(CDC) - In the morning of December 12th, 2014, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Daklak province worked with inspection team about sustainable development cocoa project in order to clarify the reason why farmers have cut down Cocoa trees recently.
Cocoa price goes down so people have cut down cocoa trees and grown other trees – Photo: Q.T
Mr. Huynh Quoc Thich, deputy director of Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Daklak province, said: “After province separated, Daklak planed 6.000 ha to grow cocoa trees to diversify plant, decrease the dependence on coffee tree. At the present, Daklak has 2.000 ha cocoa trees, although in some places cocoa trees have been cut down, their advantage cannot be denied. To scientist cocoa trees are not new but to farmers it is quite new. The biggest difficulty is lacking of soil so cocoa trees have to be grown with other trees. Daklak has some effective cocoa development models which increase farmers’ income but almost farmers do not really see the advantage of cocoa trees and were overhasty cut down cocoa trees when its price had gone down”.
According to Cultivation Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), until November 2013, areas that grow cocoa all over the country are about 22.100 ha, including provinces have over 1000 ha: Ben Tre (7.342 ha); Ba Ria - Vung Tau (2.787 ha); Daklak (2.554 ha); Binh Phuoc (1.310 ha); Vinh Long (1.244 ha)…
At the end of 2012 and in the first half of 2013, cocoa price went down so there are some places farmers cut down cocoa tree to grow other trees. Now because cocoa’s price is rising from 50.000 to 55.000 VND/kg fermented dried bean (about 4.300 - 4.500 VND/kg fresh cocoa), the state of cutting down cocoa has been decreased.
Mr. Dinh Hai Lam, director of Vietnam Cocoa Development program said: “Producing cocoa in Vietnam is standing in front of many chances, such as cocoa demand is rapidly going up, especially in Asia. According to forecast in 2020, the world will lack about one million tons of cocoa due to the increase of demand and the decrease of capacity in some countries like Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Indonesia…
Cultivation Department recommends that farmers should keep calm, operate intensive cultivation to increase productivity, apply intercropping techniques, reduce cost and price, guarantee the quality and food safety to increase competitiveness in Vietnam market. Only cutting down cocoa trees to replant at the gardens where plants are infected and bring low productivity or switch to other crops at the area has suitable ecological conditions.
Thanh Nien Online
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