Forest growers in Nghe An change their mindset, considering intensive investment as the optimal solution

Thanks to intensive afforestation and proper technical care, acacia forests in Bong Khe commune, Con Cuong district grow well. Photo: Van Truong

Transformation from intensive afforestation

In recent years, people in Con Cuong district have made positive changes in production forest cultivation techniques, gradually shifting from extensive forest planting that depends entirely on nature to intensive investment. The stages of seed selection and sowing are carefully prepared. After planting, attention is paid to care and proper fertilization, thanks to which the forest grows quickly and has a large biomass.

A long time ago, Mr. Vi Van Minh's family in Binh Chuan commune (Con Cuong) planted forests in a "dry" way, just digging holes to plant trees in the ground and waiting for harvest, no fertilizer, little care, low survival rate, uneven growth, long exploitation cycle and low forest productivity. Now, thanks to learning from some models, Mr. Vi Van Minh has learned that the two most important factors in effective forest planting are good seeds and proper care, planting at the right density, and periodically weeding and fertilizing the trees.

Most forest growers in Con Cuong district pay attention to the quality of seedlings and buy seedlings from reputable producers. Photo: Van Truong

Investing in intensive forest planting costs about 10-12 million VND/ha for 5 years, but the profit is high, 1 hectare of forest is worth 80-90 million VND, while extensive forest only reaches 25-30 million VND/ha.

Binh Chuan commune has over 300 hectares of raw acacia forest. For a long time, many households have planted extensive forests without taking care of them, such as fertilizing them. Recently, the commune has promoted and mobilized people to plant forests along with taking care of them, protecting them, and promoting the application of science and technology, especially intensive farming methods in forest production. Each year, the locality strives to plant 60-70 hectares of new forests.

Mr. Lo Van Ly - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Con Cuong district, said: In 2023, the province assigned the district to Con Cuong to plant 1,600 hectares of forest. Up to now, the district has planted over 80% of the area. By the end of the autumn forest planting season, the district is expected to plant over 2,100 hectares (500 hectares more than the target).

Some international projects support Nghe An people to plant tissue-cultured acacia trees. Photo: Van Truong

To achieve that goal, Con Cuong district has developed a forest planting plan for each commune; reviewed local nurseries to prepare quality seedlings for forest planters, and promoted people to fertilize acacia trees right from the time of digging planting holes to increase productivity. Thanks to the application of scientific and technical advances in forest planting and care, many forests have achieved high productivity of 80-100 tons of acacia/ha/cycle, while extensive cultivation only achieves 25-30 tons of acacia/ha/cycle.

However, the current difficulty in Con Cuong district as well as some other localities is that the production link between people and businesses is still not tight, so the consumption is not stable.

Acacia tissue culture nursery at Song Hieu Agricultural Forestry One Member Co., Ltd. Photo: Van Truong

Towards tissue culture-like coatings

Seeing the effectiveness of intensive afforestation, in recent years, the functional sectors and local authorities in Nghe An have promoted and mobilized people to follow this method. According to the report of the Forestry Department, in 2023, the plan to plant 18,500 hectares of forest, up to this point the whole province has planted over 90%, it is expected that by the end of the afforestation season, 20,000 hectares will be planted (exceeding 1,500 hectares). The whole province has created more than 35 million acacia seedlings of all kinds.

To ensure the progress of afforestation in 2023, the Provincial People's Committee allocates targets to districts and forest owners, and at the same time directs specialized agencies to coordinate with localities to propagate and mobilize households to register areas for design and conduct vegetation treatment; encourage localities to expand the development of large timber forests and forests certified by FSC (sustainable forest management certification). The preparation of seedlings is also focused on, in which enterprises and forestry seedling production facilities in the area have prepared about 35 million high-quality seedlings to serve people's needs.

Tissue-cultured acacia varieties at Co Ba Forestry Farm, Quy Chau District are highly effective, grow very well, and develop one and a half times faster than the old varieties. Photo: Van Truong

Mr. Nguyen Khac Hai - Head of Forest Use and Development Department (Forestry Sub-Department) said: In recent years, in many localities in the province, forestry has changed, overcoming the situation of extensive production, low productivity and efficiency of planted forests. Currently, over 80% of the forest area is applied intensive farming measures, technical measures are carried out synchronously, from cutting, burning, clearing vegetation to destroy pathogens; focusing on using quality tree varieties, appropriate planting density.

In some places, farmers also use machinery in forestry production stages such as plowing, digging holes, transporting seedlings and fertilizers. Many households also install water pumps for newly planted trees, thanks to which the trees grow and develop quickly.

However, the work of planting raw material forests in the province still has limitations, such as many people do not know which type of acacia they are planting, whether it is suitable or not. This is very risky because the planted forest has a long cycle, only when it is exploited will we know if the variety is good or not. Some households still plant forests extensively, without fertilizing, so the yield is low and especially it is very difficult to create a high proportion of large timber. Not to mention that people have the habit of planting dense forests, from 2,500 - 3,000 trees/ha, even up to 5,000 trees/ha in some places, causing small wood, low quality wood, low economic value and especially quickly degrading the soil, susceptible to pests and diseases.

Some acacia areas in Tan Ky district are densely planted, causing small wood, low economic value, rapid soil degradation, and susceptibility to pests and diseases. Photo: Van Truong

To effectively plant raw material forests and increase income for forest workers, Nghe An is currently directing localities to focus on investing in intensive forest cultivation as the optimal solution. Encouraging people to plant according to FSC standards to increase forest value. According to the plan, in the coming time, the Forest Protection Department will support 6-7 billion VND for forestry units in the province to build improved nursery models to produce tissue-cultured hybrid acacia seedlings.

The establishment of nurseries to improve the production of forestry seedlings will contribute to raising people's awareness of sustainable forest development associated with forest certification; transferring the process of producing high-quality forestry seedlings; meeting the demand for planting large timber forests. Through the model, farmers will have a source of high-quality forestry seedlings.

In addition, Nghe An is speeding up the construction of the North Central Coast High-Tech Forestry Seedling Center in Nghi Lam and Nghi Loc communes to soon put it into operation, meeting the demand for high-quality tissue-cultured acacia seedlings for afforestation in the province.

Source: https://baonghean.vn/nguoi-trong-rung-tai-nghe-an-thay-doi-tu-duy-xem-dau-tu-tham-canh-la-giai-phap-toi-uu-post280003.html