TRA VINH Tra Vinh aims to develop an organic coconut material area of 8,000 hectares by 2025, of which 6,000 hectares are certified for deep processing and export.
Many benefits from growing organic coconuts
Although Tra Vinh is the province with the second largest coconut growing area in the country with an output of over 400 million fruits per year, the product quality is generally not high.
According to Mr. Le Quoc Danh, Chairman of the People's Committee of Binh Phu Commune, Cang Long District (Tra Vinh), most local farmers still maintain the habit of cultivating coconuts using traditional methods on a small, fragmented scale, lacking connections. In recent times, the locality has been very persistent in mobilizing people to join cooperative groups (THT) and cooperatives (HTX) to link up to build an organic coconut material chain.
Tra Vinh farmers have made many changes in producing coconuts in an organic, sustainable, high-value direction. Photo: Ho Thao.
Accordingly, up to now, 372 households in Binh Phu commune have cooperated with Van Hung Agricultural Cooperative (Binh Phu commune) to grow 288 hectares of coconuts certified organic according to European standards. Each year, this cooperative supplies about 400 tons of coconuts to the domestic market and cooperates in production and supply of products to a number of export companies.
Van Hung Agricultural Cooperative always accompanies coconut growers with the goal of increasing farmers' income through producing products that meet organic standards for export.
Mr. Nguyen Huu Su, Director of Van Hung Agricultural Cooperative, said: To achieve organic certification according to European standards, coconut growers must cultivate according to a standard process. Farmers are not allowed to use fertilizers or chemicals, and are not allowed to graze livestock or poultry in coconut gardens. The source of nutrients for coconuts is taken from organic fertilizers, microbial fertilizers, and herbicides circulating in the soil must be guaranteed to be 0%.
If farmers cultivate according to the correct process, the cooperative will buy coconuts from them at a price 5-10 thousand VND higher per dozen (1 dozen = 12 fruits) than the market price. Currently, Van Hung Agricultural Cooperative also insures the selling price of coconuts for members at a minimum of 60 thousand VND per dozen, if higher, it will buy at the market price.
In addition, thanks to the cooperative's support of 2 bags of fertilizer per hectare and training for farmers on how to use it properly, most members said that the farming results have been very positive recently.
Like Mr. Nguyen Thanh The's family in Phu Hung 2 hamlet (Binh Phu commune) has 2 hectares of green coconut. Although the tree is over 15 years old, it still has lush green leaves and fruits that do not drop due to being fertilized with manure.
Van Hung Agricultural Cooperative is currently purchasing organic coconuts from farmers in Cang Long district at a price 5,000 - 10,000 VND higher than the market price per dozen. Photo: Ho Thao.
According to Mr. The, if using chemical fertilizers, coconut trees grow quickly but also fall quickly, and often bear few fruits during the season. In contrast, with organic fertilizers, the trees are green and durable, and the fruit yield will be higher and more consistent later on. If you pay attention, coconut trees cared for according to organic processes will produce softer, easier-to-pick fruits than coconuts fertilized with chemical fertilizers.
Mr. The noted that the most important technique in organic coconut farming is to spread fertilizer properly. Farmers need to understand the biological characteristics of coconut trees, which have a root system concentrated at the base within a radius of 1.5 - 2m, penetrating 4m into the soil. Based on this characteristic, growers should fertilize within a radius where many coconut roots are concentrated so that the tree can absorb the fertilizer completely. Currently, Mr. The only has to water the coconut trees twice a month, because he uses dry coconut leaves to cover the base, so there is little water evaporation.
Mr. The shared: Growing organic coconuts must follow a very strict process but brings many benefits later. The most important thing is that it does not affect the environment. At the same time, farmers do not need to "have a headache" about output because there is a cooperative that buys at a high price. Moreover, garden owners also save about 30% of input costs because they do not have to spend on fertilizers and chemicals. "In the following years, I will continue to apply this growing method," said Mr. The.
Mr. Le Van Ninh in Tan Hoa commune (Tieu Can district, Tra Vinh) said that when he first switched to organic coconut farming, he was skeptical because the yield was not high because he did not use chemical fertilizers but only used manure, biofertilizers, composted organic fertilizers... However, after a while, he realized that although it did not work as quickly as chemical fertilizers, the yield of coconuts produced according to organic standards was still equivalent and somewhat superior. The use of organic fertilizers contributes to making the soil loose, helping coconut trees withstand drought and salinity well.
Mr. Ninh said: "If I used chemical fertilizers before, the fruit would fall off completely, leaving nothing behind, and after a few months the coconut bunch would not bear any fruit. Since using organic fertilizer pellets, the coconut leaves are clearly green again, and this season the bunch still bears about 30-50% more fruit than in normal months. The price of organic coconuts is also 5-10 thousand VND/dozen higher than the price of regular coconuts, so the income is also better and more stable."
Workers at a company in Tra Vinh are processing organic coconuts into various products. Photo: Ho Thao.
According to the majority of organic coconut farmers in the Mekong Delta, one of the benefits of organic farming is that coconut growers can produce their own organic fertilizers by utilizing local manure such as pig, cow, and chicken manure. These fertilizers are composted with trichoderma fungi and mixed with by-products such as coconut peat, ash, rice husk, sawdust, etc. to improve the absorption capacity of coconut roots.
In addition, growers also use parasitic bees to control pests such as beetles and black-headed worms instead of using harmful chemicals. Thanks to the application of organic farming, the durability of coconut trees is increasing.
Target 6,000 hectares of organic certified coconut
According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tra Vinh, although the price of coconut in the Mekong Delta provinces fluctuates at times, one of the advantages of organic farming is to change the farming mindset of farmers towards cooperation and collective farming. At the same time, it creates a spread in the community about safe and responsible production.
Tra Vinh has nearly 90,000 households growing coconuts with more than 7 million trees on a total area of nearly 25,000 hectares, mainly concentrated in Cang Long, Tieu Can and Chau Thanh districts. The province has 13 organic coconut material areas built by 4 enterprises with a total area of 4,012 hectares meeting EU and USDA standards, of which 260 hectares meet 6 standards (Europe - EU, USA - USDA, Japan - JAS, Australia - ACO, Sweden - KRAV and GlobalGAP).
Organic coconuts always have higher prices on the market, especially to serve the increasing export demand. Photo: HT.
Mr. Le Van Dong, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tra Vinh province, said that by 2025, Tra Vinh province aims to develop 8,000 hectares of organic coconut, of which 6,000 hectares are certified organic. The province encourages and prioritizes enterprises with strengths in deep processing technology, good domestic and export markets to build processing plants, develop links with producers, facilities, and cooperatives to collect and process coconuts in the province.
Along with that, the province supports people, cooperatives, and cooperative groups to plant new or renovate existing coconut gardens; register and manage raw material areas according to VietGAP standards. At the same time, support businesses to cooperate with households and establishments in registering for certification, evaluating, and managing raw material areas according to GlobalGAP and organic standards on the basis of applying digital transformation to ensure information transparency in transactions and sales.
Tra Vinh also has a policy to support coconut growers according to Resolution No. 03 of the Provincial People's Council regulating the policy to support restructuring of the agricultural sector of Tra Vinh province in the period of 2021 - 2025.
In addition to coconut trees, Tra Vinh also expands organic planting on rice and some other fruit trees to contribute to creating typical products of the province.
Mr. Nguyen Huu Su, Director of Van Hung Agricultural Cooperative affirmed: "With the criteria of making real, selling real, we commit to purchasing 100% of coconut output from participating farmers. In the near future, we will continue to expand the organic coconut material area, increasing it to 600 hectares, at the same time building a deep processing factory, and finding partners to export to international markets."
Source: https://nongsanviet.nongnghiep.vn/6000ha-dua-huu-co-gan-voi-che-bien-sau-de-xuat-khau-d385984.html
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