When the Arabica coffee tree in Dien Bien is in season, the price is good and there are stable output signals, but many farmers are “crying” with regret.
Farmers in Muong Ang district, Dien Bien collect coffee. Photo: Van Thanh Chuong
Cut down thousands of hectares of coffee
Muong Ang district – which is considered the coffee capital of Dien Bien has about 2,000 hectares of coffee. Four years ago, the coffee area of this locality reached nearly 4,000 hectares.
According to PV’s research, over the years, coffee trees have not been able to promote their economic value. Coffee growers struggle because of unstable output and low prices, which cannot compensate for production costs. Therefore, many farmers cut down coffee trees to grow corn and cassava.
Growing Arabica coffee requires a lot of investment and care to be productive. That is not to mention having to invest a large amount of money for hiring. Arabica coffee has the characteristics of uneven ripening, so it has to be harvested in many batches and adheres to certain principles.
However, in order to properly harvest coffee, low labor productivity affects the income of workers. If the collection price increases to ensure income for workers, it will “team” costs for garden owners.
In addition, the chorus “good harvest – loss of value, gain – loss of harvest” has been going on for many years. Every year, to the harvest season, coffee growers are always worried whether the season is good or the price is good. And as a result, many farmers who are not patient enough have decided to cut down or give up care.
Coffee trees feed thousands of workers
Muong Ang farmer collects coffee. Photo: Van Thanh Chuong
While coffee trees have not yet brought into play their economic benefits to growers, for many years, Muong Ang district, Dien Bien province has always been consistent with the goal of developing coffee trees. It even considers coffee as a “spike tree” in the socio-economic development plan.
In fact, over the past 20 years, the role of coffee in Muong Ang cannot be denied because the value it brings can be seen clearly, creating jobs for thousands of rural workers.
According to Mr. Ta Manh Cuong – Vice Chairman of Muong Ang District People’s Committee: “The value of coffee to workers is very great, not even a program or project of the State can compare – that is creating a stable source of jobs, bringing in an income of about 50-60 billion VND per year for employees”.
“Currently, the whole district has about 2,100ha of coffee, the output is estimated at 2,500 tons of paddy coffee, equivalent to about 13,000 tons of fresh coffee. If the cost of picking is 2,500 VND / 1 kg of fresh fruit, the laborer has earned an income of over 30 billion wages, not including the care work “- Mr. Cuong said.
According to Mr. Ta Manh Cuong, the most difficult thing for both workers and growers to make a living from the coffee tree is to find an output for the product commensurate with its inherent value.
Over the years, Muong Ang district has organized many delegations to major markets to learn, promote products and call partners to invest and purchase.
However, the raw material area is not large enough to invest in the factory and the transportation distance is far and the cost is high, so many businesses are not interested.
It can be seen that, for many years now, the survival problem of Muong Ang coffee trees is still the output option. But now, a company has invested in a large-scale coffee processing factory in Muong Ang district and is expected to operate in mid-October 2021 to buy coffee stably for people.
Meanwhile, many people have been impatient to cut down thousands of hectares of green coffee. Therefore, when the coffee was just in season, and the price promised to have stable output, many farmers had to “cry out” because of regret.
According to PV’s research, in order to stabilize output for coffee trees, Dien Bien Provincial People’s Committee has approved for Viet Bac Coffee Import and Export Co., Ltd to build a coffee processing factory on an area of 2.6 ha in Ang To commune, Muong Ang district. Currently, the factory is in the finishing phase and is expected to operate from October 15.
To ensure the interests of farmers, the Company signed a commitment to purchase coffee products for 3 consecutive years, and at the same time committed to purchase fresh coffee with a minimum price of 10 thousand VND / 1 kg, even if the price is low. lower market. In case the market price is higher than 10 thousand VND/kg, the company will buy according to the market price.
According to Vietnamnet
