Thuy Dung
Nguyen Tri Ngoc told a recent seminar in Hanoi that more than half of the macadamia saplings available on the market are of substandard quality.
Ngoc called for agriculture agencies to intensify their management of macadamia saplings to ensure good yields and avoid causing losses for farmers in the future.
Bui Huu Hoa, an experienced macadamia grower, pointed out that many farmers have bought substandard and even fake macadamia saplings due to little or no knowledge of this plant.
“Many farmers have grown macadamia for 5-7 years but have reported no yields while they are in debt. They have lost a lot and we have to warn them of the reality,” Hoa said.
Hoa said a substandard macadamia sapling is sold at some VND30,000 while the price of a quality one is VND70,000.
Hoa said he is lucky as his macadamia farm in Lam Ha District in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong has produced fruit with revenue reaching VND295 million last year.
Quach Dai Ninh, deputy head of the forestry development division at the General Forestry Department, said State agencies should inspect macadamia sapling farms and only license suppliers of quality young trees. Low-quality saplings should be discarded.
It is a huge problem if more than 50% of the macadamia saplings available on the market are of substandard quality, Ninh said amidst concerns that more farmers in different parts of the country have rushed to grow the plant, particularly in the Central Highlands, and that the unchecked growing of the plant could end up losing like other certain crops.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed the Government approve a plan to grow only 10,000 hectares of the subtropical plant by 2020 in regions where weather conditions are appropriate for it due to a lack of sufficient scientific data.
The planned area is much lower than the 200,000 hectares forecast by scientists and enterprises for the next five years.
The ministry made the proposal years after macadamia was planted on a trial basis in 16 provinces in Vietnam. Initial results showed a ten-year-old tree can bring in the highest yield of 17.5-21.5 kilograms, or 3.9-4.7 tons per hectare per year, and the lowest of 1.9-2.5 tons per hectare per year.
The ministry warned that large-scale farming of macadamia can be implemented if there are processing facilities and stable outlets for its fruit.
Đăng ký: VietNam News