Restructuring the agricultural sector for sustainable development - Part 2: Exciting crop cultivation sector

(Baonghean) - After 2 years of restructuring the crop sector, Nghe An has taken quite effective steps, creating large specialized production areas with crops that bring high economic value. These are quite solid premises to continue the upcoming journey, completing the goals set by the agricultural sector when embarking on the restructuring policy of the sector.

Focus on crop intensification

Starting to grow sugarcane in 1998, after nearly 20 years, Mr. Ho Sy Son, Phu Hoa hamlet, Nghia Phu commune (Nghia Dan) is still loyal to this crop that many people believe can only reduce poverty but is difficult to get rich. On the entire fertile land of 2 hectares, his family used to grow Robusta coffee, but when the coffee trees were exploited for too long and gradually degraded, he switched to sugarcane rotation and has been "loyal" until now. While in many other areas, the average sugarcane yield is only 65 - 70 tons/ha, in his sugarcane garden, the lowest yield is also over 80 tons/ha, in years of favorable weather and good intensive investment, it can reach up to 120 tons/ha. “In 2012 - 2013, the factory bought sugarcane at 900,000 VND - 1 million VND/ton, making sugarcane very enjoyable. Now, the price has dropped to less than 800,000 VND/ton, but after deducting expenses, each hectare still makes a profit of about 40 million VND,” Mr. Son happily said. And since last year, he has invested nearly 50 million VND to convert 1.1 hectares of sugarcane to grow PQ1 oranges to both rotate crops and increase income value on the land...

Nursery care at Nghe An Rubber Development Investment Joint Stock Company.

The entire Nghia Binh commune has nearly 1,000 hectares of agricultural land, including 450 hectares of sugarcane, with an average yield of 70 tons/ha, evenly distributed between early and late ripening varieties to meet the factory's production needs. Mr. Ho Huu Hoai, Vice Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, said: In addition to stabilizing 450 hectares of sugarcane to provide raw materials for the NASU Sugar Factory, the commune strives to have 6 large-scale fields for growing sugarcane. In recent years, Nghia Binh has gradually converted an area of ​​about 40 hectares of short-term crops such as corn and low-efficiency melons on hilly land to grow citrus trees with high economic efficiency such as oranges and tangerines; by 2020, it is expected to have 120 hectares of oranges.

For example, the situation in Nghia Binh shows that, in production, if we focus on intensive farming, even sugarcane, a crop that is difficult to get rich, can still be highly effective and competitive with other crops. Especially when sugarcane is invested in drip irrigation like in Tan Ky and Quy Hop. After 2 years of implementing restructuring the crop sector, in addition to building production plans and projects such as the agricultural production development plan, citrus development plan, and crop structure conversion plan on rice land... Nghe An also focuses on implementing very well the conversion of crop structure, seasons, developing large-scale production, focusing on linking with the consumption market of advantageous crop products of the province. In particular, selecting advantageous crops to organize and direct production and conversion.

For rice, the industry arranges the season and variety structure to ensure safety; gradually shifts to high-quality rice production, currently over 15 thousand hectares per year, with production efficiency increasing by 10-15%. Gradually shift high-yield rice areas that do not ensure efficiency to sugarcane, corn, vegetables, animal feed crops and other crops; use high-yield corn varieties in production, grow corn for dairy cows or shift some areas to grow animal feed; organize diverse production of vegetable and food products, build high-tech vegetable models; plant new and expand rubber and tea areas with high-quality varieties...

In addition, up to now, 21/21 districts, cities and towns have basically completed land consolidation, plot exchange and land conversion to develop large-scale production. This is also a favorable condition for Nghe An to organize and build models of agricultural production linkages from input material supply, production organization and product consumption with enterprises as the center. In 2 years of implementing the restructuring project, the industry has built 28 large-scale field models in rice, corn, peanut and shrimp farming, with efficiency increasing by 10-15% compared to mass production. Along with good implementation of plant protection and irrigation for production, Nghe An has issued and implemented a project to develop the agricultural, forestry and fishery processing industry. Accordingly, review and support enterprises to innovate technology, improve processing capacity; encourage and attract enterprises to invest in factories associated with developing raw material areas. Currently, the province has formed raw material areas associated with processing factories such as sugar, tea, rubber, pineapple and passion fruit processing factories... At the same time, promoting the application of mechanization in production, thereby reducing costs, reducing losses, and improving efficiency. Up to now, mechanization in land preparation for corn and rice production has reached 75%, other annual crops have reached 50%, rice harvesting has reached 20%...

Checking the model of Sugarcane Field in Nghia Phu Commune (Nghia Dan).

Nghe An has also focused on developing high-quality, economically efficient crops such as tea, rubber, high-quality vegetables and tubers, reducing the area of ​​some ineffective crops. Up to now, many concentrated raw material areas have been formed for the processing and export industry such as: tea raw material area of ​​about 8,000 hectares in Thanh Chuong, Anh Son, Con Cuong districts, high-quality snow shan tea in Ky Son; rubber area in Nghia Dan, Tan Ky, Thai Hoa town, Quy Hop, Anh Son,... with an area of ​​over 9,900 hectares; sugarcane raw material area of ​​26,000 hectares in Quy Hop, Nghia Dan, Tan Ky, Anh Son districts, Thai Hoa town..., peanut export area in Dien Chau, Nghi Loc, Nam Dan districts... At the same time, a number of high-tech agricultural areas have been formed such as vegetable and flower growing areas in Nghia Dan; Dairy farming of TH Milk Food Joint Stock Company,... Many effective production models have been successful, widely replicated, contributing to shifting production structure, increasing income for people, especially people in highland areas.

Applying high technology to production

Research, application and transfer of science and technology, especially high technology, have helped to improve productivity, quality, reduce costs and improve production efficiency. The industry has focused on selecting, rapidly multiplying and intensively cultivating high-yield, good-quality varieties such as rice, corn, peanuts L14, L23, oranges V2, tangerines PQ... Thanks to that, high-yield models have emerged such as tea 16 - 18 tons/ha, sugarcane 120 - 150 tons/ha... At the same time, high-tech agricultural production processes such as irrigation techniques, use of biological products, etc. have also been quickly applied to production; many effective economic models have been replicated such as the SRI improved rice intensive farming model, corn intensive farming on sloping land, safe vegetable growing in the direction of VietGAP, etc.

Coming to Maximax supermarket in Vinh city, customers can easily see that there are clean vegetable products supplied from Nghia Dan by TH Group. The variety of traditional and new vegetables, rich in flavor, grown in greenhouses and in gardens using clean technology, has attracted consumers. According to Mr. Le Hong Son, Chairman of Nghia Dan District People's Committee, TH Group's "entry" to Nghia Dan, investing in high-tech agricultural production has opened up a new and extremely effective direction. The land areas handed over to TH are organized for concentrated and methodical production, bringing very high economic efficiency, from a maximum income of 70 million VND/ha/year as before, thanks to the application of high-tech agricultural techniques in production, it has increased to 500 - 700 million VND/ha; even the fields growing American sorghum bring in an income of up to 1.5 billion VND/ha/year. On the fertile fields are vast green stretches, as far as the eye can see, the "irrigation arms" by machines from 350 - 500m long running along the fields, the modern combined machines take care of tilling, fertilizing, weeding, sowing, cutting, chopping and then transferring directly to the transport vehicle, creating a new and vibrant look for agricultural production in Nghia Dan.

It is clear that high-tech agricultural projects in Phu Quy high-tech agricultural zone are proving effective day by day. On that momentum, we are currently continuing to implement industrial-scale dairy farming projects of TH Milk Food Joint Stock Company, Vinamilk; expanding high-tech vegetable, root and fruit production projects in Nghia Dan. Completing the planning for high-tech application in rice, peanut, tea and sugarcane production and currently developing a project to establish Nghia Dan high-tech agricultural zone. Nghe An also focuses on directing the good implementation of agricultural, forestry and fishery processing planning. Organizing inspections of agricultural production and processing facilities on production conditions to meet regulations on quality and food hygiene and safety...

(To be continued)

Article and photos:Phu Huong