VietNamNet Bridge – Ignoring the warnings by scientists, the people in central provinces still rushed to grow rubber, for which they have paid a heavy price.

Tens of thousands of hectares of rubber forests in the central region have collapsed after the historical typhoon. What the former Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Cong Tan and scientists warned before has come true. Local people have suffered big damages when growing rubber on unsuitable land.

Growing wind-vulnerable plans in typhoon areas

According to Tan, rubber is a kind of typical tropical industrial tree, which is very vulnerable to typhoons and cold. Strong wind (the 10th force and higher) would make rubber trees crumple, while the low temperature of 16oC would make them die.

Therefore, scientists warned that rubber should not be grown in the northwest, where the temperature is very low, and the central region, which is the destination of most of typhoons.

“It is too risky to grow rubber in the central region. The Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Natural Resources and the Environment and Science and Technology have been warned about this. However, they continue running the programs on rubber development on the areas,” Tan said.

Tan, while reminding his warning, has once again advised local people not to grow rubber any more. He said that farmers can grow many other kinds of trees suitable to the soil and the weather which can bring high economic effects.

In the immediate time, farmers can grow short term crops such as maize, sweet potato or cassava.

“The central region can absolutely get rich, even if it does not grow rubber,” Tan said.

“Why don’t you think of turnning Quang Binh and Quang Tri into the areas with the milk cow farms in the future?” he questioned.

According to Tan, growing grass could be a solution for the people in central provinces. With the expected capacity of 300 tons per hectare per annum and the average price of VND500,000 per ton, farmers can earn VND150 million a year.

The development of grass growing development would help develop the cow husbandry, which would both bring the profits much higher than the profits from other crops.

Trying again to grow rubber in typhoon stricken areas

Though thousands of hectares of rubber forests have collapsed in the typhoon, the people in Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces still continue growing the trees.

More than 400 workers of Le Ninh Company in Quang Binh have been busy these days clearing the crumpled trees and preparing to plant new trees.

Nguyen Ngoc Son, Le Ninh’s Director, affirmed that the company would continue growing rubber there, because no other crops can bring higher economic efficiency than rubber.

“Calamities rush down in many localities nationwide, not only in Quang Binh or Quang Tri. Big typhoons only occur every tens of years, the time long enough for us to grow and harvest rubber,” he explained.

Director of the Quang Binh provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Phan Van Khoa also said despite the heavy damages in the typhoon, the local authorities still encourage people to grow rubber.

Meanwhile, Director of the agriculture department of Quang Tri province Nguyen Van Bai said the local authorities are considering whether to continue growing rubber in the area which is regularly attacked by storms.

Dat Viet