A bountiful harvest, good prices.
During the 2024-2025 Winter-Spring crop season, people in Phuoc Binh commune, Trang Bang town, switched from growing wet rice to cultivating yellow tobacco, covering a total area of 134 hectares. These days, the harvesting atmosphere in the tobacco fields is bustling.
On the 1.5-hectare field of Mr. Nguyen The Thuan, residing in Binh Quoi hamlet, Phuoc Binh commune, workers are busy harvesting leaves and transporting them to the collection point, where they are put into the drying oven.
“I grow rice in the summer-autumn and main crop seasons, and in the winter-spring season I grow yellow tobacco. This area has sandy loam soil, so it's very suitable for growing this crop. The time from planting to harvesting is 55-60 days, and each tobacco crop lasts 4-5 months.”
Last year, the company purchased the leaves at 46,000 VND/kg for grade 1, and this year the price is expected to increase by 1,000 VND/kg. Farmers classify the leaves based on their color: a beautiful, standard yellow color is grade 1; leaves with a slight bluish tint are grade 3; and dark brown or brick-red leaves are grade 4, which are cheaper.
"During harvest, we pick 3-4 leaves at a time, and we pick 5-6 times per season. Picking the leaves at the right ripeness ensures the dried leaves turn a beautiful golden color. Picking them unripe or overripe will result in green or black leaves that are unsaleable. Ripe leaves are greenish-white, with slightly yellow edges, white veins, and slightly drooping leaves, " Mr. Nguyen The Thuan explained.
According to Mr. Thuan, the incidence of yellow tobacco in the winter-spring crop is lower than in other crops; most of the disease affects the roots, with some years experiencing severe disease and others not, depending on the weather.
With an area of 1.5 hectares, he needs 15 people to harvest, which takes about half a day. Laborers from other areas, such as Ben Cau district and Cambodia, come to assist because the local workforce is insufficient. The investment cost for 1 hectare of tobacco plants ranges from 100 million to 130 million VND, yielding an income of around 200 million VND.
"I've been growing tobacco for nearly 20 years now. In my opinion, it's a crop with high economic value and also the main economic crop for local farmers."
The Farmers' Association of the commune organizes training courses and transfers scientific and technical knowledge on tobacco and rice cultivation every year. Farmers lacking capital will receive support from the local government in obtaining loans to start their businesses.
"I suggest that the company should increase the purchase price every year, because the costs of labor, matches, fertilizers, and pesticides are constantly rising," Mr. Thuan said.
The craft of "scavenging" and drying tobacco.
After harvesting, the tobacco plants are "stripped" (in the local dialect) leaf by leaf onto sharpened bamboo sticks for transport to the drying ovens. Each bamboo stick is hung on a rack to facilitate the drying process. For each harvest, in addition to hiring laborers for harvesting, the farm owner needs to hire additional workers to strip the yellow tobacco leaves.
Ms. Dang Thi Ich, residing in Phuoc Tan hamlet, Phuoc Binh commune, shared: "My family are farmers, and when the tobacco harvest season comes, I work as a tobacco picker."
"The work starts at 6 a.m. and continues until all the tobacco leaves are processed. Each bundle costs 1,000 dong. I've been doing this job for 5-6 years now, earning over 300,000 dong a day, which helps stabilize my family's finances."
In Phuoc Binh commune, there are more than 10 tobacco drying kilns. Mr. Tran Van Loc, from Binh Phuoc hamlet, said: "I have been running a drying kiln since 2001. At the beginning of the season, I encourage farmers to plant yellow tobacco, and the kiln owners will provide seedlings for the farmers to plant."
I also provide loans to farmers who lack investment capital and labor; I buy tractors to transport pesticides from the fields free of charge. Regarding the drying process, my drying kiln always ensures a reliable supply of firewood because it's a manual drying method.”
Currently, Mr. Loc's drying facility has signed cooperation agreements with 27 households covering over 20 hectares. The drying facility guarantees the purchase of the products, provides free tractors to transport the finished products from the fields to the drying facility, and ensures labor for each household.
According to Mr. Loc, the biggest difficulty for farmers growing yellow tobacco is the impact of the weather. If the weather is mild, farmers can earn high profits; if there is unseasonal rain, the area is often flooded, causing the plants to rot. On average, after drying 15kg of fresh leaves, 1kg of dried leaves is obtained. The drying time is about 5-6 nights, depending on the leaf size and the weather.
Mr. Bien Viet Trung, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Phuoc Binh commune, said: "Yellow tobacco has been grown in the commune for more than 20 years. One hectare of tobacco yields higher profits than growing rice."
At the beginning of each season, the commune's Farmers' Association, in coordination with the Agricultural Extension Center and the Plant Cultivation and Protection Station, organizes training and guidance for farmers on planting and caring techniques to ensure optimal results for each season.
Farmers were introduced to loans from the Social Policy Bank to develop their economy. This year's weather was relatively mild, creating favorable conditions for growers, resulting in a bumper harvest and good prices for farmers.”
Hoang Yen
Source: https://baotayninh.vn/cay-thuoc-la-vang-บน-dat-phuoc-binh-a187483.html
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