Farmers excited about pepper harvest

These days, in Cu Kuin district - considered the key pepper production area of ​​the province, people are busy harvesting products with joy.

The family of Ms. Le Thi Khuyen (Ea Ktur commune, Cu Kuin district) has 1 hectare of pepper intercropped with other plants in the garden. Currently, her family is picking ripe pepper stalks. Although the yield has decreased due to unfavorable weather this year, only about 1.5 tons have been harvested, but in return, the pepper price has increased so her family is still very happy. "With a price of over 160,000 VND/kg, it is expected that after the harvest, after deducting expenses, my family will make a profit of more than 100 million VND. Hopefully, the pepper price will continue to remain high, helping growers have more income to cover their living expenses and reinvest in the next crop," Ms. Khuyen shared.

At this time, members of the Sustainable Pepper Club of Doan Ket Village 3 (Ea Bhok Commune, Cu Kuin District) are also focusing on human resources to harvest pepper in time for the season. Vice Chairman of the Club Nguyen An Thanh said that the Club currently has 25 members, with a total cultivated area of ​​17.5 hectares. This year, unfavorable weather caused pepper flowers to fall and the fruit set rate to be low, causing productivity to decrease by about 10% compared to the previous crop, with an average yield of 2.5 - 3 tons/ha. However, thanks to the application of organic farming methods, the use of biological products, microbial fertilizers, and the limitation of pesticides, the quality of the pepper harvested by the members is superior (the pepper is firmer and heavier) and the selling price is higher. “The fact that pepper prices are regaining momentum right from the beginning of the harvest season helps growers gain more profits and regain confidence in the crop known as “black gold” after many years of deep price declines,” Mr. Thanh said excitedly.

Pepper farmers in Cu Kuin district are excited because of high prices.

Pepper farmers in Krong Nang district are also taking advantage of favorable weather to harvest in time for the season. So far, people have harvested about 50% of the area. With 6,000 pepper plants intercropped in coffee and durian gardens, this year's crop, Mr. Luong Xuan Hung's family (Ea Tan commune) is expected to harvest about 20 tons of dry pepper (yield of nearly 3 tons/ha). In order to ensure the harvest progress, from the beginning of the season, Mr. Hung has proactively sought to hire workers to harvest pepper. It is known that in more than 10 years of growing pepper, he has chosen organic farming methods to reduce production costs, while helping the plants grow well and improve product quality. Mr. Hung shared: “Although intercropping pepper yield is not as high as pure planting (5 - 6 tons/ha), in return it will reduce risks. With the current selling price of about 160,000 VND/kg, my family will have a fairly high additional income.”

Currently, the whole province has 27,730 hectares of pepper, of which the harvested area is 24,180 hectares with an estimated output of 74,827 tons (yield of nearly 3.1 tons/ha).

In recent years, pepper cultivation in the province has had many positive changes. Accordingly, people have gradually changed their thinking, focusing on production according to clean, sustainable organic standards; strengthening production linkages along the value chain, deep processing... creating quality products to meet domestic consumption needs as well as export.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Minh, Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Cu Kuin district, said that Cu Kuin district currently has more than 4,649 hectares of pepper, with an estimated output of more than 13,000 tons. Thanks to the advantages of flat terrain, suitable climate and the people's application of effective farming methods (using up to 97% of live poles, prioritizing organic fertilizers combined with biological products for care and pest control), pepper plants in Cu Kuin have developed sustainably, creating jobs and stable income for many farmers. In addition, in the district, pepper plants are mainly grown in two communes, Ea Ning and Ea Bhok, creating a concentrated raw material area, which is a favorable condition for implementing production linkages according to the value chain, as well as programs related to the pepper industry. Currently, in addition to selling products to traders and purchasing facilities, the district has built 3 production chains linked to pepper consumption between growing households and businesses.

This year’s crop, the entire Krong Nang district has 1,449 hectares of pepper (yield of 4,960 tons), mainly intercropped in coffee and fruit gardens. To ensure pepper quality, local authorities encourage people to harvest when the rate of ripe fruit reaches 70-80% or more.

At this time, people in the province are focusing on harvesting pepper areas with uniform ripening rates.

Mr. Vo Thanh Xuan, Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Krong Nang district, said that although the pepper growing area has decreased by more than 1,600 hectares compared to before, pepper is still one of the main crops of the locality. With the current price, it not only helps farmers achieve quite high profits but also creates conditions for them to continue investing and developing production with a long-term commitment to this crop.

In order for pepper to develop sustainably, the district recommends that people should not rush to plant new plants because of rising prices, but only expand in planned areas; focus on caring for and improving productivity on existing areas to create quality products. At the same time, it is necessary to propagate and guide people to produce according to GAP standards to ensure safe products with traceable origins; form cooperative groups and cooperate in the production and consumption of clean products; support the development of geographical indications for pepper in concentrated pepper growing areas to increase production efficiency; create conditions for localities and enterprises to build brands and quality standards for exported pepper products... contributing to gradually increasing the added value of the pepper industry in the coming time.

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/kinh-te/202503/nong-dan-phan-khoi-vao-vu-thu-haach-ho-tieu-3181821/