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Dry area farmers told to switch crops
The south-central and Tay Nguyen (Central highlands) regions should revamp their cropping structures since drought has severely affected their rice cultivation in recent years, experts said.
The regions together account for 613,100ha of rice, or 7.9 per cent of the country's total, according to the Plant Cultivation Department.
Five provinces in the Central Highlands and five out of seven in the south-central region besides Da Nang City have stopped growing rice on more than 11,000ha because of water shortage, it said.
Corn, peanuts, vegetables, and other cash crops are now grown on 6,200ha out of this, with the switch helping farmers in drought-prone areas earn reasonable incomes, according to local officials.
In Phu Cat District in the south-central province of Binh Dinh, for instance, farmers who used to plant one rice crop a year are now growing one peanut crop and two onion crops on 340ha.
Peanut yields two times more profits then rice.
In Chu Prong District in the Tay Nguyen province of Gia Lai, many farmers with rain-fed rice paddies have switched to green bean.
Speaking at a seminar held in Binh Dinh by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) last Thursday, many participants said hybrid corn is the most suitable crop for the regions since it is drought resistant, followed by peanut and soybean.
Compared to rice, corn could yield VND6-10 million more profit per hectare per crop, they said.
But the switch from rice to cash crops has certain limitations, they warned.
Nguyen Van Hoa, deputy head of the department, said these include farmers' tardiness in using advanced farming techniques and the small areas on which crops with high demand like corn, soybean, and peanut are grown.
Participants also raised concern about stable outlets for the crops.
Luong Van Vang, deputy head of the Corn Research Institute, said 150,000-170,000ha of rice paddies could be converted into corn-growing areas, but even this would not be enough to meet the demand for corn for producing animal feed in the next 5-10 years, he said.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Dang Doanh ordered the department to work with local agriculture departments to review rice farming in the areas and help farmers switch to other crops if they face difficulties to improve their income.
The switch must achieve the goals of reducing the use of irrigation water and increasing farmers' income, he stressed.
Close co-operation among farmers, companies, scientists, and the Government should be established to secure outlets for farmers' produce, he said.
Research institutes and universities should provide high-quality crop strains to meet farmers' needs in the regions, he added.
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