Spring comes to Song Con Sugar Factory

Sugarcane growers joy

At the end of the year, returning to Tan Ky town, standing on the Roi bridge, along the Con river bank, I could clearly feel the fragrant aroma of molasses wafting up from the sugar factory. Hundreds of trucks carrying sugar cane lined up to enter the factory.

In the fields, people are busy harvesting sugarcane. Everywhere you can see the excited smiles of farmers, because after a year of waiting, they are now reaping the “sweet” results. The sugarcane truck drivers are no less happy, because for nearly 5 consecutive months, each driver has earned an average of more than 20 million VND/month thanks to transporting sugarcane for farmers.

Provincial People's Committee leaders visited a high-yield sugarcane growing model in Tan Xuan commune (Tan Ky). Photo: Xuan Hoang

Farmer Le Quyet Thang in hamlet 5B, Nghia Dong commune (Tan Ky) excitedly said: "From 2006 until now, my family has been growing sugarcane for the factory. With guidance from the factory's agricultural staff, we have followed the correct technical process, so the sugarcane yields 80 tons/ha or more, with an area reaching 120 tons/ha.

In 2017, my family harvested more than 90 tons of sugarcane, with the price of sugarcane at 880 thousand VND/ton, after deducting production costs, we still made a profit of over 50 million VND. Currently, my family is focusing on planting 1.5 hectares of new sugarcane for the 2018 spring crop. All investment capital was paid in advance by the factory."

Nghia Dong is one of the pioneering localities to bring sugarcane to the field for intensive cultivation. People focus on mechanical land preparation and adequate fertilization, so the 270 hectares of sugarcane have an average yield of 80 tons/ha, of which the sugarcane growing model focuses on intensive cultivation applying mechanization on an area of ​​50 hectares, with outstanding yields reaching from 100 to 120 tons/ha.

Mr. Vo Duy Hien - Chairman of Nghia Dong Commune People's Committee affirmed: "Since bringing sugarcane to the fields, farmers' income is many times higher than that of rice. Each year, sugarcane brings in revenue for the locality from 14 to 15 billion VND, accounting for 20% of total agricultural production income. Currently, people are preparing seeds and fertilizers, mobilizing machinery to focus on planting 30 hectares of new sugarcane in the spring of 2018 with new seeds and technology."

The joy of sugarcane growers in Nghia Dong commune is also the common joy of thousands of sugarcane growing households in Tan Ky district. In Tan Phu commune, the cultivation of raw sugarcane is focused on by the people. Currently, in the commune, there are 220 hectares of sugarcane converted by people to grow on corn, rice, rubber... land with an average yield of 80 tons/ha, especially many areas of large, firm sugarcane plants, with a sugar content of 10 CCS.

Ms. Ngo Thi Yen, in Tan Ly hamlet (Tan Phu commune) happily said: "In the 2016 - 2017 crop year, my family did not have to plow the land, plant sugarcane rows, or fertilize like before. These steps were taken care of by machines from Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company. My family has 1 hectare of sugarcane with a yield of 90 tons/ha. Compared to manual sugarcane cultivation, sugarcane grown with this new technology reduces costs by 40 - 50%, yields 35% higher, and profits reach 45 million VND/ha."

In 2018, Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company has new policies, creating favorable conditions for sugarcane growers with guaranteed high profits. In addition to very attractive sugarcane investment policies, the company also invested in 4 large-capacity plows (in Giai Xuan, Tan Hop, Nghia Phuc communes) to plow the land for farmers. In addition, 55 plow owners registered to provide sugarcane care services for the factory. After harvest, the factory also has 20 machine sets (attached behind the plows) to take care of the sugarcane roots.

These racks will automatically fertilize and lime the sugarcane roots and the company will pay that cost for sugarcane growers. For new planting areas, the factory will plow the soil 3 times for farmers free of charge. With these incentive policies, this spring crop, Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company has planted 500 hectares of sugarcane.

Sugarcane at the factory. Photo: Quang An

Increase accumulation of large-scale production land

Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company currently has nearly 7,000 hectares of raw sugarcane, of which more than 3,000 hectares are high-quality sugarcane, with a yield of nearly 80 tons/ha. Identifying intensive farming and increasing sugarcane productivity as the leading competitive solution in the difficult context, in the past two years, the Company has focused on investing in mechanization to plant and care for sugarcane. In addition, the unit is implementing a solution to rent land from farmers to accumulate large areas to invest in machinery and science and technology in production to increase productivity.

Accordingly, the Company leases the entire land area in the eligible area to apply scientific and technological advances in sugarcane production investment. The land rent will be paid directly to the land user. Another form is to contribute land for production with farmers. Households contribute many small plots of land on the same field to form a large plot of land to produce sugarcane together, this is a highly effective linkage model in production.

Mr. Nguyen Sy Hai - Head of Agricultural Affairs Department of Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company said: Implementing this policy, in the spring crop of 2018, the company rented 100 hectares of land that was difficult to produce or produced ineffectively, and then transferred it to 3 producers to invest in intensive sugarcane cultivation according to the correct process. The company welcomes the forms of joint ventures and associations of farmers with the factory for more effective production, with mutual benefits. The condition to ensure that during the process of land contribution for production association is that farmers still keep their land area intact. Before entering the sugarcane production season, farmers receive a fixed profit in advance, equivalent to the land rental price at the time...

A new spring has come to the Tan Ky sugarcane region. There, after the harvest season, the young sugarcane crops have sprouted. There are still many difficulties ahead, but farmers and Song Con Sugar Factory look forward to the new crop with the support and sharing from both sides.