch content to encourage farmers to cultivate using proper techniques. The purchase price is the same across all regions; for more distant areas, the factory charges higher transportation costs. This coordination helps the factory maintain a stable supply of raw materials. Currently, although the export price of cassava starch is not high, resulting in low input costs, the factory still strives to ensure cassava growers make a profit. As a result, cassava cultivation areas have increased rapidly in many places, such as Thanh Ngoc, which increased from 169 hectares to 209 hectares, and Thanh Son, which increased from 207 hectares to 299 hectares.

Cassava is purchased directly from the factory.

Cassava cultivation primarily takes place on hilly and barren land, previously used for scattered, low-yield crop cultivation. Now, thanks to the introduction of concentrated cassava cultivation and the application of scientific and technological advancements such as new varieties, new intensive farming techniques, and partial support from factories in terms of supplies and fertilizers, along with product buyback agreements, farmers have invested in intensive farming, continuously increasing acreage and investing in machinery and equipment for production.

Tran Dinh Ha

(Thanh Chuong Radio Station)