Switching to dryland crops during the summer-autumn season

QTO - At the end of the winter-spring crop season, the annual shortage of irrigation water leads to many areas of inefficient production being abandoned, causing a waste of land resources. Faced with this situation, the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center has proactively implemented solutions to restructure dryland crops. The biomass corn cultivation model, recently planted, has received strong support from the people, opening up a new direction for local agricultural production.

Farmers of Van Phuc Cooperative (Truong Ninh commune) are urgently planting biomass corn on rice fields lacking water - Photo: Phan Khiem

Addressing the issue of abandoned land.

This summer-autumn season, instead of leaving land fallow due to a lack of irrigation water or inefficient rice production, the Van Phuc Agricultural Production, Business and Service Cooperative (Van Phuc Cooperative) in Truong Ninh commune has converted rice-growing land to biomass corn cultivation.

Ms. Phan Thi Tuyet from Tay village shared: “When the authorities promoted the policy of converting rice fields lacking water to dryland crops, realizing the benefits of this model, my family proactively borrowed additional land from households that were not cultivating it to grow biomass corn. This model will help farmers avoid leaving land fallow and provide them with an additional source of income.”

According to statistics from Van Phuc Cooperative, in previous years, the cooperative had to leave an average of 37 hectares of cultivated land fallow during the summer-autumn season due to water shortages. This year, thanks to support policies, the cooperative has boldly introduced a cropping system using biomass corn on nearly 2 hectares.

According to Nguyen Dinh Thanh, Director of Van Phuc Cooperative: “Before implementing the model, the Cooperative Management Board held meetings to promote and encourage people to convert inefficient rice fields to biomass corn cultivation. Seeing the prospect of improving economic efficiency, the people actively participated.”

Mr. Pham Van Quyet, Director of Phu Hoa Agricultural Production, Business and Service Cooperative in Truong Phu commune, said that previously, during the summer-autumn season, the cooperative had to leave about 25 hectares of rice land fallow due to low yields and high drought prevention costs. To date, the cooperative has converted and put 18 hectares into biomass corn production.

Farmers use handheld seed planters to speed up the planting of biomass corn - Photo: Phan Khiem

To realize the policy of replacing rice with dryland crops in areas frequently experiencing water shortages, this summer-autumn season, the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center is implementing a crop conversion model in four communes: Truong Ninh, Truong Phu, Hoan Lao, and Phong Nha, with a total area of ​​60 hectares.

Participating farmers receive 50% support for the cost of purchasing seeds and fertilizers, and are directly trained by technical staff on the biomass corn production process. The total cost to implement this conversion model is nearly 1.5 billion VND, of which the State budget supports 700 million VND, and farmers contribute over 790 million VND. The goal is to establish sustainable farming areas following the "one rice crop, one corn crop" formula in areas frequently affected by drought.

According to calculations, if farmers adhere to technical procedures and practice intensive farming, each hectare of biomass corn is expected to yield 50-60 tons. With current market prices, after deducting investment costs, farmers can earn a profit of 25-30 million VND per hectare.

Implementing a model of growing biomass corn linked to product buyback agreements in communes - Photo: Phan Khiem

Guaranteed product purchase to stabilize production.

One of the key factors determining the success of this crop restructuring model is addressing the issue of product output. Unlike spontaneous models, 100% of the biomass corn yield from these 60 hectares has been covered by guaranteed purchase contracts.

Mr. Phan Ngoc Dong, Deputy Director of the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center, said: "To ensure the rights of farmers, the center has worked with Duong Gia Quang Binh Livestock Joint Stock Company to sign contracts with communes to purchase 100% of the biomass corn production, helping people overcome concerns about market outlets and feel secure in their production."

Officials from the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center survey a biomass corn cultivation model in Truong Ninh commune - Photo: Phan Khiem

Sharing his thoughts on this matter, Mr. Cao Minh Tan, Deputy Director of Duong Gia Quang Binh Livestock Joint Stock Company, emphasized: “Businesses need a large and stable supply of green feed for their farm system. We have worked with communes and cooperatives participating in the model to sign contracts to purchase 100% of the output. When the corn plants reach 70 days old or older, ensuring the nutritional and biomass indicators, we will purchase them directly from the fields at a stable price of 1,400-1,600 VND/kg.”

The formation of a linkage chain between state management agencies, farmers, and businesses right from the beginning of the season has solved two major problems in agricultural production: investment costs and product output. Areas of rice-growing land that lacked reliable water sources and were previously left fallow have now been converted to biomass corn cultivation. This model is expected to yield good results, thereby creating a sustainable linkage, helping people stabilize their income, and feel secure in their production despite unfavorable weather conditions.

Phan Khiem

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/kinh-te/202606/chuyen-doi-cay-trong-can-vu-he-thu-e4679c5/