Cu Kuin farmers urgently harvest pepper

Cu Kuin pepper develops relatively sustainably compared to many other localities thanks to advantages in soil and climate.

To maintain production efficiency, people in the district use up to 97% of live poles and especially prioritize the use of organic fertilizers combined with biological products to care for crops and prevent pests. Moreover, farmers also actively apply science and technology to production to improve the efficiency and quality of pepper plants. To date, more than 70% of the pepper area in the district has been harvested.

These days, the harvest atmosphere at the pepper garden of Mr. Phan Van Hoang's family (village 9, Ea Tieu commune) is very urgent. From early morning, both the garden owner and workers were present, their hands quickly picking each bunch of ripe red pepper. According to Mr. Hoang, this year's pepper harvest is later than in previous years due to the prolonged cold weather affecting the natural ripening process of the fruit. His family is currently cultivating 5 sao of pepper but has only harvested about half of the area so far.

People in Cu Kuin district harvest pepper in 2025.

To speed up the process, he had to hire four more workers, bringing the total number of harvesters to 10, with a contract price of VND3,500/kg of fresh pepper. “The prolonged harvest causes farmers to face the first rains of the season. This not only affects the quality of pepper but also reduces the selling price, not to mention the drying process is much more difficult,” Mr. Hoang confided.

Like many other households, Mr. Vu Dinh Khoi's family (village 6, Ea Bhok commune) is busy mobilizing manpower to complete the harvest of more than 1.2 hectares of pepper. Mr. Khoi said that this year, due to unfavorable weather and many old pepper trees, the productivity of his garden has decreased, with an estimated output of about 3 tons. His family started harvesting in mid-March, but so far there are still about 200 pepper trees that have not been harvested. Meanwhile, many surrounding households have finished the harvest, making him worried.

Not only facing difficulties in productivity and harvest progress, Mr. Khoi's family also faces the risk of agricultural product theft. Pepper prices have remained high since the beginning of the season (ranging from 150,000 - 160,000 VND/kg), causing the risk of theft to increase, especially when the harvest time is extended. In addition, slow harvesting also leads to ripe pepper falling black at the roots, reducing product quality and increasing labor costs for collection. Under such pressure, his family has to take advantage of every day to speed up the progress, both to prevent pepper theft and to ensure timely care and restoration of the garden after harvest.

Meanwhile, the Viet Duc Agricultural Cooperative currently has 50 members, with a total cultivated area of ​​nearly 361 hectares. This year's pepper season, the average yield is only about 2 - 3 tons/ha, the estimated output is about 1,000 - 1,200 tons, down about 50% compared to the previous season. The main reason is due to unfavorable weather conditions, complicated pests and diseases directly affecting the yield as well as the quality of crops.

Cu Kuin pepper is mainly sun-dried by people after harvest to ensure quality and prolong preservation time.

Mr. Pham Van Tuan, Director of the Cooperative, said that up to now, members of the Cooperative have harvested about 60% of the total pepper area and are trying to speed up the progress to ensure quality as well as timely consumption. “This year's pepper prices have increased, creating clear impacts on the psychology of growers. Some households choose to sell early to recover capital and stabilize finances, while many households proactively stock up, expecting prices to continue to increase to optimize profits,” Mr. Tuan shared.

Nguyen Thanh Minh, Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Cu Kuin District, said that during the harvest, local people always prioritize harvesting pepper when the rate of ripeness is even to ensure productivity and product quality. After harvesting, people use natural drying methods, only a few families use drying ovens, thanks to which the quality of pepper is kept stable, meeting export requirements.

Regarding output, pepper growers mainly sell their products to local collectors or purchasing facilities, with the main product being black pepper. The district currently has about 50 collectors and nearly 20 purchasing facilities, concentrated in areas with relatively large pepper growing areas.

In addition to consumption through traders and purchasing facilities, households also sell pepper to businesses through production linkages associated with product consumption. Currently, in the district, there are 3 production linkage chains associated with pepper product consumption, out of a total of 15 agricultural product linkage chains.

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/kinh-te/202504/nong-dan-cu-kuin-khan-truong-thu-hoach-ho-tieu-f65191f/