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Mekong Delta: farmers axing fruit trees to plant rice 16th July 2008
Surging prices of rice are urging farmers in the Mekong Delta to cut down hundreds of hectares of orchards and do away with shrimp ponds to grow paddy. In Giong Rieng district, Kien Giang province, farmers are chopping down massive orchards of coconut, bamboo, fruit trees to plant rice. Over 100ha of orchards have been turned into rice fields in the past six months.
Giong Rieng district’s Party Secretary Ho Van Huong said: “Paddy has never been as favoured by farmers as these days. Though the rice price has declined, farmers will continue to grow rice. We estimate we will have 1,700ha of orchards and shrimp ponds turned into rice fields.”
In Vinh Long province, 170ha of orange orchards have become rice fields. In Soc Trang province, 10,000ha of shrimp ponds have become rice fields.
“Shrimp brings in high economic value but has more risks than rice growing,” explained Truong Thanh Binh, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Soc Trang province.
To turn a hectare of garden into rice field, farmers have to pay VND20-25 million ($1,250-1,700).
The shift of orchards and shrimp ponds into rice fields in the Mekong Delta makes economists worry because Vietnam has learnt many bitter lessons from coffee in the Central Highlands and catfish in the Mekong Delta.
However, some reject the above concern, saying that along with population increase, the need for food will rise so paddy prices will not fall.
Phan Huy Thong, Vice Head of the Plantation Agency under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said it is costly to turn shrimp ponds into rice fields because it requires a long time to improve soil.
“The Ministry is checking the shift to give recommendations and even take measures to prevent a massive shift,” Thong said.
For orchards that don’t yield high economic values, the official said it is necessary to encourage farmers to replace fruit trees with paddy.
“The increase of rice fields in some regions, especially in the Mekong Delta, will compensate for the diminishing area of rice fields in the country due to the expansion of industrial zones and urban areas. We are trying to maintain 3.8-4 million hectares of rice fields to ensure food security,” Thong said.
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