Local corn farmers empowered to plan future with confidence

With this new tool, farmers will be able protect corn crop from the damages of insects and weeds, reduce hardships in farming, and maximise yield as well as income potential.

Corn, a major short-term crop grown locally in Vietnam, is a key source of income for millions of local farmers. To them, insects and weeds are a major cause of crop damage, low quality and yield loss, leading to a lower return on growers’ investment.

With the demand for corn increasing each year, and with Vietnam importing approximately $1 billion worth of the crop annually, there is a need to support local farmers with addressing the demand for corn locally.

“Reflecting our understanding of the key challenges faced by farmers, Dekalb Vietnam has today introduced our Genuity trait technology to local farmers with the aim to enhance their crop potential,” said Narasimham Upadyayula, CEO of Dekalb Vietnam.

“This agricultural innovation allows us to offer farmers better protection against weeds and insects to enhance their crop. Integrated into the well-loved Dekalb conventional hybrids, the new technology will help farmers further optimise their investment and plan better for the future,” he said.

Genuity traits are integrated on the Dekalb hybrids, protecting the corn crop against common pests such as corn borer, corn earworm and cut-worm.

Genuity also offers simple weed management, with farmers able to spray MAXER 660SCherbicide over the top to bolster the crop’s protection against weeds. This also helps minimise pesticide use and labour cost, enhancing farmers’ savings, and resulting in a healthy, high-yield crop.

More than 16,000 Vietnamese farmers have been educated on the new technology and how to optimise the new tool from Dekalb Vietnam prior to the commercialisation.

Over 150 farmers have so far grown and reaped their first yields facilitated by Dekalb Genuity successfully. Many have recognised early benefits of the technology, which has enabled a better corn yield.

“After this season, I would choose Dekalb Genuity as it requires less labor hours. I also do not need to worry about weed and insect management anymore,” said farmer Nguyen Hong Lam from Xuan Loc district in the southern province of Dong Nai.

“First, I did not have to spend much labour on weed management. Second, I did not have to spray herbicide, which is a huge relief,” farmer Luu Van Tran from Thanh Son district in the northern province of Phu Tho commented.

“I hope that Dekalb Vietnam and the government will enable us to further new traits such as Dekalb Genuity in the next year. This will help us immensely in securing our corn yield and will have a huge impact on our lives,” shared Nguyen Thi Xuan, a farmer coming from Mai Son district in the northern mountainous province of Son La.

Dekalb Vietnam is a subsidiary of Monsanto, the world largest seed company which focuses on seeds, crop protection and biotechnology. Dekalb Vietnam was established in August 2010 after 15 years operating as subsidiary of Monsanto Thailand.