Lemongrass growers in Ky Anh district are struggling to find markets for their produce.

Many households in Ky Lac and Ky Tay communes (Ky Anh district, Ha Tinh province) planted lemongrass to sell to a company as per an agreement, but when it came time to harvest, the company refused to buy it because... the yield was too low.

Mr. Tran Tuong Lai's lemongrass garden

At the end of 2022, after understanding the policy on developing production, consumption, and processing linkages for hybrid lemongrass in the area between the locality and Truong Duong Medicinal Herbs Joint Stock Company (headquartered in Thanh Hoa province), in the form of a business providing seedlings and guaranteeing product purchase, Mr. Tran Tuong Lai (Hong Xuan village, Ky Tay commune) registered to plant 1 sao (approximately 1000 square meters), spending over 1 million VND on seedlings.

In February 2023, after receiving the seedlings, Mr. Lai's family removed some of their perennial crops to plant lemongrass.

Mr. Tran Tuong Lai (on the right) and leaders of Ky Tay commune discuss the incident with reporters.

Mr. Lai said: “The hybrid lemongrass is very easy to grow, has a low mortality rate, and grows quite quickly. According to the agreement, farmers are supposed to harvest and sell to the company 8 months after planting. However, now, 10 months later, when the lemongrass plants are entering their old age and wilting stage, the company has still not returned to buy them.”

Not only Mr. Lai's family, but the entire Ky Tay commune has 60 households that have jointly cultivated hybrid lemongrass, covering a total area of ​​2.5 hectares, and are currently facing the same situation as Mr. Lai.

Mr. Vo Van Toan, Vice Chairman of the Ky Tay Commune People's Committee, said: "To alleviate the difficulties for the people, the commune has called on several businesses to purchase lemongrass from the farmers, and also provided an additional subsidy of 1,000 VND per kilogram of lemongrass sold. However, the traders and businesses only buy the bulb (not the leaves) at a price of 6,000 VND/kg; currently, only about half of the cultivated area has been sold."

Mr. Vo Van Hai from Lac Trung village (on the left) and officials from Ky Lac commune survey his family's lemongrass garden.

Similarly, nearly 1 hectare out of 1.3 hectares of hybrid lemongrass, over 10 months old, belonging to 15 households in Ky Lac, is withering away day by day.

"My family converted over 2 acres of land previously used for growing cassava and peanuts to lemongrass cultivation, hoping for a higher income. We invested 2 million VND in seeds and fertilizer, gathered tons of manure, and put in a lot of effort caring for the plants, but when it came time for harvest, the company refused to buy them. Now, we can't bring ourselves to destroy them, but we can't leave them either," said Mr. Vo Van Hai from Lac Trung village.

According to Mr. Phan Hoang Truong, Chairman of the Ky Lac Commune People's Committee, the local government and residents have contacted Truong Duong Medicinal Herbs Joint Stock Company, but the company representative stated that the production volume is too low to purchase the product. Currently, the government is also connecting with several establishments to sell the product for the local people, but the quantity is still limited.

The hybrid lemongrass gardens of the people of Ky Lac are in a dilemma: they can't let them grow, but they also can't bring themselves to destroy them.

According to our investigation, 75 households in Ky Tay and Ky Lac communes purchased 3.7 tons of lemongrass seedlings, worth over 50 million VND, from Truong Duong Medicinal Herbs Co., Ltd., and planted them on 3.8 hectares. According to the agreement on the principle of linking production, consumption, and processing of hybrid lemongrass between the relevant parties, the first production cycle in Ky Anh district must ensure a maximum of 100 to 120 hectares. From the second cycle onwards, if there is a need to expand the scale, the area will be larger.

According to Mr. Phan Cong Toan, Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Ky Anh district, after the district organized a visit for some village heads and residents to learn about economic development models in other provinces, it was found that lemongrass is suitable for the local soil, climate, and land, so the district decided to develop the cultivation of lemongrass as a raw material.

"Regarding the lemongrass cultivation partnership between the people of Ky Tay and Ky Lac communes and Truong Duong Medicinal Herbs Co., Ltd., when harvest season arrived, the company sent people to survey the area, but the quantity was small, so they introduced another unit to purchase about 10 tons in Ky Tay commune. Currently, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the local authorities are contacting and introducing several units to continue purchasing from the people," Mr. Phan Cong Toan added.

Minh Duc - Thu Cuc

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/nong-nghiep/nguoi-trong-sa-huyen-ky-anh-loay-hoay-tim-dau-ra-cho-san-pham/258847.htm