Developing sugarcane raw material areas in a sustainable manner.

Sugarcane is one of the main crops in the eastern and southeastern districts and towns of the province. These are also the two main raw material areas for the An Khe Sugar Factory (belonging to Quang Ngai Sugar Joint Stock Company) and the Sugar Factory of AgriS Gia Lai Agricultural Joint Stock Company (Ayun Pa town).

In recent years, with the support of businesses in building a sustainable sugarcane production chain, many farmers have been able to thrive thanks to sugarcane.

In the 2024-2025 crop year, due to the impact of drought, sugarcane yields in some areas without reliable irrigation sources decreased. However, the purchase price at factories remained stable and higher than the previous season, so sugarcane farmers still made a profit. Compared to other major crops in the eastern and southeastern parts of the province, sugarcane provides the most stable income.

Farmers in Kbang district harvest sugarcane. Photo: Nguyen Diep

The family of Mr. Nguyen Minh Son (Kim Nang village, Ia Mron commune, Ia Pa district) has 10 hectares of sugarcane currently being harvested. Due to the drought occurring during the sugarcane's most vigorous growth period, the yield has decreased by about 10-20% compared to the previous season.

However, thanks to the investment policies implemented by AgriS Gia Lai Agricultural Joint Stock Company right from the start of the season, as well as the purchase price this season increasing by 50-70 thousand VND/ton compared to the previous season, his family still has a stable source of income.

“The prolonged drought has reduced sugarcane yields compared to the previous season, but in return, the factory is buying it at a higher price. With 10 hectares of sugarcane, after deducting investment costs, my family earned a profit of over 300 million VND,” said Mr. Son.

Similarly, for the past three years, the family of Ms. Trinh Thi Na (Doan Ket village, Ia Hiao commune, Phu Thien district) has had a stable income of 500-600 million VND per year from 12 hectares of sugarcane.

Ms. Na excitedly shared: “Besides receiving support from the factory in terms of fertilizers, sludge, deep plowing to improve the soil, and disease-free seeds, my family also invested in an irrigation system for the entire sugarcane area. Thanks to that, the sugarcane yield reaches 80-90 tons/ha every year.”

The purchase price has also remained stable at over 1.1 million VND/ton for sugarcane with a sugar content of 10CCS. After deducting investment costs, my family pockets about 50 million VND/ha, higher than other crops such as cassava and corn.”

Sugarcane farmers in the eastern districts and towns of the province also share the same feeling of excitement as the An Khe Sugar Factory is purchasing raw sugarcane at 1.1 million VND/ton and is also subsidizing part of the transportation costs from the fields to the factory.

Mr. Tran Van Hoa, Party Secretary and Head of Village 10 (Yang Trung Commune, Kong Chro District), informed: In recent years, sugarcane cultivation has brought stable income to the people. The An Khe Sugar Factory has implemented many investment policies and purchased raw sugarcane at stable prices, with prices increasing year after year. As a result, the lives of the people have become increasingly stable.

Sugarcane is one of the main crops in the eastern and southeastern districts and towns of the province. Photo: Duy Le

"For example, in this case, sugarcane yield decreased by about 5 tons/ha compared to the previous season due to drought. But in return, the factory's purchase price was about 50,000 VND/ton higher than the previous season."

"My family's sugarcane yield is about 70 tons/ha, a decrease of 4 tons/ha. After deducting investment costs, I earn an average profit of 40 million VND/ha, which is much more stable than growing cassava and corn," Mr. Hoa said.

According to Mr. Tran Van Dau, Deputy Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Kong Chro district: In the 2024-2025 crop year, the entire district has approximately 10,500 hectares of sugarcane. This year, the sugarcane ripened early. By this time, people have harvested about 80% of the sugarcane area to supply the An Khe Sugar Factory.

Due to unfavorable weather conditions, the average sugarcane yield reached 75 tons/ha, a decrease of 4-5 tons/ha compared to the 2023-2024 crop year. However, thanks to the stable purchase price of over 1.1 million VND/ton for sugarcane with 10CCS sugar content from An Khe Sugar Factory, farmers earned a profit of 35-40 million VND/ha. Currently, people have registered to convert low-yield cassava fields to sugarcane cultivation to improve economic efficiency.

Meanwhile, Mr. Tran Minh Phuong, Deputy Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Ia Pa district, informed that the prolonged drought in the 2024-2025 crop year significantly affected the development of sugarcane.

Specifically, the drought caused the average sugarcane yield in the district to decrease by 6-7 tons/ha compared to the previous season. However, the purchase price in the factory's raw material area remained stable and increased compared to the previous season, so sugarcane farmers still earned about 40 million VND/ha.

Towards sustainable raw material sourcing

In order to build a sustainable sugarcane raw material area, in recent years, AgriS Gia Lai Agricultural Joint Stock Company has implemented many investment policies and partnered with local people.

Specifically, in addition to providing a non-profit investment of 50 million VND/hectare for new planting and 30 million VND/hectare for ratoon sugarcane, the company also supports farmers in implementing solutions such as deep plowing, providing sludge and biological products to improve soil, and introducing disease-free varieties into production...

As a result, the company's raw material area has gradually increased over the years, and productivity, output, and economic efficiency per unit area have also increased significantly, helping farmers in the area to "live well" thanks to sugarcane.

Vehicles transporting sugarcane to An Khe Sugar Factory. Photo: QT

Ms. Tran Thi Le, Deputy Director of AgriS Gia Lai Agricultural Joint Stock Company, said: For the 2024-2025 sugarcane crop, the company's raw material area reached 14,500 hectares, an increase of 1,000 hectares compared to the previous crop; the factory's capacity was also increased from 7,000 tons/day to 8,000 tons/day.

To facilitate farmers' reinvestment and care for the next sugarcane crop, the company organized the harvesting of raw sugarcane earlier than the previous crushing season, shortening the Lunar New Year holiday period to ensure the sugarcane harvesting plan for the farmers.

To date, the company has harvested approximately 70% of the sugarcane in its raw material area. It is expected that the company will finish the crushing season before the rainy season to ensure farmers have enough time to plow and care for the sugarcane crop for the next season.

“Next season, we plan to expand the raw material area to approximately 16,000 hectares to meet the factory's crushing capacity. With the goal of developing the raw material area in a sustainable direction, the company continues to implement in-depth investment policies to improve sugarcane productivity and quality, as well as increase economic efficiency for the people.”

"This includes focusing on applying mechanization to land improvement, fertilization, weeding, and harvesting; and applying advanced, water-saving irrigation technology to production," Ms. Le shared.

Sugarcane cultivation is providing a stable income for people in the eastern and southeastern districts and towns of Gia Lai province. Photo: Quang Tan

Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Phuoc, Deputy Director of An Khe Sugar Factory, stated: The factory consistently maintains and develops a stable sugarcane raw material area of approximately 30,000 hectares. Over the years, through the production chain, the factory has invested in equipping machinery and equipment to support the planting, care, and harvesting of sugarcane for local farmers.

In addition, the factory is also researching replacing old varieties with new, high-yielding, and high-quality varieties for farmers. At the same time, it is increasing the use of specialized fertilizers, suitable for the soil conditions of each region, to help sugarcane plants grow well.

“Thanks to this, sugarcane yield has increased from 50 tons/ha to 80 tons/ha, and even over 100 tons/ha. In addition, large sugarcane fields harvested by machine reduce costs for farmers by 50-70 thousand VND/ton. As a result, farmers have increased their income from 15-20 million VND/ha previously to 40-50 million VND/ha now,” Mr. Phuoc informed.

Speaking with reporters, Mr. Doan Ngoc Co, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, said: Gia Lai has the largest sugarcane growing area in the country with over 40,000 hectares, supplying raw materials for the two sugar factories in the province. In recent years, the sugar factories have focused on linking with farmers cultivating sugarcane in accordance with Government Decree No. 98/2018/ND-CP on policies to encourage cooperation and linkages in the production and consumption of agricultural products.

In particular, sugar factories have introduced mechanization into production from planting, caring for, harvesting, and processing. In addition, they have selected high-yielding, high-quality sugarcane varieties to replace those infected with white leaf disease. Furthermore, farmers have proactively applied advanced, water-saving irrigation technology to sugarcane, contributing to increased yields of 80-100 tons/ha.

Towards sustainable raw material sourcing

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