Biomass corn brings stable income for farmers

Farmers in Krong Pa district, Gia Lai province, have converted to growing biomass corn when there are many investment cooperation and commitment to output, after worries about what crops to have a stable income.

Farmer Sil Bin (Prong village, Ia M'lah commune) at the biomass cornfield. Photo: D.L.

In Krong Pa district (Gia Lai province), farmers have been growing maize for many years. But this type of corn is just glutinous corn or hybrid corn that collects seeds for animal feed processing. Biomass corn has only been planted in a few recent crops by farmers but has already confirmed its position.

Farmer Sil Bin (Prong village, Ia M'lah commune) was one first to plant biomass corn here. For many years, he struggled with all kinds of crops such as sugarcane, cassava, and sesame on his 4-hectare land. His life is still precarious; income is not stable due to fluctuations in farmland, prices, weather, pests, etc.

Mr. Sil Bin said that if he grows sugarcane, his income is not high, not to mention the year of crop failure. After the sugarcane is harvested, if it is not sold immediately, it will lose its price. One year, a large sugarcane field caught fire and was burned down, and Mr. Sil Bin lost all his capital.

When growing cassava, there are years, cassava leaf mosaic disease or waterlogged, the whole 4 hectares almost no tubers. This year, Mr. Sil Bin only planted 2 hectares of cassava. For the remaining 2 hectares, he planted biomass corn.

Mr. Sil Bin shared that biomass corn yield is not less than 50 tonnes per hectare. After deducting the production cost of about VND 12 million, he earned over VND 20 million in profit per hectare.

Mr. Sil Bin decided to plant biomass corn after a Northwest Gia Lai Mint Cooperative Union representative came to the campaign. The cooperative advances seeds and fertilizers. When harvested, the cost will be deducted from the product selling price.

"Growing cassava takes a whole year to harvest. While growing biomass corn takes only three months, the price is high, and the output is stable. So next season, I decide to continue to invest in growing biomass corn," shared Mr. Sil Bin.

Also, in Ia M'lăh commune, Mrs. Vu Thi Tuyet's family in Tan Tuc village grew 2.5 hectares of biomass corn, the second crop. Ms. Tuyet said, in the past, her family planted sugarcane, harvested one crop a year. But, with the encouragement of the cooperative, her family switched to biomass corn.

Because biomass corn is grown in the dry season, it is the first crop, so there is no experience, the yield is not high. After deducting expenses, Mrs. Tuyet only got VND 70 million. But she said she would invest in the next crop.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Cuong, Chairman and General Director of Northwest Gia Lai Mint Cooperative, Krong Pa district have a large land area suitable for hybrid corn. In addition, the Ia M'lăh irrigation ensures a water source in the dry season, so it is very fortunate to grow biomass corn here.

"The cooperative is ready to provide initial support on seeds, fertilizers, and technical advice. When harvesting, the cooperative buys the fields for the farmers, the price is according to the initial agreement contract, "said Mr. Cuong.

CNC Dairy Farm Co., Ltd was established in Son Dinh commune (Son Hoa district, Phu Yen province), is a large cattle breeding unit specializing in dairy cows, the main food is biomass corn. Accordingly, if the material area is developed in Krong Pa, the people here will be completely assured of the output for the product.

Chairman of Krong Pa District People's Committee, Mr. Ho Van Thao, said that the district's crop development orientation is to diversify crops in the spirit of reducing the area of ​​cassava and increasing the scope of ​​fruit trees.

Unlike seed corn, biomass corn varieties are not widely recognized. The general trend of the world is to create specialized types. Currently, hybrid corn varieties to grow biomass corn need to be selected according to six main criteria.

Specifically, farmers can grow many crops; maintain a high percentage of green leaves until harvest; good grain yield, containing more than 70% of metabolizable energy (ME) and a higher carbohydrate level than the green parts of the plant; withstand relatively thick density; high dry matter yield, high grain yield; good resistance to shedding, resistance to root rot and stem rot, less infection with other common pests.

However, for biomass corn production to become a commodity, it is necessary to plan an extensive enough production area and specialized cultivation to apply mechanization in most stages of production. In addition, raw material areas need to be close to livestock farms, near processing plants, or in regions that can be easily connected and transported to lower costs and expenses.

In the future, biomass corn will be produced into a complete compound feed for grazing cattle and can become a professional and modern forage production and processing chain.

With these developments, biomass corn can be considered an essential solution to sustainably developing the livestock industry in epidemics and precarious feed prices.