Maize field in Yen Bai province

Along with the expansion, it is necessary to choose suitable varieties and farming technical, as the winter crop is the main production crop in the year that makes significant contribution to the growth of the whole agriculture sector, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh. 

In a conference to review the 2015 winter crop and launch plans for 2016 winter crop on September 8, the Deputy Minister asked for promptly harvesting the summer-autumn crop to give space for winter crop. 

He advised localities to prioritise the expansion of maize and soybean area in free rice farms. 

Meanwhile, deputy head of the Department of Cultivation Tran Xuan Dinh said that localities has been active in promptly implement plan for the production of summer-autumn crop in line with their winter crop plan, while applying policies to encourage the production of winter crop. 

They have also prepared varieties for the winter crop, ensuring both quality and quantity, he said. 

He also asked localities to speed up the merging of farms and give farming land to farmers to make a concentrated production area, enable the implementation of the mechanisasion in order to increase yield and products’ quality. 

At the same time, it is necessary to call for investment in farm production and consumption from businesses, said Dinh. 

The department recommended that farmers should conclude seeding and planting before October 10 for varieties preferring warm climate, and starting the work after October 10 for cold-hardy plants. Farmers should plant potato between October 25 and November 15. 

According to the department, the winter crop 2015 faced difficulties in weather conditions with extreme cold spells and heavy rains at the end of the crop. The output was nearly 4,000 million tonnes, down by nearly 200,000 tonnes, in a total area of 409,000 hectares, 13,000 hectares lower than the same crop in previous year. 

Average income of the winter crop was about 50 million VND per hectares, with the total whole region’s production of 22 trillion VND (100 million USD).

VNA