Dak Mil District now has about 19,000 hectares of coffee, with roughly 13,200 hectares concentrated in the communes of Thuan An, Dak Lao, Duc Manh, and Duc Minh. This year, thanks to high coffee prices, farmers are investing more heavily in intensive cultivation of this key crop.
Nguyen Thi Hoa of Vinh Duc hamlet, Duc Minh commune, shared: “My family owns 5 hectares of coffee and last season harvested over 15 tons. Since the harvest, we have already invested more than 35 million VND in fertilizers for our coffee fields. Compared to previous years, we are spending much more this year.”
Similarly, Hoang Van Yen of Thanh Lam hamlet explained: “Previously, with 7 hectares of coffee, we only needed to invest about 60 million VND each year. But this year, fertilizer prices have risen, so our investment costs have doubled. We are currently fertilizing at the base of the plants, spraying to control pests like scale insects and mealybugs, and clearing weeds while pruning branches and shoots to ensure strong growth and better fruiting.”
In addition to applying more fertilizers and pesticides and pruning branches, many households are also planting new trees or grafting high-yield coffee varieties at the start of the rainy season to improve both yield and quality.
Ha Van Muoi of hamlet 4, Dak Lao commune said: “Because coffee beans fetched good prices last year, we invested in irrigation—buying water pipes, pump frames, and water pumps to ensure we can water our coffee during the dry season.”
Alongside new plantings, the technique of “coffee rejuvenation” is gaining attention. Nguyen Van Tien of hamlet 11A said happily: “My coffee garden is quite old and I hadn’t yet grafted new varieties. This year I decided to purchase TR5 coffee seedlings from the Ea Kmat Institute to graft onto my coffee trees, hoping for higher yields in a few years.”
According to Nguyen Ba Loc, Chairman of the Dak Lao Farmers’ Association, most households are investing larger sums into their coffee farms this year. Beyond providing training sessions, the commune has also encouraged farmers to expand their coffee area and introduced successful grafted coffee models for local farmers to visit and learn from each other.
Do Van Liem, Deputy Head of the Dak Mil District Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, added that to support farmers, the district has sent technical staff directly to coffee farms to train growers on production, care, and harvesting methods. In the near future, the district plans to establish a coffee nursery to supply young shoots, helping farmers rejuvenate old, low-yield coffee gardens into high-quality, more productive plantations.