Large area of black pepper dead in Binh Phuoc Province, productivity drops

The People’s Committee of Binh Phuoc Province on June 3 said that it has been instructing competent authorities to concentrate on finding solutions to resolve difficulties for black pepper growers.

From 2018 to now, 2,735 hectares of black pepper plants in the province have been dead due to diseases. Of which, Bu Gia Map District suffered the highest loss of 1,104.5 hectares of black pepper plants in the 2019-2020 crop alone. In the Dak O Commune in this district, 875 hectares of black pepper plants were dead. Average productivity has dropped from 3 tons per hectare to 0.5 tons per hectare.

By February this year, 719 households in the commune borrowed money from banks to invest in black pepper cultivation with a total amount of VND369 billion. Up to 27 households were unable to repay their debts so they had to mortgage their property. Debt extension and freeze have been implemented but cannot last long as commercial banks still have to mobilize capital for lending.

The People’s Committee of Binh Phuoc Province has been instructing competent authorities to seek solutions and expecting the banking industry to continue to have policies to write-off and reduce debts for black pepper farmers.