HÀ NỘI — The planting of genetically modified corn has been increasing the crops’ productivity, improving the income of farmers in northern Thái Nguyên Province and help reduce imports in the future, the provincial Sub-department of Plant Protection has said.

Speaking at the conference on the development on genetically modified corn on December 19, Lương Văn Vượng, head of the sub-department said the profit earned reached more than VNĐ30 million (US$1,290) per hectare – an increase of nearly VNĐ8 million ($344) per hectare compared to the normal crop.

In addition, the production cost was VNĐ 2 million ($86) lower than that of normal plant.

Vượng said this type of corn brought higher productivity than the normal ones under the same cultivation and climate condition.

Local farmers have begun cultivating the genetically modified corn since 2016. The planting area has occupied about ten per cent of the total corn-growing area of the province.

Trịnh Thị Bích, farmer in Đồng Liên Commune’s Xuân Đán Village said her family cultivated on the area of 1,000 square metres as a trial last year.

It has brought a bumper crop with the productivity of 18 per cent higher than the normal crop.

“We didn’t have to spray pesticides and weed everyday like we used to do with the normal corns,” she said.

Trần Xuân Định, vice head of the Department of Planting under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said the cultivation area to 28.5 hectares by this year after four years of obtaining a licence to grow it.

Currently, the volume has failed to meet the domestic demand. The volume of imported corn has increased from 4.4 millions of tonnes in 2014 to 8.3 millions of tonnes in 2017. In this year, the number has increased to 9.1 millions of tonnes. — VNS