Sadness in the cassava field

(Baoquangngai.vn) - For nearly half a month now, cassava (or bean) growers in Duc Thang commune (Mo Duc) have been restless because cassava is in peak harvest season but still cannot be sold, even though the price has hit rock bottom.

This time last year, the road to Duong Quang village, Duc Thang commune was always bustling with people and vehicles transporting cassava tubers for sale, but now the harvest scene has become gloomy. The cassava fields are in harvest season but there are no traders. The lively chatter of buyers and sellers is now replaced by the sighs of cassava farmers.

People are looking for outlets for cassava.

This year, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoan, a resident of Duong Quang village, planted more than 6 sao of cassava (500m2/sao) with an estimated yield of about 18 - 20 tons. Having spent tens of millions of dong on fertilizer and seeds, not counting labor, Ms. Ngoan has only been able to sell a few hundred kilograms of cassava so far.

Ms. Ngoan confided that people here have been growing cassava since birth. I myself have been growing this crop for more than 30 years, but have never encountered such a difficult year as this year. In previous years, cassava prices were low, but there was still an outlet. Now, cassava prices have plummeted and still cannot be sold.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong planted 6 sao of cassava. But because she bought the wrong cassava variety, Ms. Phuong has not been able to sell even a little of it.

According to the people, currently traders are very "picky", only buying round, large, beautiful cassava tubers at the field price of about 1,800 VND/kg. As for ribbed cassava tubers, which have similar quality, traders do not buy them.

Growers are restless because cassava tubers have no buyers even though the price has dropped.

Because of fear of buying the ribbed cassava variety, which cannot be sold like this year, many people save the round cassava tubers for seeds.

In previous years, cassava was very popular in the market, the selling price was up to 7,000-8,000 VND/kg but still not enough to sell. This year, people are facing the risk of losing Tet because of heavy losses and not being able to recover their investment capital.

Mr. Nguyen Tu (64 years old) has 10 sao of cassava that is ready for harvest with a yield of more than 20 tons. Although he planted round cassava, Mr. Tu has only gotten 1 ton so far. Not waiting for traders to buy, Mr. Tu had to pull out the cassava to feed the cows.

Mr. Tu's 10-acre cassava garden has not sold much so far, so he has to pull it out for the cows.

Mr. Tu fed cassava to the cows.

Mr. Tu shared that cassava takes 4-6 months from planting to harvesting. During that time, we not only spend money but also a lot of effort to take care of it. Our only hope now is to have the cooperation and support of people near and far, to help us sell and recover some of the investment money to cover the next crop.

Many garden owners have to feed cassava roots to cows because they cannot sell them.

Cassava cultivation is considered a traditional occupation, providing the main source of income for the people of Duong Quang village. The whole village has more than 400 households, of which 300 households grow cassava. This is the largest cassava growing area in the province with an area of ​​about 36 hectares, and an output of about 1,400 tons/year.

Chairman of Duc Thang Commune People's Committee Nguyen Tan Viet said that previously, cassava tubers in the locality after harvest were mainly consumed in the southern provinces. However, this year, for unknown reasons, they could not be consumed. Currently, the locality has coordinated with associations and organizations to call on people in the province to buy support, but up to this point, the amount consumed is still quite small compared to the amount of cassava remaining in the population.

Article and photos: THANH NHAN

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Source: https://baoquangngai.vn/media/goc-anh/202312/noi-buon-ben-ruong-san-43d5282/