900 tons of unsold cassava, cows can't eat it all, people have to dig holes to bury it

Over the past month, cassava (yam) in the specialized growing area of Duong Quang commune (Mo Duc district, Quang Ngai province) has been harvested. The cassava crop is good, with an expected yield of about 1,300 tons. However, 300 farming households are unhappy because they have to waste time dumping it.

Last year, cassava was purchased at 6,000-7,000 VND/kg. This year, traders only bought a very small amount at 1,500-1,800 VND/kg. This price is not enough to cover the cost of harvesting.

900 tấn sắn ế, bò ăn không hết, người dân phải đào hố chôn - 1 — Cassava is in season but Quang Ngai people are sad because traders do not buy it (Photo: Quoc Trieu).

With 6 sao of land (each sao is 500m2) growing cassava, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoan harvested more than 16 tons of tubers but only sold a few hundred kilograms. The rest are piled up waiting for traders.

"This year, they chose the most beautiful bulbs and bought them for only 1,800 VND/kg. Even if we sold them at this price, it would not be enough to make a living. We waited for traders every day but no one came to buy. Many people had to feed their livestock or uproot them to make room for farming," said Ms. Ngoan.

900 tấn sắn ế, bò ăn không hết, người dân phải đào hố chôn - 2 — Traders do not buy, people feed cassava to livestock (Photo: Quoc Trieu).

After many days of waiting for traders but with no results, Mr. Nguyen Sau had to dig a hole to bury the cassava. He said there were too many cassava roots, traders did not buy them so he did not know what to do with them. He could not feed the livestock much, so Mr. Sau had to dig a hole to bury them.

"If I leave the cassava out there, it will sprout and grow all over the place, making it a hassle to clean up, so I have to dig a deep hole to bury it. I can't sell it, so now I have to spend time destroying it," said Mr. Sau.

Not only did Mr. Sau spend more than 4 months taking care of the cassava, he also spent a lot of money growing it. With a plot of land of 8 sao, he spent about 40 million VND on seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides. If in previous years, he earned 40-50 million VND, this year he lost everything.

900 tấn sắn ế, bò ăn không hết, người dân phải đào hố chôn - 3 — Mr. Nguyen Sau had to dig a hole to bury cassava (Photo: Quoc Trieu).

According to Mr. Nguyen Tan Viet, Chairman of Duc Thang Commune People's Committee, cassava is a traditional crop in the locality. In previous years, cassava was sold out because many other vegetable growing areas were often flooded.

However, this year there is little rain and floods, and the amount of vegetables supplied to the market from other places is high, so few people buy cassava locally.

In previous years, traders from the southern provinces often imported cassava tubers from the commune. This year, many places in the south are growing this variety, so local cassava plants have lost their competitive advantage.

"To solve the immediate difficulties for farmers, the commune asked the Provincial Farmers' Association to call for help selling 300 tons, people retailed about 100 tons, and 900 tons are still in stock," said Mr. Viet.

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