Bring billions back home to start a business
In 2001, to build a family, Mr. Thai Doan Tuan (48 years old, residing in Lang Danh, Lang Thanh commune, Yen Thanh, Nghe An) and his wife joined the 6th Youth Volunteer Team - to build the economy and start a career. In 2010, the Youth Volunteer Team was dissolved, and Mr. Tuan and his wife returned to their hometown with more than 3 billion VND in compensation.
Pumpkin production model on contracted land of Mr. Thai Doan Tuan and his wife (Photo: Hoang Lam).
Having capital and experience in agricultural production, Mr. Tuan still struggles with choosing "what to plant and what to raise" to start a business.
"I contracted 4 hectares of land in Dong Bau, Lang Thanh commune, to grow sugarcane, but the price of sugarcane dropped, and the factory forced the price down. After a while of struggling , I had to say goodbye to this plant, even though sugarcane grows and develops well, is suitable for the soil and gives a good yield," said Mr. Tuan.
Mr. Thai Doan Tuan shares his experience in growing off-season squash (Photo: Hoang Lam).
After some thought, he decided to grow squash. Like many other agricultural crops, squash is subject to fluctuating market prices. However, the advantage of this fruit is that it can be stored for a certain period of time to wait for prices, if harvested when the squash is mature enough and under suitable environmental conditions.
Growing off-season squash, harvesting a wheelbarrow of squash and earning 1.5 million VND (Video: Hoang Lam).
With the knowledge accumulated over 10 years of participating in the youth volunteer team, Mr. Tuan and his wife transformed the Dong Bau area into a lush green pumpkin garden.
To ensure the water supply for the garden, without affecting the fruit setting and growth of the squash, there were times when Mr. Tuan had to stay up all night to pump and bring water from the commune's irrigation system.
In July, the weather is hot but the squash plants still grow and develop well, bearing fruit (Photo: Hoang Lam).
Squash plants are suitable for soil, have enough water, and adapt to the climate, so they grow well, produce large, even fruit, have few pests and diseases, and have a beautiful appearance, with a yield of 40 tons/ha.
"Arguing" with heaven, breaking the curse of "good harvest, low price"
However, as predicted, the vicious cycle of "good harvest, low price, bad harvest, high price" kept repeating, at one point the price of squash hit rock bottom, only 5,000 VND/kg.
"The price is low but it is also difficult to sell, traders only choose big, beautiful fruits," said Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh (44 years old, Mr. Tuan's wife).
Off-season squash has low yield but the selling price can be 3 times higher than in the main season, and growers still make a profit (Photo: Hoang Lam).
If you don't want to depend on the market, you have to be proactive about your supply throughout the year. Starting with one crop a year, with experience and a bit of "daring", Mr. Tuan started growing off-season squash.
Zucchini prefers warm weather and high humidity, and is recommended to be planted in January-March and August-September every year, in the temperature range of 17-25 degrees Celsius for high yield. However, because of mass planting, it often falls into a situation where supply exceeds demand, forcing down prices by traders.
Mr. Tuan's off-season squash production model creates jobs for nearly 15 local workers (Photo: P. Thanh).
Mr. Tuan and his wife grow squash three times a year, from April to June, June to October and from October through Tet. This is the time when the climate in Nghe An is harsh with heat, storms, floods and cold, not ideal conditions for squash to grow.
Determining to "argue with the sky" means accepting risks, but according to Mr. Tuan, in risks, farmers can find opportunities because like other agricultural products, squash will also fall into a state of crop failure and high prices, especially when grown off-season.
"During the rainy and cold season, we have to use plastic wrap to protect against the cold or cover the roots to avoid rain erosion and uprooting. My wife and I invested in installing a drip irrigation system, which solved the water shortage. Of course, the yield of off-season squash cannot be as high as in-season squash, even the yield is only half but the price is three times higher, so we still make a profit," said Mr. Tuan.
"Off-season squash is expensive, and traders are not too demanding about appearance and design," said Ms. Thanh (Photo: Hoang Lam).
Normally, pumpkins are bought by traders at the field for 5,000-15,000 VND/kg, but for off-season pumpkins, the price can go up to 20,000 VND/kg. "During peak season, off-season pumpkins are sold for 22,000-23,000 VND/kg. Picking a full wheelbarrow can earn 1.5 million VND, even unevenly beautiful fruits are purchased," Ms. Thanh shared.
In addition to increasing economic value, growing off-season squash is, according to Mr. Tuan, a solution to the problem of land waste. However, to avoid pests and diseases incubating in the soil, he intercrops corn to treat and cut off the source of the disease. Currently, 3/4 of the garden area has been solidified with trellises, replacing bamboo trellises for convenience in care as well as saving on long-term investment.
Mr. Tuan and his wife invested in a sturdy iron trellis and a drip irrigation system for the new squash crop (Photo: Hoang Lam).
With the model of growing 3 squash crops per year, Mr. Tuan and his wife have an income of about 1.2 billion VND. In addition to creating regular jobs for 4 local workers in charge of soil preparation, seedling cultivation, planting and caring for squash, Mr. Tuan and his wife also hire more than 10 seasonal workers at harvest time with wages of 200,000-250,000 VND/person/day.
Many people came to visit the pumpkin growing model of Mr. Tuan and his wife (Photo: Doan Canh).
Mr. Nguyen Ho Son, Chairman of Lang Thanh Commune People's Committee, said: "The model of growing green squash on contracted land of Mr. Thai Doan Tuan and his wife has initially promoted economic efficiency, increased family income and created jobs for many local workers."
According to Mr. Son, this is contracted land with a 5-year lease term, so it has a significant impact on investment and expansion of production scale of households. The commune government is studying the draft Land Law to propose appropriate mechanisms, creating conditions for households to confidently invest in agricultural production, promoting long-term economic efficiency.
Source link
Comment (0)