Bai Phu farm is famous for its organic oranges of Huong Hoa.

Nông trường Bãi Phủ vang tiếng cam hữu cơ Hương Hóa — The famous brand of oranges from Bai Phu farm. Photo: *Viet Khanh.*

Anh Son district, Nghe An province has a tradition of growing citrus trees, of which orange trees have flourished at Bai Phu farm, Dinh Son commune since the 70s and 80s of the last century with a scale of about 100 hectares.

In recent years, the orange growing industry in Bai Phu has been on a downward trend due to land degradation and disease outbreaks that spread rapidly. Spending money and effort but not getting the results that match has discouraged many households, resulting in the area of orange growing being increasingly narrowed.

People in the profession assert that because of subjectivity, growers have been “exploiting” the soil excessively for a long time, spraying and fertilizing chemicals indiscriminately without regard to the consequences. In order to save the situation, recently the agricultural sector and authorities at all levels have directed and guided growers to increase the care of orange trees using organic methods, thereby minimizing the use of pesticides.

Vinh Huong Hoa orange farm has implemented this policy very well, no matter how the orange growing business at Bai Phu farm has fluctuated, this unit has not been affected in the slightest. The farm is more than 2 hectares wide, located next to the limestone mountains, where the climate is cool, the soil is fertile, very suitable for growing fruit trees.

Having been in the business for over ten years, Mr. Nguyen Duy Hoa, owner of the brand “Cam Vinh Huong Hoa” understands the characteristics and features of orange trees by heart, thereby promptly making turning-point adjustments: “This land is very suitable for growing citrus trees, especially orange trees, but relying on it alone will sooner or later lead to bitter fruit. Micronutrients in the soil are limited, if we want to develop and maintain them, we need to regularly supplement nutrients and increase the health of the soil.

From the direction of the government and professional agencies, since 2019 my family has switched to organic farming. Although this method is more expensive and more difficult, the results are completely different. The orange tree absorbs enough nutrients so it is very resistant to pests and diseases, the number of fallen fruits is insignificant, and the yield is not reduced. Most customers rate the oranges as sweet, fragrant, and juicy.

The Bai Phu area is inherently low-lying, and not far from the Lam River, so it often faces flooding when the upstream hydropower plant discharges floodwaters, many orange growing areas are flooded, and diseases also come from here. Not wanting to get caught up in the sad situation, before natural disasters, Mr. Hoa and his wife proactively "watch" for the weather, see the danger, mobilize relatives, hire more workers to dig drainage ditches, clear the flow to minimize the level of damage that may occur. Giving a small slice to see that forming a brand is difficult, wanting to preserve and develop it is even more difficult.

On an area of 2 hectares, Huong Hoa farm regularly harvests about 70 tons of oranges each year, with selling prices ranging from 40,000 - 50,000 VND/kg, bringing the total revenue to about 3 billion VND, after deducting expenses, the family earns an extremely high profit. Not stopping there, Mr. Hoa's orange farm also creates jobs for a number of local workers with a salary of about 7 million VND/month.

Mr. Hoang Minh Tam, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Dinh Son Commune, commented: “The Vinh Huong Hoa orange garden applying organic production processes has created a big push, helping the majority of growers change their awareness and thinking, thereby gradually shifting to using biological products instead of eroding the soil as before. This is an orange garden with high economic efficiency, the value has been significantly enhanced since being certified as meeting OCOP standards in 2021”.

Source: https://nongnghiep.vn/nong-truong-bai-phu-vang-tieng-cam-huu-co-huong-hoa-d415686.html