After Tet, members of Giao Ha Agricultural Production and Service Cooperative (Giao Thuy district, Nam Dinh) won big when their "giant" organically grown cabbages, lush green on the outside, white on the inside, weighing 3kg or more, were "satisfied" by traders, who "paid money to buy the whole field".
Cabbage grown in Japanese style, green vegetables, free of pests and diseases
At the end of February, under the light spring rain and bitter cold in Giao Thuy - a coastal district of Nam Dinh province, members of Giao Ha Agricultural Production and Service Cooperative happily went to the fields to harvest cabbage. Traders were also happy because they bought "giant" cabbage plants, beautiful, even and firm, especially free of pests and diseases.
When we arrived, Mr. Pham Van Huan had just cut and sold nearly 200 kg of cabbage to traders to transport for consumption. This nearly 60-year-old farmer smiled and said: "This cabbage crop is a big success for our family, with an expected total output of over 10 tons, earning over 200 million VND."
With a total area of 1.5 hectares, Mr. Huan and his wife use 1 hectare to grow cabbage 3 times a year, 1 crop of melon, and the rest is used to dig a pond to raise grass carp.
Mr. Le Quoc Thanh - Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center and experts from JICA (Japan) inspected the cabbage growing model of Mr. Pham Van Huan's family - a member of Giao Ha Agricultural Production and Service Cooperative, Giao Thuy district (Nam Dinh), on February 20. Photo: Minh Ngoc
This crop's cabbage yield increased significantly, and pests and diseases were completely controlled. This result comes from Giao Ha Agricultural Production and Service Cooperative participating in the project "Strengthening the value chain of safe crops in the northern provinces of Vietnam" supported by the international organization JICA (Japan) and the National Agricultural Extension Center since 2023.
When participating, Mr. Huan and other members of Giao Ha Agricultural Production and Service Cooperative were supported with technical funding and learned how to approach production and marketing of safe crops introduced by JICA.
Previously, Mr. Huan and many farmers often used inorganic fertilizers, and sprayed pesticides whenever they saw pests, which led to hard, infertile soil. Not only was the yield not high, but it also cost more, especially, it was harmful to health due to direct contact with chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
However, since joining the project, the cabbage beds of him and the members of Giao Ha Agricultural Production and Service Cooperative have become green again, the soil is loose and disease-free. He shared: "After being instructed by Japanese experts and the National Agricultural Extension Center on how to compost organic fertilizers and spray biological pesticides, the vegetables are always lush green, the yield has increased, each cabbage weighs 3kg or more, we are very happy".
Together with a team of JICA experts who directly inspected the model at Mr. Huan's household, Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center Le Quoc Thanh split the cabbage in half to check. The cabbage was green on the outside, white on the inside, with no signs of leaf-eating insects.
Mr. Le Quoc Thanh - Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center splits a cabbage plant in half to check for pests. Photo: Minh Ngoc
"The Secretary and Chairman of the Commune People's Committee also have to go sell goods"
Talking to Dan Viet, Mr. Phung Van Cuong - Giao Ha Agricultural Production and Service Cooperative said that the production area of the Cooperative is certified to meet the conditions for safe production. The safe production area is 6.48 hectares. The main products are cabbage, kohlrabi, cauliflower and melon. Farmers have many years of experience in producing safe vegetables and fruits, have been fully trained in production according to VietGAP processes and effectively applied them to production. The Cooperative's vegetable products are highly appreciated by customers for their quality, appearance and safety.
In addition to participating in projects supported by JICA and the National Agricultural Extension Center, cooperative members are also regularly trained in production according to VietGAP processes and participate in study tours of advanced cooperatives to improve their capacity to organize production and product consumption.
The project "Strengthening the value chain of safe crops in the northern provinces of Vietnam" implemented by the international organization JICA (Japan) and the National Agricultural Extension Center at Giao Ha Agricultural Production and Service Cooperative since 2023 has helped farmers change their production mindset, towards clean and safe products. Photo: Minh Ngoc
Currently, the cooperative has formed a centralized production and sales organization group consisting of 11 members. In addition, there is an internal monitoring group that regularly monitors households' compliance with fruit production processes.
Mr. Cuong also expressed his concern that the cooperative’s products are not stable and still depend on traders. Therefore, the cooperative wishes to cooperate with companies, businesses, distributors, supermarkets, food stores, collective kitchens, processing and exporting units.
At the meeting with Giao Ha Agricultural Production and Service Cooperative and Giao Ha commune leaders, Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center Le Quoc Thanh said that if we only grow vegetables using conventional methods, we cannot compete. Now we have to grow clean vegetables, according to standards, especially organic vegetables.
According to Mr. Thanh, if pesticides and inorganic fertilizers are not controlled, vegetables will "never be clean". This project will help people create "speaking" products, by taking notes and taking care of them every day, and the products will show their true value.
Mr. Le Quoc Thanh - Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center and Mr. Pham Van Huan next to a "giant" cabbage tree, weighing more than 3 kg, grown organically. Photo: Minh Ngoc
"Currently, we are afraid that we do not have clean products, but there is no shortage of consumer markets... but if the products do not know how to speak and are not clean, no one will buy them," Mr. Thanh said, adding that in the near future, JICA will support and guide cooperatives participating in the project to be able to bring their products to some Japanese supermarket systems.
Mr. Thanh believes that when our products are accepted by "difficult" markets, we must ensure that they are "very clean, very good". At the same time, we must pay attention to the brand, logo, and label.
The Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center said that from now on, the Director of the Cooperative must diligently go out to find markets, carry his briefcase and go sell his products, while the production is up to the people. Even the Secretary and Chairman of the Commune People's Committee must go out to "sell, advertise and introduce products".
The project "Strengthening the value chain of safe crops in the northern provinces of Vietnam" will be implemented for 4 years (2022 - 2026) in 39 cooperatives of Hanoi, Ha Nam, Hung Yen, Hai Duong, Bac Ninh, Nam Dinh, Son La.
When participating in the project, cooperatives will receive ToT training, ToF training, workshops/discussions to raise awareness, etc. from JICA experts. JICA experts regularly work directly with target cooperatives to identify outstanding issues and difficulties and provide solutions for cooperatives to improve production efficiency, market access and product consumption.
Source: https://danviet.vn/nong-dan-nam-dinh-trong-bap-cai-khong-lo-theo-kieu-nhat-ban-thuong-lai-xuong-tien-mua-ca-ruong-20250221212309934.htm
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