Growing papaya but seeing no fruit, why does a farmer in Ba Ria-Vung Tau still earn 150 million/year?

Easy to grow, easy to care for, quick to harvest and popular in the market, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung, born in 1988, Dat Thanh hamlet, Quang Thanh commune (Chau Duc district, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province) boldly brought male papaya varieties to grow for flowers, bringing in a good income.

Xưa nay trồng loại cây này để lấy quả ngon, anh nông dân Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu lại vặt lấy hoa mà vẫn thu 150 triệu- Ảnh 1.

Papaya flowers are harvested twice a week by Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung (left). The male papaya garden for sale belongs to Mr. Tung in Dat Thanh hamlet, Quang Thanh commune (Chau Duc district, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province).

Once accidentally knowing information about the uses of male papaya flowers, Mr. Tung researched market demand, characteristics, and effects.

Realizing the increasing demand for health care and treatment from natural herbs, including male papaya flowers, in early 2022, Mr. Tung decided to renovate 3 hectares of land and boldly plant this plant.

After only 6 months of planting and caring, Mr. Tung harvested more than 7 tons of fresh papaya flowers, bringing in hundreds of millions of dong in profit. Motivated, he invested more than 100 million dong in buying a dryer and installing a sprinkler irrigation system, both saving water and reducing labor.

According to Mr. Tung, with good soil, male papaya flowers are long, large, and bloom all year round. Each tree can be harvested 4-5 times a year.

“During the dry season, male papaya flowers are very scarce, so I dig a pond to store water, ensuring a water source for the plants to flower. Male papaya trees are very easy to grow, only need composted manure, do not require much investment, and ensure clean products to supply to the market,” Mr. Tung added.

Currently, fresh papaya flowers are sold for 40,000 VND/kg, dried flowers are sold for 350,000-600,000 VND/kg (depending on the season). On average, 7-8kg of fresh papaya flowers will produce 1kg of dried flowers.

Every week, Mr. Tung harvests about 300kg of fresh papaya flowers twice to supply to traders in Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai and the province.

According to Oriental medicine, male papaya flowers have many medicinal uses, helping to treat many diseases such as cough, supporting digestion... People who often suffer from hypoglycemia can use male papaya flowers to increase insulin levels in the body, reduce dizziness, headaches. Male papaya flowers only need to be washed, dried, soaked in honey and drunk every morning.

From the model of growing male papaya for flowers, Mr. Tung has created regular jobs for 4 workers, with an income of more than 7 million VND/person/month; at the same time, he has supported and guided union members and young people in the area to grow papaya for flowers, creating jobs and increasing income for rural workers.

Mr. Tung said that in addition to selling fresh papaya flowers, he is aiming to process them into papaya flower powder, replacing tea as a drink. Mr. Tung is cherishing the plan to build papaya flower powder into an OCOP product.

Source