Mekong Delta sugarcane farmers switch en masse to other crops

HCM
City (VNS/VNA) - The area under sugarcane in the Mekong Delta has
shrunk dramatically during the 2019-20 crop after many farmers switched to
other crops following losses in recent years.
In Long An province, it has fallen to 3,800ha from 12,000ha in peak
years.
Ben Luc district, which has the largest area under the crop in Long An, is
planting 3,000ha.
Nguyen Hue, who has planted sugarcane for many years in its Luong Hoa commune,
said he has reduced his sugarcane growing area to 6ha after making losses in
recent years.
He is growing the sugarcane this time from old roots since he does not want to
spend more on new seedlings, he said.
“I did not want to give up sugarcane because it has made my family well-off.
But I cannot sell sugarcane.”
He is growing coconut trees on the rest of the area where he was previously
growing sugarcane, he added.
Farmers earned 5-7 million VND (215-300 USD) from a hectare of sugarcane during
the last crop after spending 10 million VND (430 USD) on fertiliser alone.
In Tra Cu District, the largest sugarcane farming area in Tra Vinh province,
the crop is grown only on 2,540ha, down by 50 percent from previous years,
according to the local Agriculture and Rural Development Bureau.
Huynh Van Thao, head of the bureau, said farmers suffered heavy losses after
sugarcane prices fell for two consecutive years.
Kien Phume, a farmer in Tra Cu district’s Ngai Xuyen commune who has switched
to other crops this time, said after the last crop the Tra Vinh Sugarcane One
Member Limited Company bought sugarcane with a commercial cane sugar (CCS)
sweetness level of 10 at a price of 850 VND per kilogramme, down nearly 100 VND
from the previous season.
Farmers suffer losses at this price, she said.
She has stopped growing sugarcane on her 6,000sq.m field this year and instead
grows vegetables on 2,000sq.m and rice on 4,000sq.m, she said.
She
earns around 250,000 VND (11 USD) a day from selling mustard leaves, green
onions and herbs.
But many other sugarcane farmers in the district lack the money and farming
knowledge to switch to other crops.
The bureau has instructed some farmers in growing other crops and they have
begun to grow other crops on 530ha.
Support policies
The Tra
Vinh Sugarcane One Member Limited Company has announced a further 100 VND cut
per kilogramme in sugarcane buying prices in the 2019-20 crop to 700 VND.
However, it is helping farmers in other ways like advancing money at low
interest rates to buy sugarcane seedlings and fertiliser, offering them
training in farming techniques, and reducing middlemen.
Cao Van Tong, director of the Luu Nghiep Agricultural Co-operative in Tra Cu
District, said despite the lower sugarcane prices, farmers are benefiting from
the company’s policies.
Co-operatives, co-operative teams and households that have at least one hectare
of sugarcane and sign a contract with the company are offered assistance and
guaranteed outlets.
Tran Ngoc Hieu, general director of Tra Vinh Sugarcane, said the company also
gives 2 million VND (860 USD) per hectare to farmers who switch from other
crops to sugarcane and pledge to grow at least two crops.
The company then instructs them in farming techniques, growing processes and
treating pests and diseases, he added.
In Hau
Giang province, which has the largest area under sugarcane in the delta, the Can
Tho Sugar Joint Stock Company (Casuco) buys much of the local output.
Pham Quang Vinh, deputy general director of Casuco, said the company would
directly buy sugarcane from farmers in the 2019-20 season and not through
traders like in the past.
Casuco buys sugarcane grown on around 6,000ha, he said.
It recently decided to suspend operations at one of its two sugar mills in the
province until the next sugarcane crop.
It is implementing policies to assist farmers, hoping to increase the
contracted area under sugarcane in the province to 10,000-15,000ha.
But Hau Giang province only has 8,300ha under the crop this year, according to
its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The delta has 10 sugar mills but four of them have suspended operations due to
several reasons, including losses and a decline in sugarcane farming areas.- VNS/VNA