Doan Nang Ruong, deputy head of the province’s Sub-department of Plant Protection, said for sustainable development, the Vietnam Macadamia Association should provide quality seedlings to farmers, and province authorities should link enterprises across the country with local farmers to ensure demand for the nuts.
Tran Van Chuong, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the province needs the support of the association to source quality seedlings.
There are many sources of macadamia seeds in the market, but they offer low yields, are plagued by pests and result in low value, dissuading farmers from growing the trees, he said.
The provincial People's Committee should offer incentives to attract investment in macadamia processing, and the association should help identify businesses that buy macadamia and make highly processed products, he added.
Prof. Nguyen Lan Hung, Deputy Chairman of the association, said Kon Tum has a lot of lands suitable for growing the nut, and inter-cropping of macadamia with coffee should be increased since the former would also shield the coffee shrubs from the sun and winds.
In recent years the decline in the prices of coffee, pepper and cashew, the province’s major crops, has persuaded many farmers to inter-crop macadamia with coffee and pepper or switch completely to the nut to improve their livelihoods.
Macadamia offers a higher income than coffee while the production cost is lower, according to farmers.
Kon Tum has suitable climate and soil for macadamia plantation and convenient transportation to places like HCM City and neighbouring provinces.
But having a source for seedlings is an important factor.
The association already has nurseries in the Central Highlands region that provide quality seeds to farmers.
Macadamia trees have been planted in the province since 2013, mostly together with coffee. It has around 350ha under the nut now, whose output is estimated at 30 tons a year.
Source: VNA