In recent years, pepper prices have continuously decreased pests, many infected areas, fast death, slow death make life difficult for pepper growers in Phu Yen, in many localities farmers are tending to destroy this crop.
The farmers take care of the pepper plants that have not been destroyed.
However, finding suitable replacement crops, stabilizing output and creating sustainable livelihoods is an unsolved problem for pepper farmers and local authorities.
Son Thanh Tay commune (Tay Hoa district) is known as the capital of pepper trees in Phu Yen with an area of more than 500 hectares. Thanh Tay Tieu Son is famous throughout the country for its good growth, high yield and quality. Pepper trees for high income contribute to economic development for local farmers.
However, from the end of 2017 until now, the majority of pepper growing households have not brought economic benefits or even made losses. The reason is due to the low price of pepper (currently down to 30,000 VND/kg of dry pepper) and rapid death and slow death outbreaks for a long time. Seeing the pepper garden increasingly wither, farmers had to break down to plant other crops in a short time, earn an immediate income to stabilize their lives. But, it’s a problem for farmers to find new crops that are suitable for the climate, soil, etc.
Mr. Phan Trong Anh, Son Truong village, Son Thanh Tay commune said that pepper growers in Son Thanh are now “exhausted”. Because of the money and effort invested in this crop, the effect is not as expected. If you continue to keep pepper trees, the family’s economy will face many difficulties. Therefore, many people have been destroying pepper gardens to grow other crops such as corn, cassava, eggplant, asparagus, passion fruit, fruit trees…
People destroy pepper to grow other crops.
There are more than 4,000 m2 of land for pepper cultivation, but so far, the family of Mr. Doan Van Chien, Son Tinh village, Son Thanh Tay commune has demolished more than half of the area to grow maize and eggplant. Although growing these two crops each season only earns about 1 to 2 million dong, much lower than the previous pepper cultivation, but this is the situational solution that his family chose.
Mr. Doan Van Chien, Son Tinh village, Son Thanh Tay commune shared: Now destroy pepper and plant a little of each type of tree. This type of tree loses and another tree takes it back. Farmers keep asking each other to plant, but there is no planning or finding anything.
According to statistics of the People’s Committee of Son Thanh Tay commune, more than 300 hectares of pepper have been destroyed by farmers. Farmers themselves switched from growing pepper to other crops such as avocados, oranges, cassava, maize, eggplant and asparagus.
Mr. Trinh Lam Hai, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Son Thanh Tay commune, said that the fact that farmers destroy diseased pepper gardens to plant other crops is only an immediate solution. In the long term, the locality has proposed to the superiors to have specific orientations for farmers to switch to other crops, in accordance with the planning, climate and soil here. In addition, many households in the commune still owe money to banks for loans to invest in pepper cultivation. Therefore, people want banks to freeze debts, delay debts and create conditions for farmers to continue borrowing capital to develop production.
Not only in Son Thanh Tay commune, Tay Hoa district, the pepper growing area in Song Hinh district is also decreasing significantly. Previously, the total area of pepper cultivation in the district was about 200 hectares, now it is only about 60 hectares. The pepper area was demolished, farmers switched to growing fruit trees, a part switched to rubber…
According to the planning of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, by 2020, the pepper growing area in Phu Yen province will be about 400 hectares. However, in the past, due to the high price of pepper, farmers massively cut down other crops to switch to pepper. At one time, the pepper growing area in Phu Yen province was more than 1,000 hectares, about 2.5 times higher than the plan. In the face of the current difficult situation, finding replacement crops for the destroyed but suitable pepper area, stabilizing output is an unsolved problem for the agriculture industry and farmers.
Follow Xuan Trieu (VNA)
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