Farmers are excited because sweet potatoes have a good harvest and good prices.

High income from growing yam

According to local people, cassava is usually planted from January to March (lunar calendar), cared for for about 7-9 months and harvested from September to October every year, lasting until December (lunar calendar). Thanks to favorable weather, steady rain, loose soil and few pests, cassava yield from 2025 will reach the highest in many years, averaging about 17-18 tons/ha, a sharp increase compared to 12-13 tons/ha of the previous crop.

In An Nha village, Mr. Vo Minh Dang is one of the households with a large area of yam in the locality, about 1.3 hectares. In recent days, his family and the villagers are taking advantage of the dry weather to harvest the first 8 sao. According to Mr. Dang, this year's crop of yam has a high yield, up to 8-9 quintals/sao, with even, beautiful tubers.

Notably, this year the purchase price of yam from traders has also increased sharply from the beginning of the season, fluctuating at 10,000-11,000 VND/kg, 4,000-5,000 VND/kg higher than the previous season, so farmers are very excited. With 8 sao already harvested, after deducting expenses, he earned nearly 50 million VND. "This season's yam has both a good harvest and a good price. In the previous season, after deducting expenses, each sao of yam brought in an income of about 4-4.5 million VND, while this season is estimated to reach 6-7 million VND," said Mr. Dang.

People in Con Tien commune harvest sweet potatoes in the form of "labor exchange" to reduce costs and ensure crop progress - Photo: LA

According to Mr. Dang's experience, yam only gives high yield in the first year. In the second year, the yield often decreases significantly, and pests and diseases easily arise. Therefore, after harvesting, it is necessary to rotate to other crops such as cassava or turmeric, and replant after a season to achieve high efficiency. In addition, the investment cost for growing yam is also quite high, about 80-100 million VND/ha, including seeds, tillers, fertilizers, weeding and especially digging and harvesting.

Mr. Dang calculated that on average, 10 people digging in a day can only harvest about 1 ton of yam tubers. If they hire workers, the cost will be up to 2.5-3 million VND/day. Therefore, people often apply the form of exchanging labor or also known as "working in the fields", which means 10-15 households in the village support each other to harvest in rotation from one house to another, both reducing costs and ensuring the progress of the crop season.

Not only households with large, long-term cultivation areas but also households that have converted from ineffective crops to growing cassava have achieved positive results. Mr. Nguyen Cong Tuan, in An Nha village, said that his family previously planted cassava on an area of 0.8 hectares, and every year, after deducting expenses, they only earned about 8-10 million VND. 2025 is the first year he boldly converted the entire area to growing cassava. Up to this point, he has harvested 0.4 hectares and sold it for 10,000 VND/kg, deducting expenses, he earned more than 35 million VND. It is expected that when the entire area is harvested, the total revenue will reach about 60-70 million VND.

“Because this is the first time growing yam, I have no experience, the investment cost is higher than other households, but thanks to a good harvest, the selling price is also higher, so the efficiency is clearly higher than growing cassava,” Mr. Tuan shared.

Towards building organic sweet potato production areas

According to Ms. Ho Thi Hanh, a major buyer in Con Tien commune, this year's cassava yield is much higher than previous years, about 17-18 tons/ha, and households with good care can even achieve a yield of over 20 tons/ha. The cassava purchase price has also increased from the beginning of the season, fluctuating at 10,000-11,000 VND/kg, and is expected to increase to 12,000-14,000 VND/kg in the main season, nearly double last year.

Ms. Hanh said that currently, on average, she buys 2-3 tons of yam per day to supply to the markets of Hue, Da Nang and some northern provinces. “This year, yam has both a good harvest and good prices, so traders come to visit more. The quality of the yam is good, the tubers are big, so it is easy to sell,” Ms. Hanh said.

People in Con Tien commune are excited because of the good harvest and good price of sweet potatoes - Photo: LA

Deputy Head of the Economic Department, People's Committee of Con Tien Commune, Le Phuoc Hieu, said that in the 2025 crop, the whole commune will plant about 62 hectares of organic yam, mainly in the villages of An Nha, An Huong, Binh Son and Hao Tan. Thanks to the application of soil improvement techniques, organic fertilizer application and proper care, the average yield this year has increased sharply, from 12-13 tons/ha to 17-18 tons/ha. In particular, the selling price has almost doubled compared to the previous crop, helping farmers have a bumper crop.

According to Mr. Hieu, yam is a familiar crop of people in the Con Tien hilly area. Although it is not a very valuable crop, with the advantages of being easy to grow, low risk, and providing stable income, yam is increasingly asserting its role in transforming the local crop structure. This year's bumper crop and good price create more motivation for people to continue intensive cultivation and expand the area in the coming time.

Mr. Hieu added that, through the survey, the Con Tien hill area has about 150 hectares of land suitable for growing high-quality yam. The locality is planning a concentrated production area, developing in the direction of goods associated with VietGAP and organic standards and building the Con Tien organic yam brand. However, the current difficulty is that the output is not really stable, making people hesitant to expand the area.

“The commune is making efforts to connect with businesses to build sustainable output, while promoting and bringing products to major distribution channels. When there is a stable market, yam will become a key crop, contributing to increasing income and sustainable economic development for people,” Mr. Hieu shared.

Le An

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/kinh-te/202512/nong-dan-phan-khoi-vi-khoai-tu-duoc-mua-duoc-gia-3406542/