Enterprises cooperate to grow corn for animal feed in Dak Wil border commune

Dak Wil is known as a land of low fertility and many rocks and gravels, so agricultural production has always been difficult to develop. In recent years, many levels, sectors and local organizations have implemented many solutions and built models to help people, especially ethnic minority households, increase their income and reduce poverty. In particular, the model of growing corn biomass for animal feed has been evaluated by people, local authorities and functional sectors as effective and promising.

In mid-August, Mr. Vu Van Hung, Binh Minh village, and many other households here were happily standing next to the biomass corn field on harvest day. Unlike the way of growing corn for grain, harvesting, he did not have to do anything. His family's 2 hectares of corn were contracted by a business that brought machines and workers to the site to harvest and directly mill the fresh product. He just waited for the business to report the number of kilograms and receive the money. Mr. Hung could not hide his joy and said: "In addition to not having to spend effort harvesting and milling to be able to sell, biomass corn production is easier. Biomass corn is much easier to grow than commercial corn, it is disease-resistant, weather-resistant, and very suitable for arid lands like Dak Wil. Within 3 months, I earned nearly 20 million VND in profit, I was very happy."

As an ethnic minority household participating in a 1-hectare association, Ms. Nong Thi Tam, Tan Tien village, said that growing biomass corn is a new way for her family. She was guided by agricultural extension technicians to achieve high productivity, and her products were purchased stably, a great opportunity for her to increase her income.

Mr. Ngo Ba Gon - Vice Chairman of Dak Wil Commune People's Committee said that the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center and the locality have built a production model and linked biomass corn as a new direction to help people develop the economy and change the appropriate crop structure. This summer-autumn crop alone, 32 households growing 28 hectares have had 100% of their products consumed. Mr. Gon added that the locality has about 1,000 hectares of poor nutrient land, which will be developed into an area of raw materials for animal feed. In the coming time, the Commune People's Committee and mass organizations will continue to propagate, mobilize, and guide people to learn techniques, support people to sign contracts with businesses to increase income, reduce poverty.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan Ngoc - representative of the associated and purchasing unit - Bao Nam Agricultural Products Import-Export Company Limited, located in Ho Chi Minh City with a branch in Dak Lak province, added that the newly associated biomass corn planted in the first year in Dak Wil commune had a yield higher than expected by about 5 tons, reaching about 56 - 58 tons/ha. Currently, the unit is purchasing at the field with an average price of 750 VND/kg. The unit assessed that although biomass corn is grown in this arid land, its nutritional quality is quite high.

Through surveys and working with local people, businesses continue to maintain and expand these connections inside and outside the commune. Currently, many farmers from neighboring communes such as Nam Dong and Cu Jut have registered to link up to create raw materials. Some issues that businesses note for farmers and localities to better implement are how to allocate crop seasons, increase the scientific and technical content of fertilization, and use of pesticides to improve productivity and product quality.