Funding shortage impacts cassava growers in central area

Funding shortage impacts cassava growers in central area

Large numbers of cassava growers in the central provinces are unable to continue with the crop after they have found it difficult to obtain funding.
Cassava farmers in Vientiane and Borikhamxay provinces who borrowed money from the bank have lost their chance to make a profit as there has been no guaranteed market to sustain the price.

Only some of the growers have sufficient capital to survive and continue to produce the crop, the Borikhamxay provincial Industry and Commerce Department Official, Mr Khamphaeng Louangsavanhnavong told Vientiane Times yesterday.

This crop requires farmers to invest a lot of money every three years in order to replenish the nutrients in the soil before they can repeat their harvest, he explained.

Many of the farmers have had to spend money on other things like food for their families before they can harvest their crop, said Mr Khamphaeng.
The problem has meant that some farmers have had no profit in recent years having had to pay loan principal and interest back to the bank.
Over the last two years the provincial farmers earned a good income from selling the crop as it was a new commercial crop at that time, he said.

After the number of farmers increased, the demand and price became stable, Mr Khamphaeng reported.
Raw cassava sold within the province fetches between 400 and 500 kip per kg which increases to 600 to 1,200 kip for dried cassava.

The number of areas where it is being grown is increasing according to the provincial agriculture department.
During both the wet and dry seasons last year, farmers grew 13,770 hectares of cassava while only in the wet season this year, they have planted 10,800 hectares.

The amount of dried cassava exported between October 2013 and September 2014 increased by only 2-3 percent or 69,510 tonnes.

The major markets for Borikhamxay province are in Vietnam and Thailand.
Sweetcorn is a potential new commercial crop which the provincial farmers are currently interested in switching to.
He confirmed that these crops are the main commercial crops that will bring good incomes for local families.
The department on behalf the government will try to find new markets and encourage the farmers to continue to grow these crops, he said.

vientiane times