Former war zone turns to organic production

DONG NAI Due to the increasing demand for safe agricultural products, many farmers in Phu Ly commune have consciously converted from traditional agriculture to organic agriculture.

Success from the tangerine model

In April, we went to Phu Ly commune (Vinh Cuu district, Dong Nai province) and witnessed a happier atmosphere with many straight asphalt roads and colorful flags along the roadsides. The new rural countryside has now truly changed its appearance, and people are getting rich on the land of the old war zone...

The new rural area of ​​Vinh Cuu district has now truly changed, people are getting rich on the land of the old war zone. Photo: H.Phuc.

Taking us to visit fruit growing models with high economic efficiency, Chairman of Phu Ly Commune Farmers' Association, Mr. Co Van Lam excitedly shared that in recent years, due to the increasing market demand for safe agricultural products, households in the commune have proactively converted production methods from traditional agriculture to organic agriculture.

A typical example is the tangerine growing model of Mr. Ha Thang's family (Ly Lich 2 hamlet) with an area of ​​3 hectares. Mr. Thang's grapefruit garden is more than 10 years old and is growing well, grown organically on alluvial soil along Tri An lake, so there is no need to worry about irrigation water all year round. Mr. Thang happily confided: "My family uses IMO yeast to ferment fish bought from the lake as fertilizer, prioritizing the use of biological drugs so the trees produce a lot of fruit and have few pests. Currently, my tangerine garden has been certified as a 3-star OCOP product."

Like many households in Phu Ly commune, Mr. Thang's family has long been attached to mango and cashew trees. Thanks to the application of organic farming techniques, his family's tangerine garden is now growing well, yielding an average of 50 - 60 tons of fruit, earning about 900 million VND/year.

As the head of Binh Minh Trade and Service Cooperative and well-trained, Mr. Thang has proactively built a model of organic tangerine production to replicate for other members to follow. Although the organic tangerine trees have thin branches and leaves, each tree still yields a ton of fruit, compared to mango trees, the profit is much higher, so he decided to convert the entire 3 hectares of garden land to grow oranges, tangerines, and grapefruits.

Thang also established the Citrus Tree Club in Phu Ly commune, and at the same time mobilized people to join in and grow organically together. This is also the predecessor of the current Binh Minh Trade and Service Cooperative. Up to now, the total area of ​​the cooperative's fruit garden is about 50 hectares, growing citrus fruits such as green-skinned grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, etc.

Organically grown tangerines of Mr. Ha Thang's family grow well. Photo: Minh Sang.

According to Mr. Thang, with a low investment capital, gardeners can harvest about 50 - 60 tons/ha of citrus fruit, and even in a good harvest year, the yield can reach 80 tons/ha. The products are purchased by the cooperative and supplied to traders, stores, and agents selling organic products in the form of "cash on delivery". Therefore, the cooperative is encouraging members to actively cultivate organically, switching from chemical fertilizers to using more organic fertilizers and biological pesticides to help plants become more vigorous, increase their lifespan, increase productivity and reduce diseases, and lower input costs by 20 - 30%.

In addition to domestic consumption, Binh Minh Trade and Service Cooperative is looking to export products. “The demand for clean agricultural products with clear origins and produced according to organic standards is an inevitable trend. Therefore, to successfully start a business in agriculture, it is necessary to produce safely and apply organic standards to create products of the highest quality,” Mr. Thang affirmed.

Linking organic production towards export

The whole Phu Ly commune currently has 387 good farming households applying high techniques and technology, bringing high economic efficiency, thereby positively affecting production such as water-saving irrigation, fertilizing through pipes; using biological products in cultivation, treating organic fertilizers to fertilize crops; applying VietGAP production for clean mangoes and tangerines to participate in domestic and foreign fairs, as well as aiming for export.

Farmers in Phu Ly commune produce tangerines according to VietGAP standards for export. Photo: MS.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Chien, Vice Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Phu Ly Commune, said: "Currently, the commune has 2 agricultural cooperatives implementing a model of applying biotechnology to the production of tangerines according to VietGAP standards and has so far achieved 3-star OCOP products. The good news is that farmers have improved their agricultural production thinking, paying attention to the interests of consumers, food safety and environmental protection."

According to Mr. Chien, the local quality tangerine products are still not in sufficient supply to meet larger consumption markets such as supermarkets, but can mainly only be supplied to traders.

Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vinh Cuu district, Mr. Nguyen Tran Phuoc Loc, said that developing organic agriculture is not only a policy of the government but also an increasingly important concern of farmers in the district. The district is focusing on developing organic agricultural production, so far there are 15 hectares of various fruits and 1 hectare of vegetables certified for production according to organic standards. In addition, the district has more than 238 hectares of organically produced crops. This is a favorable condition to continue developing organic agriculture in the district in the coming time.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dong Nai province, the whole province currently has 25.3 hectares of certified organic crops with many products such as pepper, durian, vegetables...; at the same time, it has planned 8 concentrated organic production areas with a total area of ​​nearly 19,000 hectares in Cam My, Nhon Trach, Vinh Cuu, and Dinh Quan districts.

However, the limitation of organic agriculture in the province is that although there are linkage models from production to consumption, the linkage scale is still small and loose, so the output of organic products is still difficult, most producers still have to find their own consumption markets with prices not much higher than conventional products. Therefore, Dong Nai is focusing on building linkage chains from production to consumption of organic agricultural products to overcome the above limitations.

Dong Nai is offering many policies to encourage the development of organic agricultural production. Photo: MS.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thang, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dong Nai province, said: "The Department is coordinating with sectors and localities to speed up the progress of developing a project to develop organic agriculture in the province, including 100% funding support for identifying areas and regions eligible for organic production, and costs for granting certificates of products meeting organic agricultural standards to serve domestic and export needs."

According to Mr. Thang, Dong Nai strives to have the area of ​​organic agricultural land reach about 1.5% of the total agricultural land area by 2025, equivalent to about 33,000 hectares. Current agricultural production does not only focus on improving productivity and quality, but also must aim to protect the environment, people's health, and ensure food safety.

“Developing organic agriculture is a direction to meet the increasing demand for high-quality products from consumers. Currently, the agricultural sector of Dong Nai province is implementing many solutions to remove existing problems, difficulties and obstacles in the process of producing and consuming organic agricultural products, with orientations and solutions to develop organic production in the coming period,” emphasized Mr. Nguyen Van Thang, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dong Nai.

Source: https://nongsanviet.nongnghiep.vn/chien-khu-xua-chuyen-minh-sang-san-xuat-huu-co-d384477.html