Crop restructuring is one of the government’s agricultural restructuringkey strategies, the Vietnam Economic News reported, adding that theMekong River Delta is leading in switching from rice to other crops forhigher economic efficiency, especially corn.
With the advantagessuch as fertile soil and moderate climate, the Mekong River Delta haslong been the country’s key rice producing area. However, riceproduction and consumption faced export difficulties due to increasingcompetition with rivals from Thailand, India, and Myanmar, and ricefarmer incomes have been lower than expected. Meanwhile, otheragricultural crops such as corn and soybeans are potential alternativesdue to severe shortages.
Switching from inefficient rice farmingto other economically efficient crops such as corn farming is necessaryfor the Mekong River Delta in conformity with the governmentallyapproved agricultural restructuring project.
Some provinces likeDong Thap, An Giang, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, and Long An have deployed cornfarming models, with the intention of increasing the value added toagricultural products and farmer incomes.
The Corn Farming onFormer Paddy Field in the Mekong River Delta project has been launchedby the Institute of Agricultural Science for Southern Vietnam’sAgricultural Technology Research and Transfer Centre.
The projecthas initially achieved positive results in Long An. The entire 20hectares of former paddy field in My Hanh Bac commune, Duc Hoa district,planted with NK7328, NK66, and NK67 corn varieties has provedpromising. It is estimated that the corn yield per ha may reach about8-10 tonnes, about double the former rice yield. With the current freshcorn purchase price per kg of 3,900 VND, corn farmers may gain from9.4-17.2 million VND per ha, up 36 percent compared with rice gainsafter costs.
According to Director of the Long An’s IndustryPromotion Centre (IPC) Nguyen Thanh Tung, corn, sesame and peanuts havebeen identified as good alternatives for the province, with corn beingmost important and farmed for the spring-summer crop. The Ecofarm JSCcurrently based in Duc Hoa district, Long An, will build a cornprocessing complex and be responsible for local corn purchases. The cornvarieties provided by the Syngenta Co., Ltd for the model have provedadaptable to the local climate and high possible productivity.
Inthe coming years, Syngenta will strive to support the croprestructuring initiated by the government for inefficient rice farmingareas to help farmers increase incomes, said Ngo Lanh, SolutionDevelopment Director of Syngenta Co., Ltd.-VNA
With the advantagessuch as fertile soil and moderate climate, the Mekong River Delta haslong been the country’s key rice producing area. However, riceproduction and consumption faced export difficulties due to increasingcompetition with rivals from Thailand, India, and Myanmar, and ricefarmer incomes have been lower than expected. Meanwhile, otheragricultural crops such as corn and soybeans are potential alternativesdue to severe shortages.
Switching from inefficient rice farmingto other economically efficient crops such as corn farming is necessaryfor the Mekong River Delta in conformity with the governmentallyapproved agricultural restructuring project.
Some provinces likeDong Thap, An Giang, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, and Long An have deployed cornfarming models, with the intention of increasing the value added toagricultural products and farmer incomes.
The Corn Farming onFormer Paddy Field in the Mekong River Delta project has been launchedby the Institute of Agricultural Science for Southern Vietnam’sAgricultural Technology Research and Transfer Centre.
The projecthas initially achieved positive results in Long An. The entire 20hectares of former paddy field in My Hanh Bac commune, Duc Hoa district,planted with NK7328, NK66, and NK67 corn varieties has provedpromising. It is estimated that the corn yield per ha may reach about8-10 tonnes, about double the former rice yield. With the current freshcorn purchase price per kg of 3,900 VND, corn farmers may gain from9.4-17.2 million VND per ha, up 36 percent compared with rice gainsafter costs.
According to Director of the Long An’s IndustryPromotion Centre (IPC) Nguyen Thanh Tung, corn, sesame and peanuts havebeen identified as good alternatives for the province, with corn beingmost important and farmed for the spring-summer crop. The Ecofarm JSCcurrently based in Duc Hoa district, Long An, will build a cornprocessing complex and be responsible for local corn purchases. The cornvarieties provided by the Syngenta Co., Ltd for the model have provedadaptable to the local climate and high possible productivity.
Inthe coming years, Syngenta will strive to support the croprestructuring initiated by the government for inefficient rice farmingareas to help farmers increase incomes, said Ngo Lanh, SolutionDevelopment Director of Syngenta Co., Ltd.-VNA
