Many old coffee areas are being cut off to switch to plant pepper

Many ​​rubber trees, coffee areas are cut off

According to the Department of Crop and Plant, MARD, rubber areas are cut by farmers in the first 6 months 2014 of the country about 3.850ha. In particular, Tay Ninh province, the rubber area is being cut nearly 1.750ha. In Binh Duong province, the rubber area is being cut more than 539ha, Dak Nong is 181 ha, Ba Ria - Vung Tau than 1,000 ha ...mainly young trees, intercroped with coffee, pepper or old plantation with low yield. The main cause of this is due to the low price of rubber latex, while the prices pepper is rising, some growers have transformed crops.

Vietnam Rubber Association said rubber prices were low since 2013, especially in the first 6 months of 2014 the price down to about 36 million VND / ton, lower price points. Meanwhile, due he output of 1ha pepper reached 4-5 tons, the investment cost of about 100 million VND / year, with the current high prices, excluding net interest expense is obtained not less than 500 million / year. Low cost but too high profits, so the pepper area in the Central Highlands and the Southest provinces of the country has growing and growing in recent years. Besides being profitable, many farmers grow peppers because pepper trees only take about 3 years to harvest rubber is 7 years, coffee is 5 years.

As well as rubber, coffee is one of the main crops and strategy trees in the basaltic soil of Highlands. However, coffee prices fell continuously made ​​many farmers in the area cut down coffee trees to switch to plant other crops. The farmer cut off coffee and turned into plant pepper also made the alarm for the agriculture industry of these localities because they are falling into a vicious circle cut - grow, grow – cut again.

Unpredictable consequences

According to Mr. Luong Van Tu, president of the Viet Nam Coffee and Cocoa Association, farmers only see immediate benefits without long-term effectiveness. Farmers should not based on prices that massive development area pepper, by will lead to supply excess demand, then prices will fell. Currently, Central Highlands has thousands newly planted pepper hectares but the farmers do not note about the land, the climate, plant pepper massively but not comply with the technical process, lead to spread diseases quickly, pepper plants dead massivily. In fact, scientists have warned, pepper just suit with basalt soils having good drainage, if growing pepper in other lands despite good investment the yields will be limited. In addition, if you do not look carefully the origin of pepper spars, the criteria, the risks of pests and diseases in pepper plantation is unavoidable. Moreover, the massive deforestation in the Central Highlands coffee is also a major threat to the sustainable development of the plant, because most of the area where coffee trees are being cut down trees to replace other crop. In addition, when farmers rush to plant pepper trees, they will cut down forest to make pepper spars leading to harm forest resources, illegal deforestation.

Thought that cut down coffee and replace coffee by other crops may cause unpredictable consequences for the agricultural sector in these provinces. So, in addition to have suitable orientation on the structure of plants suitable for each region of agricultural sector of provinces, farmers also need careful consideration when cut off masively the ​​rubber, coffee and pepper plantation to switch to plant other crops. Department of Agriculture & Rural Development in provinces has also sent a letter to the localities to recommend farmers not to switch rubber, coffee to other crops. In particular, farmers should not intercrop pepper with rubber plantations because it will infect Phytopthora fungus that killed rubber. Not pruned rubber trees in basic construction period, even gum area are beginning to plant pepper trees. In the up comming future, while rubber prices low, farmers can apply minimum technical measures care, not let the pepper plantation down to ensure that the investment-intensive as rubber prices rise again. Rubber companies in the province should strengthen coordination with local governments associated with the deployment of small rubber growers to transfer technique in advances from caring, tapping; purchasing product for farmers to avoid private traders will make price squeeze ...

Source: tintucnongnhiep.com