Visit a place in Lam Dong to see a billionaire farmer grow durian, the rich man's tree "gives birth" to "billion-dollar fruit"

Mr. K'Sèn, a resident of Hamlet 3, Tan Thuong Commune, took guests to visit his family's durian garden, which was ready for harvest. He said that his parents and grandparents had lived on this land near the Dong Nai River since his birth. In the past, Tan Thuong people had to work very hard, growing upland rice, cassava, chili peppers, etc. When the harvest season was lean, many families had to go without meals.

Then Tan Thuong people got acquainted with coffee trees. The red ripe coffee berries helped Tan Thuong people escape poverty. However, the price of agricultural materials and pesticides increased, prices were erratic, and coffee beans did not help Tan Thuong people get rich. Until Mr. K'Sèn boldly planted durian trees.

Mr. K'Sèn next to the durian garden ready to harvest

“I was the first household in Hamlet 3 to plant durian trees. That was in 2007-2008, when only a few Kinh households living in the hydroelectric reservoir area started planting durian. At that time, the villagers were very curious because I dared to plant durian in the coffee garden,” Mr. K'Sèn recalled.

Learning from the durian gardens of the villagers in the village and commune, Mr. K'Sèn planted nearly 500 Thai durian trees. He also recalled that at that time, his family was still very poor. Therefore, instead of growing pure durian, he intercropped it in the coffee garden, taking care of durian during the construction phase and taking care of coffee to have an annual income, paying for his family's living expenses.

“The difficulty with durian trees is that the investment is very large. When the trees were still young, my family had a hard time. It was not until the trees were 4-5 years old and started to bear fruit that my family felt secure. Even though at that time, durian could not be exported, the price was only 30-35 thousand VND/kg, but my family was very happy because the market for durian was very large, easy to sell, and the income was also higher than coffee,” Mr. K'Sèn recalled.

From the early days when the fruit price was still low, his family persevered in taking care of the durian garden according to the transferred techniques. Not letting people down, the trees grew well, producing fragrant, sweet, thin-skinned fruit. In the 2024 durian crop, Mr. K'Sèn's family estimated to harvest 30 tons of durian for export.

Mr. K'Sèn is very proud that his family grows durian according to VietGAP standards, and has successfully registered and built a code for growing and exporting fresh durian to the Chinese market. He also said that the price of his family's durian is approximately 80,000 VND/kg, a significant number for Tan Thuong residents.

Mr. K'Sèn confided that it is not easy for Tan Thuong people to approach durian trees. Because durian trees have to be planted for five years before they bear fruit. Meanwhile, the investment for durian trees is very large, not every family can afford to pursue it. Based on personal experience, Mr. K'Sèn recommends that people should plant durian in coffee gardens, taking short-term to support long-term, helping people still have income while waiting for durian to harvest.

Growing durian in coffee gardens also has many difficulties. Specifically, coffee trees make the ground moist and not airy, durian trees are susceptible to diseases such as root rot and anthracnose. "However, if you take good care and manage pests well, your family can still harvest both durian and coffee. For example, in the 2023 coffee crop, my family harvested 6 tons of beans, selling them for 90,000 VND/kg, a not small amount of income" - Mr. K'Sèn encouraged the people.

Mr. K'Sèn also commented that although coffee grows under the shade of durian trees, it still grows quite well because coffee is a plant that loves diffused light. As long as the garden is closely monitored, disease prevention is good, and adequate organic fertilizer and Trichoderma fungus are added, the coffee tree will still produce good fruit.

Mr. K'Duc, an agricultural extension officer of Tan Thuong commune, Di Linh district, said that Mr. K'Sèn is the first ethnic minority farmer in Tan Thuong commune to grow durian. When Mr. K'Sèn switched to a new tree species, the villagers and commune were very curious. From the success of Mr. K'Sèn's family as well as other farmers, people planted durian, promoting the change in crop structure of Tan Thuong residents.

Mr. K'Sèn is also an enthusiastic farmer, willing to transfer, guide techniques, and share experiences in growing durian with people in the village and commune. With approximately 95% of the population being ethnic minorities, of which 87% are indigenous ethnic minorities, the boldness and success of Mr. K'Sèn's family has brought great motivation for people to convert coffee to grow durian. And also from Mr. K'Sèn's change, the learning of the people, durian trees are increasingly expanding, taking root in Tan Thuong land, bringing prosperity to a remote land along the Dong Nai river.

Source: https://danviet.vn/vo-mot-noi-o-lam-dong-xem-ty-phu-nong-dan-trong-sau-rieng-cay-nha-giau-de-ra-trai-tien-ty-20240716145246382.htm