How can agricultural production in Dongnai develop quickly and sustainably? (Part 1)

·       No lack of models giving high income

New corn growing model giving over 10 tons per hectare (left image)

Dong Nai has the total area of annual crops of about 368 thousand hectares. Every year, its agriculture sector invests in hundreds of production models bringing high profit and a number of farmers have applied science and new seed varieties to production so the productivity increases between twofold and fourfold.

Most of the highly productive models bring big income thanks to the farmers who have a large amount of capital and grow only one plant variety instead of various varieties to easily provide care and control pest. Besides, they are keen on learning experience and applying new scientific advances to production to reduce input costs and improve productivity and quality.

·       Difficulty in multiplying the models

According to functional sectors, agricultural production models which bring VND70 million and higher per hectare per year exist in only over one thousand households out of 160 households living on agriculture, which means 1 percent. This number shows that a great number of farming doing households still meet with difficulties across the province. “To apply the models giving high income, farmers are required to have a large amount of capital to be able to invest in them,” Master Huynh Thanh Vinh, Director of Agriculture Encouragement Centre, said.

Moreover, the rice and corn models giving an income of VND70 million per hectare have not been multiplied because irrigation system are not available in a number of places so farmers cannot control the water supply and they can have only one rice harvest, mainly using rain as irrigation water. The areas which have irrigation system fall into another situation in which they lack seed varieties for production or the price of seeds is too high to afford.

Many households located in agricultural communes in districts of Cam My, Xuan Loc, Thong Nhat, Tan Phu and Dinh Quan said they could not invest the models giving high income because of their shortage of capital when they are asked about the reason why they did not apply them to production.

Presently, each household can take loan from banks only between 3 and 5 million VND, or 7 and 15 million VND for the growing of perennial crops. While this sum of money is not enough to invest in the fertilizer used for one hectare of crops per harvest, how can the farmers improve their various plan varieties or invest in growing only one plant variety? Meanwhile, cultivation of fruit-trees or some of perennial industrial crops like pepper and coffee takes from 4 to 5 years to be able to harvest. During the “waiting” time, how can the farmer live and where can they earn money to provide care or invest in their orchards?

Reported by Dongnai Newspaper, Translated by Thanh Van