The province aims to have 13,500 hectares of coffee trees re-planted
or upgraded as part of its sustainable development plan for the coffee
sector from 2015-2020, said Dao Xuan Lien, Vice Chairman of the
provincial People’s Committee.
It will focus on plantations within Grai, Chuprong and Chupah districts and Pleiku and Chu Se cities.
In 2015, local farmers will receive preferential loans worth between
80-150 million VND (3,700 - 7,000 USD) for each hectare to re-plant
coffee trees on some 2,000 hectares.
Farmer
Nguyen Van Ho from La Sao commune, Grai district has two hectares of
coffee plants but more than half of them are 30 years old, yielding low
productivity and quality.
With a 150 million VND
loan, he can re-plant his fields, applying new seedling varieties and
farming techniques and technologies.
Additionally, the province has urged localities and relevant bodies to
ensure an adequate supply of 16 million coffee seedlings in line with
local conditions.
Training will be fostered and a number of piloted projects will be implemented to ensure the plan’s success.
Director of the Gia Lai branch of the Bank of Agricultural and Rural
Development Phan Tien Thu said the bank facilitates preferential loan
access for local farmers under the programme.
Gia Lai has nearly 80,000 hectares of coffee trees, a majority of which were planted between 1995 and 2000.
Statistics showed that more than 18,500 hectares of coffee plants have aged sufficiently and need to be re-planted./.
