Corn planting does not produce seeds, farmers in border areas are miserable

In early November, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters were present in Phieng Pan commune, Mai Son district, a border commune of Son La province. Here, reporters recorded the entire high mountainous area filled with corn plants waiting to be harvested.

However, people here are restless because the corn crop suddenly failed, productivity was low, the corn did not produce seeds, and the seeds were poor.

Pointing to the high hill, Mr. Lo Van Hieng (born in 1968, residing in Ta Vat village, Phieng Pan commune, Mai Son district) shared: “The situation of corn not producing seeds or having poor seeds was discovered by the people in September this year. After a while, when it was time to harvest, when breaking the corn, there were no seeds at all or if there were any, there were very few.”

According to Mr. Hieng, the corn plant in the above situation is the NK 6253 corn variety of Syngenta Vietnam Company (on the product packaging is the address No. 16, Road 3A, Bien Hoa 2 Industrial Park, Dong Nai Province) purchased from agents in the area at a price of 130,000 VND/kg.

The situation of corn not producing seeds or having poor seeds was discovered by people since September. Photo: Minh Thanh

Mr. Hieng also said that his family is currently cultivating nearly 7 hectares of land, investing more than 120 million VND, normally they will earn about 70 tons of dry corn, with an average corn price of 3.5 million VND/ton, each year it will bring about an economic value of about 230 million VND.

However, this year, due to the above situation, it is estimated that only nearly 30 tons were collected, selling for more than 90 million VND.

"If we deduct all input costs, we will lose about 30 million VND, and this money was borrowed from agents to invest in the house before, now we don't know how to pay it back. We may have to sell the house to pay off the debt.

I hope the authorities will intervene, clarify this issue and have support measures" - this farmer confided.

The phenomenon of corn with few or poor kernels greatly affects productivity and people's economy. Photo: Minh Thanh

Similarly, Mr. Lo Van Lun (Ta Vat village) said: "With 1.5 hectares of land, every year the yield is 9-10 tons of dry corn, but this year only more than 2 tons were harvested, sold for more than 7 million VND, the yield has decreased too much. While corn is the main source of income for the people here".

According to local people, this phenomenon mainly occurs in 4 villages including Vit village, Na Nhung village, Ket Na village and Ta Vat village. Of which, Ta Vat village has nearly 40 affected households.

After the incident, the authorities in Mai Son district and Son La province conducted an inspection. In report No. 83 of the Mai Son District Agricultural Service Center, it was stated that the variety used by the households was NK 6253 of Syngenta Vietnam Company.

"The reason why some NK 6253 corn plants have poor grain production cannot be determined yet, but it could be due to the following reasons: It could be due to the variety, the weather, or planting and care techniques. The representative of Syngenta Vietnam Company confirmed that it is not due to the variety" - Mai Son District Agricultural Service Center said.

Regarding this issue, Ms. Lo Thi Phien - Chairman of Phieng Pan Commune People's Committee confirmed that local people are experiencing crop failure, poor productivity, and corn that does not produce seeds or has poor seeds.

The poor people do not know where to get money to repay the previous loan for corn seeds and fertilizer. Photo: Minh Thanh — Corn varieties are grown by people but have low yields. Photo: Minh Thanh

According to Ms. Phien, the affected households all use the NK 6253 corn variety of Syngenta Vietnam Company. Currently, the unit is focusing on counting the area, affected households and finding specific causes. Currently, the locality has about 1,000 hectares of land for corn cultivation.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Nguyen Khac Hao - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Mai Son district - informed that as of November 10, preliminary statistics showed that about 216 households were affected.

The unit is focusing on directing departments and offices to coordinate with Phieng Pan commune and Syngenta Vietnam Company Limited to investigate and determine the cause and area of damaged corn.

Source