From mid-August until now, across the hillsides of Noong Son, Ta Dung, and Quynh Tam villages in Chieng Sung commune, Mai Son district, and Nong Chay, Na Thuon, and Bo Cop villages in Muong Chum commune, Muong La district, people have been busily harvesting seed corn. The land has rewarded their hard work; after many years of collaborating with Chieng Sung Agricultural Joint Stock Company in seed corn cultivation, the lives of hundreds of Thai and Mong ethnic minority households have become stable and prosperous, with many becoming wealthy from growing seed corn. More than 300 households in these villages participated in seed corn cultivation, and there are now no longer any poor households.
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Sorting of maize seeds at Chieng Sung Agricultural Joint Stock Company.
Along Provincial Road 110, we encountered trucks loaded with sacks of corn seeds being transported from the villages to Chieng Sung Agricultural Joint Stock Company. In the corn fields of Noong Son village, dozens of people were busily harvesting, bagging, and transporting the seeds to a collection point, waiting for a full truckload. On both sides of the road, many areas of recently harvested corn seeds were already showing the fresh green color of pumpkins, red beans, and soybeans.
Leveraging its role as a science and technology enterprise, Chieng Sung Agricultural Joint Stock Company continues to implement the principle of mutually beneficial linkages in this year's corn seed crop. The company provides capital, technology, and product markets, while farmers have land and labor. This effective linkage has helped the company and farmers develop production together and build a sustainable raw material area for many years. Every year, during the production season, the company sends technical staff to guide farmers from planting to harvesting. Simultaneously, it maintains a policy of investing in seeds, fertilizers, production techniques, and guaranteeing the purchase of all products from farmers. Specifically, the company invests in fertilizers and seeds, provides subsidies for tasseling, pesticides, transportation from the fields to the processing plant, and the cost of sifting and shelling the kernels.
Farmers in Chiềng Sung commune, Mai Sơn district, are harvesting seed corn.
At the company's seed processing plant, the atmosphere is extremely busy and bustling. Following the principle of processing corn as soon as it arrives, ensuring that harvested corn is not left in the fields, especially during the prolonged heavy rains caused by Typhoon No. 3, the corn is immediately transferred from the fields to the drying oven. If the corn is wet from rain, it is placed in a non-heated fan dryer for 4-6 hours, then heated to a moisture content below 20% before being transferred to a shelling machine and further dried to a moisture content of 11.5%. The total drying time is 126 hours, resulting in the final seed product. All stages are continuously monitored and inspected by technical staff from the company and partner units and businesses, ensuring the reputation and quality of the product.
According to farmers' calculations, each hectare of seed corn cultivation yields over 60 million VND after deducting expenses; in addition, after harvesting, they continue to plant pumpkins, red beans, and soybeans, earning an additional 40 million VND. This year, besides seed corn production, Chieng Sung Agricultural Joint Stock Company also cooperated with Dong Giao Export Food Joint Stock Company to produce 60 hectares of sweet corn, yielding 900 tons, and 24 hectares of vegetable soybeans, yielding 137 tons, supplying raw materials to the Doveco Son La Vegetable and Fruit Processing Center, creating more jobs and income for farmers.
Text and photos: Ngoc Thuan