Hai Duong is located in the Red River Delta with a dense river system, so it is endowed with fertile alluvium. This is the source of creating green fields and livelihoods starting from the river.
Prosperous
When I was in school, one of the geography lessons that impressed me the most, and that I was very proud of, was about the tectonic history and values of the Red River Delta. According to geography textbooks, the Red River alone has a huge amount of alluvium, an average of about 100 million tons/year, or nearly 1.2 kg of alluvium/m3 of water. The fertile alluvium has created lush green fields of corn, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc. along the roads. Wherever you go in Hai Duong, you can see fertile fields.
Coming to Nhan Hue commune (Chi Linh), standing on the Kinh Thay river embankment and looking out in all directions, I was extremely excited. On this side is the 4-star OCOP tomato and carrot field of Nhan Hue commune, on this side is the "hand-carried" orange field of Mr. Phung Van Dai's family in Dap Khe village in the same commune. A little further along the river bank are more than 300 fish cages of Nhan Hue people. Looking to the other side of Kinh Thay river are fish cages of Nam Sach district people. The feeling of fullness is really pleasing to the eyes.
Walking down about a hundred meters, we visited the comprehensive farm model of Mr. Phung Van Dai's family. From a person with "zero" agricultural knowledge, after nearly ten years, his 8-acre farm has become lush green. In addition to 100 Vinh orange trees, since 2022, Mr. Dai has imported "hand-carried" orange varieties (taken from Taiwan) to graft on Dien grapefruit trees. Both orange varieties are grown by him using organic methods. This year is only the first year the "hand-carried" orange garden has been able to bear fruit, but according to Mr. Dai's estimate, the orange garden will yield about 30 tons of fruit, an increase of 24 tons compared to last year's orange season, and can earn a profit of about 300 million VND or more.
Great benefit
In the conversation with Mr. Dai and Mr. Tran Thieu, Vice President of the Farmers' Association of Chi Linh City, we found that they all recognized the value of fertile riverside alluvial lands and Mr. Dai, like many people in Nhan Hue, Duc Chinh..., took advantage of them to double and triple the value. That was further confirmed when we talked with Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hai Duong, Luong Thi Kiem. Ms. Kiem gave a very simple example: If growing rice in the fields brings a profit of 100-150 million VND/ha/year, the average agricultural production value of Hai Duong in 2023 is 198.6 million VND/ha, then the riverside alluvial lands alone can bring a profit of 300-500 million VND/ha/year. Hai Duong currently has more than 1,500 hectares of carrots, of which 90% is in the riverside area. Not only are they not enough to grow carrots in the province, Hai Duong people also rent about 500 hectares of land along the Thai Binh River from neighboring provinces to grow carrots. Each year, the carrot output is more than 64,000 tons, of which 90% is exported.
In riverbank areas near the estuary such as Thanh Ha, Tu Ky, and part of Kinh Mon, people use organic rice cultivation combined with the exploitation of earthworms and crabs, and the value obtained is even higher. Typically, Tu Ky district currently has 8 areas exploiting earthworms and crabs combined with organic rice production with a total area of 367 hectares. The conservation and exploitation areas of earthworms bring in an income of 350-450 million VND/ha/year, with a value of 120-150 billion VND/year. Or in Thanh Ha, there are 168 hectares of earthworm exploitation, concentrated in the communes of Vinh Lap, Thanh Xuan...
Hai Duong is also one of the cage fish farms in the region. Coming to Nam Tan, which is considered the "cradle" of cage fish farming in Hai Duong, you can see that clearly. Less than 5 km of Kinh Thay River flowing through this commune, there are nearly 1,100 fish cages of more than 60 households. Here, a small community has been formed, living together and attached to the cage fish farming profession.
Mr. Tran Van Duong in Nam Tan currently has 40 fish cages. According to Mr. Duong, fish farming in rivers can be done on a large scale because the river water is always clean, the fish live healthier than in ponds. After harvesting, each cage earns about 100 million VND/crop. "Having been attached to and experienced many ups and downs in cage fish farming, I can confirm that no other farming profession is as effective as cage fish farming," said Mr. Duong. Also thanks to cage fish farming, some names have entered the list of billionaires such as Mr. Nguyen Van Thuong's household in Nam Dong ward, Mr. Nguyen Trung Tuu in Nam Tan commune...
According to the General Statistics Office, Hai Duong currently has 7,358 cages, with fish output reaching over 20,000 tons, accounting for nearly 22% of the province's total aquatic product output.
Farmers are also shifting from selling products to selling stories, as Minister Le Minh Hoan once suggested. The lychee festival in Thanh Ha, the carrot festival in Cam Giang, the rice festival in Tu Ky and the upcoming garlic festival in Kinh Mon are examples...
Next: Drawing the future along the rivers
KIM THANHSource
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