(GLO) - During the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, the lively atmosphere of spring fills the vast sugar...
(GLO) - During the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, the lively atmosphere of spring fills the vast sugarcane fields in the districts and towns in the southeastern region of the province and neighboring areas.
This year, with both good harvest and favorable prices, local farmers have a stable source of income. This is the result of the close collaboration between AgriS Gia Lai Agricultural Joint Stock Company (AgriS Gia Lai) and thousands of sugarcane-growing households over the years.
The Joyful Harvest Season for Sugarcane Farmers
Ms. Vu Thi Lan, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of AgriS Gia Lai, shared: "After many years of being connected with the land of Gia Lai, AgriS Gia Lai has brought new vitality to the sugarcane raw material area in 4 districts and towns in the southeastern part of Gia Lai province and neighboring areas such as Hbông (Chư Sê district), Ea H'leo (Đak Lak province)."
AgriS Gia Lai continuously expands its sugarcane raw material area to ensure serving the crushing capacity of the current factory, which is 7,000 tons of sugarcane per day, aiming for 8,000 tons of sugarcane per day in the 2024-2025 crushing season.
In addition, by focusing on providing high-yielding, high-quality sugarcane varieties suitable for the soil conditions of the Southeastern region, in recent years, AgriS Gia Lai has implemented many investment policies for farmers from planting, caring, water-saving irrigation, mechanization, and promoting the application of scientific and technological advances in sugarcane cultivation to increase productivity and quality.
In particular, AgriS Gia Lai has signed contracts for minimum sugarcane price insurance to ensure profits for farmers. This is one of AgriS Gia Lai's appropriate policies to ensure ...
Sugarcane harvest in Hbông commune, Chu Se district. Photo: B.T.
According to information from AgriS Gia Lai, in the 2023-2024 crushing season, the company's raw material area in 4 districts and towns in the southeastern part of Gia Lai province and neighboring areas reached over 14,000 hectares, the highest ever.
The favorable weather in Gia Lai province is conducive to sugarcane growth and development, and pest and disease control measures are effective, resulting in an average sugarcane yield in the raw material area reaching 80 tons per hectare. This is considered one of the highest-yielding sugarcane areas in the country. As a result, sugarcane farmers have an average income of 40-50 million VND per hectare.
In the joyful excitement of successful harvest and good prices, Ms. Le Thi Gam (Ia Sa hamlet, Hbông commune) said: "Since sugarcane has been introduced to Hbông land, it has changed the economic development perception of local people, especially ethnic minorities. Many households proactively link with AgriS Gia Lai to convert unproductive land into sugarcane cultivation to increase income, stabilize their lives, and strive for prosperity."
Furthermore, sugarcane has provided on-site employment for hundreds of ethnic minority laborers. In this harvest season, if a family of two spouses works to cut sugarcane in Hbông, they can earn from 800,000 to 1 million VND per day.
"This year's Tet is not only a joy for sugarcane growers but also for local laborers who have high incomes. I personally have nearly 60 hectares of sugarcane, of which 45 hectares are for harvest with an estimated average yield of 90 tons per hectare.
With AgriS Gia Lai's current purchasing price, the estimated profit at the end of the harvest season is over 2 billion VND from sugarcane, which brings a happy and warm Tet celebration," Ms. Gam shared.
Mechanization of the harvesting process in AgriS Gia Lai's raw material area. Photo: Nguyen Le
To ensure timely harvesting of ripe sugarcane in localities, since the beginning of the crushing season, AgriS Gia Lai has proactively sought and resolved employment for thousands of local laborers and those from neighboring provinces.
In addition, the company uses three continuous sugarcane harvesters in mechanized cultivation areas to timely transport sugarcane to the factory. The use of sugarcane grabber machines to replace manual labor has increased work efficiency, helped farmers reduce costs, and increased profits per unit of sugarcane cultivation area.
In the trend of integrating into the world sugar market and digitizing agricultural development, in recent years, AgriS Gia Lai has not been left behind with investment policies to develop sustainable sources of raw materials through planned cooperation and sustainable development with local farmers.
AgriS Gia Lai has pioneered digital transformation by using the Farm Resource Management (FRM) agricultural management system to manage each sugarcane plot, controlling information on planting dates, sugarcane varieties, soil quality in each area.
From there, the company has technical guidance solutions to help sugarcane growers better care for and manage their crops and be proactive in harvesting. Using the TMS software to closely monitor harvesting activities and transportation vehicles.
"Continuously investing in the development of sugarcane raw material areas in districts and towns in the southeastern part of Gia Lai province and neighboring areas is an essential requirement to strengthen the bond between farmers and businesses.
Therefore, AgriS Gia Lai always accompanies and closely cooperates with sugarcane growers to ensure a harmonious balance of interests between the two sides. We hope sugarcane will provide a stable income of 40-50 million VND per hectare on average," the Chairman of the Board of Directors of AgriS Gia Lai added.
Businesses for the Community
Alongside its production and business activities, in recent years, AgriS Gia Lai has always accompanied local authorities in sugarcane-growing areas in various charitable activities, social security, support for scholarship funds, the "For the Poor" fund, organizing Mid-Autumn Festival events, and giving gifts on the occasion of the school opening day to children in difficult circumstances... In 2023 alone, the company's contribution to localities exceeded 200 million VND.
Moreover, in 2023, AgriS Gia Lai successfully organized sports events with over 400 athletes from various provinces and cities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Khanh Hoa, Tay Ninh, and neighboring countries such as Laos, Singapore... contributing to promoting the physical training and sports movement among the company's staff, workers, and local people.
Along with that, AgriS Gia Lai also sponsored many sports activities in the province in 2023, such as sponsoring the Gia Lai Cultural-Tourism Week 2023 with 50 million VND and items worth over 20 million VND; sponsoring the 1st Ayun Pa Urban Wilderness Race in 2023 with 400 bottles of mineral water, and giving a bicycle to students in difficult circumstances.
AgriS Gia Lai's leadership planting trees in the raw material area. Photo: B.T
With the production line invested in and improved annually, the factory operates steadily with a crushing capacity of 7,000 tons of sugarcane per day. AgriS Gia Lai has produced many high-quality products trusted by major customers such as Vinacafe, Mondelez Kinh Đô, Masan for many years.
The company has been certified by specialized agencies to meet the standards of the FSSC 22000 system, the ISO 14001:2015 environmental management system, and the ISO 9001:2015 quality management system. The emissions and wastewater of the factory are tightly controlled and regulated through an automatic emissions and wastewater monitoring system.
Environmental hygiene awareness is consistently raised among every staff member, aiming towards green, clean, and environmentally friendly criteria.
Notably, in response to the "Planting 10 Million Green Trees - Creating a Green Future" program initiated by Thành Thành Công-Biên Hòa Joint Stock Company (TTC AgriS, HOSE: SBT), of which AgriS Gia Lai is a subsidiary, the company is committed to sustainable development, aiming to achieve Net Zero by 2035. In 2023, AgriS Gia Lai pledged to support localities in the raw material area to plant 1 million green trees within the factory premises and areas in the raw material region with various types of trees such as acacia, agarwood, and ebony, suitable for the climate and soil conditions of each region.
This is a meaningful activity in response to the "Planting One Billion Green Trees by 2021-2025" project launched by the Prime Minister.
"This activity aims to increase soil fertility and contribute to afforestation in localities. Especially, through this, AgriS Gia Lai aims to become a sustainable green agricultural enterprise," shared the Chairman of the Board of Directors of AgriS Gia Lai.
According to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of AgriS Gia Lai, in recent years, AgriS Gia Lai has always coordinated well and accompanied local authorities in production activities. Specifically, the company has implemented many investment policies and supported local farmers in developing sugarcane cultivation towards sustainability. In addition, the company actively participates in social security programs initiated by local authorities.
Via Bao Gia Lai