Aspart of a master plan on restructuring agriculture to ensure sustainabledevelopment, they would also seek to use 3.8 million hectares of arableland in the most effective manner, diversify crops, and mitigate thepressure to consume rice amid export hurdles, Pham Van Du, deputydirector of the department, told a meeting in Tien Giang province on May6.
With the spring-summer and summer-autumn crops usuallyplagued by low productivity, local authorities should encourage farmersto plant other, more lucrative crops instead, he said.
Based on local factors, they should advice farmers on what crops to grow, he said.
Lastyear other crops were grown on 87,314ha of low-yield rice fields in theregion, with Dong Thap province leading the way with 30,725ha, followedby Soc Trang and Tra Vinh, he said.
The switch has fetched farmers higher profits in recent times, he said.
Growingsesame on rice fields has enabled farmers in Dong Thap to earn profitsof 25.3 million VND (1,199 USD) per hectare, much higher than from ricecultivation, which yields only around 2.45 million VND (116.2 USD), headded.
Growing soybean, maize, and lotus in rotation on ricefields has also fetched higher profits than rice, according to the DongThap Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Farmers inCan Tho, Kien Giang, Long An, and Bac Lieu earn more since they plantsesame, soybean, maize, peanut, and other crops in their paddies, themeeting heard.
But delegates warned that the biggest problem isto ensure steady outlets for the new crops failing which farmers wouldreturn to rice.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development CaoDuc Phat urged local authorities to instruct farmers to grow cropswhose demand is known.
He also told them to focus on switching from low-yield rice to maize since there is a big demand for the crop.
"Nowwe produce 5.2 million tonnes of maize. Last year, the country imported2.3 million tonnes...and the demand is increasing to meet the needs ofthe livestock and seafood industries."
But as for switching tosesame, chili, dragon fruit, or watermelon, farmers should be carefulsince their prices would no longer be high if there is an increase insupply, he said.
He called on relevant agencies and researchinstitutes to come out with a "technical package" on instructing farmersin planting new crops.
His ministry would work to accelerateimplementation of the Government's policies for supporting farmersswitching from low-yield rice to other crops and provide funding totrain them, he said.
🌺 Local authorities should strive to establish links between farmers and companies to ensure outlets for crops, he added.-VNA
