Visiting Yen Bai Province in early summer, we saw immense yellow fields of hybrid corn, which were ready for harvesting along highway 32 from the city of Yen Bai to Suoi Giang Commune, Van Chan District.
Van Chan is the largest area for growing corn in Yen Bai Province with a total area of over 5,000ha, mainly in the communes of Son Thinh, Cat Thinh, Suoi Giang, Gia Hoi, Son Luong and Nam Muoi. Following Phung The Hanh, a cadre of the district’s Agricultural Department, we visited some areas specializing in hybrid corn cultivation and saw piles of yellow corn of the Tay, Thai and Mong people near their temporary tents in the fields.
Immense hills of CPA88 hybrid corn.
LVN99 corncobs are ready for harvesting.
The Mong people harvest corn in the terraced field.
Happy smiles of a bumper crop.
Corn is seen in every household in the area. 
During the season of harvesting corn.
Corn helps improve the living standards of people in Van Chan.
New corn varieties with good quality and high yield. |
We stopped near a pile of corn belonging to the family of Song A Hong, a member of the Mong in Suoi Giang Commune. Hong cheerfully said: “My family has a total area of about 5,000m2 for cultivating corn. This year, I grew LVN919 corn variety of higher quality and yield than C99 variety of last year. Every year, to prepare for a new crop, we and others in the commune go to buy seed corn from authorized dealers for growing.”
Hanh also added that due to the terrain of sloping hills the yield of corn in Van Chan mostly depends on climate conditions and varieties. Therefore, Van Chan District People’s Committee annually coordinates with companies specializing in producing hybrid corn varieties to grow some on a trial basis. Then, they select the best varieties, meeting the requirements of drought resistance and high quality and productivity, for the list of varieties of plants.
At present, most well-known hybrid corn varieties in the nation and other countries as LVN99 and C919 have been grown in Van Chan. Recently, Van Chan Agricultural Promotion Department coordinated with Vietnam Syngenta Crop Protection and Bac Giang Agricultural Techniques and Materials Joint Stock Company to grow two hybrid corn varieties of NK6654 and NK4300 on a trial basis that reached a yield of 6-6.5 tonnes/ha. These varieties of corn have been grown in the district for four years and have reached high productivity that affirm their features suitable to the hill land area.
Corncobs are split.
Dried corn is packed carefully.
Buying corn in Van Chan. |
Corn is considered one of the key plants in the district so the local authority constantly experiments with new corn varieties with the aim of selecting the best quality hybrid corn varieties for farmers. It is a necessary support for farmers in Van Chan, helping them escape from poverty and develop the economy.
Story: Thao Vy - Photo: Trinh Van Bo