Thousands of Khmer ethnic minorities in the Mekong River Delta provinceof Tra Vinh are expected to escape poverty after taking part in afarming project that nearly tripled their income.
The projectpromoted the shift from low-yield rice cultivation to corn-seedproduction with advanced cultivation and processing technologies in thedistricts of Cau Ngang, Tra Cu, Chau Thanh and Duyen Hai.
Thefarming model is expected to create many jobs for low-income residentsby including them in the value chain of the company, from cultivation toharvest to processing.
Khmer farmers involved in the projectbusiness venture are trained by Southern Seed Corporation (SSC) inseed-corn cultivation techniques and F1 hybrid-corn production.
This business partnership has helped increase the income of Khmer farmers by roughly 60 percent.
Withsupport from the Vietnam Business Challenge Fund, SSC has deployed a37.5-billion VND (1.7 million USD) project (including 7.8 billion VND(371,400 USD) invested by VBCF) and produced satisfactory results.
Duringthe winter-spring crop in 2013 and 2014, the company signed a contractto produce corn seeds with 1,200 households on an area of 604 hectaresof land.
Khmer farmers contributed more than 80 percent of the project's agreement on corn seeds.
The crops produced 3,239 tonnes of corn with total value of 25.6 billion VND (1.2 million USD).
After harvesting, the farmers' average income was 42.3 million VND (2,000 USD) per hectare of F1 corn.
After processing, the company collected 1,609 tonnes of F1 seed corn sold in domestic and Southeast Asian markets.
Themodel applied to other crops such as rice paddy and vegetables in CauNgang and Chau Thanh districts also produced good results.
Thecompany has freshly opened a seed-processing factory in Long Duc communein Tra Vinh city with the capacity of 2,000 tonnes of seeds every yearor 200 tonnes of corn each batch in the province. The area is home tomore than 30 percent of Khmer people in Vietnam.
According tothe company, another factory with a capacity of 40 tonnes for each batchis operated by Cau Ngang district's Nhi Truong Co-operative.
Withsuccess from the last winter-spring crop, besides 604 ha for F1corn-seed production, the inclusive business model has been expanded to58.5 ha of green beans, 34.7 ha of paddy and 1.7 ha of vegetables in CauNgang, Tra Cu, Chau Thanh and Duyen Hai districts, home to 70 percentof Khmer people living in Tra Vinh.
In Tra Vinh, the VBCF andSSC's project plans to develop 1,100 hectares of F1 hybrid corn area,and provide seeds, finance and technical assistance for 2,200 localfarmers.
Hang Phi Quang, SSC's chairman and CEO, said the project was expected to help local Khmer farmers to overcome poverty.
The model helps farmers increase income to 20 million VND (950 USD) per hectare each crop.
Themodel, which provided farmers with seeds, finance and technicalassistance to develop F1 hybrid corn area in Tra Vinh, would be scaledup to other provinces in Mekong Delta to help farmers overcome poverty,Quang said.
Converting to corn cultivation from paddy helps to triple profits for the farmers.
DanielOporto, Agriculture Sector leader of the Netherlands DevelopmentOrganisation, which manages VBCF, said cooperation between the companyand farmers had been a successful model for farmers and the country.
"Farmerscan increase their income, because they are moving from rice productionto corn production. And it is the best way when they work with acompany that provides them knowledge," said Oporto. Farmers’ earning isnearly triple their previous income in other provinces such as Long Anand An Giang.
Daniel said the Vietnamese Government has asuccessful agricultural restructuring model which has allowed theprivate sector to invest in factories, farms, and technical transfer tofarmers.-VNA
The projectpromoted the shift from low-yield rice cultivation to corn-seedproduction with advanced cultivation and processing technologies in thedistricts of Cau Ngang, Tra Cu, Chau Thanh and Duyen Hai.
Thefarming model is expected to create many jobs for low-income residentsby including them in the value chain of the company, from cultivation toharvest to processing.
Khmer farmers involved in the projectbusiness venture are trained by Southern Seed Corporation (SSC) inseed-corn cultivation techniques and F1 hybrid-corn production.
This business partnership has helped increase the income of Khmer farmers by roughly 60 percent.
Withsupport from the Vietnam Business Challenge Fund, SSC has deployed a37.5-billion VND (1.7 million USD) project (including 7.8 billion VND(371,400 USD) invested by VBCF) and produced satisfactory results.
Duringthe winter-spring crop in 2013 and 2014, the company signed a contractto produce corn seeds with 1,200 households on an area of 604 hectaresof land.
Khmer farmers contributed more than 80 percent of the project's agreement on corn seeds.
The crops produced 3,239 tonnes of corn with total value of 25.6 billion VND (1.2 million USD).
After harvesting, the farmers' average income was 42.3 million VND (2,000 USD) per hectare of F1 corn.
After processing, the company collected 1,609 tonnes of F1 seed corn sold in domestic and Southeast Asian markets.
Themodel applied to other crops such as rice paddy and vegetables in CauNgang and Chau Thanh districts also produced good results.
Thecompany has freshly opened a seed-processing factory in Long Duc communein Tra Vinh city with the capacity of 2,000 tonnes of seeds every yearor 200 tonnes of corn each batch in the province. The area is home tomore than 30 percent of Khmer people in Vietnam.
According tothe company, another factory with a capacity of 40 tonnes for each batchis operated by Cau Ngang district's Nhi Truong Co-operative.
Withsuccess from the last winter-spring crop, besides 604 ha for F1corn-seed production, the inclusive business model has been expanded to58.5 ha of green beans, 34.7 ha of paddy and 1.7 ha of vegetables in CauNgang, Tra Cu, Chau Thanh and Duyen Hai districts, home to 70 percentof Khmer people living in Tra Vinh.
In Tra Vinh, the VBCF andSSC's project plans to develop 1,100 hectares of F1 hybrid corn area,and provide seeds, finance and technical assistance for 2,200 localfarmers.
Hang Phi Quang, SSC's chairman and CEO, said the project was expected to help local Khmer farmers to overcome poverty.
The model helps farmers increase income to 20 million VND (950 USD) per hectare each crop.
Themodel, which provided farmers with seeds, finance and technicalassistance to develop F1 hybrid corn area in Tra Vinh, would be scaledup to other provinces in Mekong Delta to help farmers overcome poverty,Quang said.
Converting to corn cultivation from paddy helps to triple profits for the farmers.
DanielOporto, Agriculture Sector leader of the Netherlands DevelopmentOrganisation, which manages VBCF, said cooperation between the companyand farmers had been a successful model for farmers and the country.
"Farmerscan increase their income, because they are moving from rice productionto corn production. And it is the best way when they work with acompany that provides them knowledge," said Oporto. Farmers’ earning isnearly triple their previous income in other provinces such as Long Anand An Giang.
Daniel said the Vietnamese Government has asuccessful agricultural restructuring model which has allowed theprivate sector to invest in factories, farms, and technical transfer tofarmers.-VNA
