Building 3-star OCOP for Thuy Tinh lettuce

Workers harvesting lettuce in Thuy Tinh

• YOUNG PEOPLE CULTIVATE MODERN VEGETABLES

The family of farmers Nguyen Thanh Hai - Vo Thi Minh Thanh, Quang Loi village, Quang Lap commune, Don Duong district are harvesting Thuy Tinh lettuce. Being the children of a famous lettuce growing family in Quang Lap area, they are familiar with growing Thuy Tinh lettuce in greenhouses, with a modern recirculating hydroponic system.

Ms. Vo Thi Minh Thanh said that her family's lettuce garden is produced according to the model of growing on a recirculating hydroponic system, with safe organic biological drugs. Ms. Thanh shared: "We are the successors of our parents, farmers specializing in growing la-ghim in this Quang Lap area. Thuy Tinh lettuce is grown most productively and effectively on a recirculating hydroponic system. This is the system that helps lettuce plants achieve the largest, crispiest, most flavorful and most beautiful color, and is favored by the market." According to Ms. Thanh, her family's garden produces lettuce from root to tip. Lettuce seeds are sown in specialized trays. After sowing, the trays are watered regularly every day, with a moderate amount of water. After about 20 days, the tiny lettuce seeds have grown into lettuce plants 10 - 12 cm tall, ready to be placed on the trellis.

“My family grows hydroponic lettuce, producing each batch so that we have goods to supply to our partners every day. Therefore, each vegetable area is at a different age and has its own care regime,” said Ms. Minh Thanh. According to Ms. Minh Thanh, although they all grow hydroponic vegetables, each garden has its own production method, depending on the requirements as well as the experience and knowledge of the farmer. “Like my family, we specialize in Thuy Tinh lettuce with an organic production orientation. Therefore, all fertilizers and pesticides used for the lettuce garden are biological pesticides, with very careful advice from agricultural officials. Water from the reservoir is mixed with nutrients, pumped up through the hydroponic system to provide nutrients to the plants and then returned to the lake. The strict process ensures that the amount of water and nutrients are preserved, without loss or waste,” said Ms. Minh Thanh.

• BUILDING OCOP PRODUCTS

"The hydroponic lettuce garden of Hai and Thanh is really clean," said Nguyen Hoai Thanh, a farm worker. According to Hoai Thanh, after harvesting a batch of vegetables, the farm requires workers to rinse all the growing trays as well as the pipe system. The rinsing water helps to completely clean foreign substances, helping the new batch of lettuce have a safe environment to grow best. "In general, growing clean hydroponic lettuce is very healthy, the farm workers mainly ensure the technical process according to the requirements of the engineers and the main job is to harvest lettuce, package it for delivery to customers. Lettuce is harvested at a weight of 0.35 - 0.4 kg/plant, the plants do not have rotten roots, and do not have yellow leaves. This is the stage when the lettuce is at its most developed, delicious, and meets the requirements of customers," said Hoai Thanh.

Ms. Vo Thi Minh Thanh also shared: "Every day, the family supplies the market with 500 kg of goods according to available contracts. Growing hydroponic lettuce is not difficult but not easy either, requiring farmers to pay close attention to water quality, nutrition as well as paying special attention to the pH level in the water. Personally, I must have tools to regularly measure the amount of water, nutrition, and pH in the plant growth solution. With strict control, the plants will grow quickly, be disease-free, and achieve the best color and quality," Ms. Minh Thanh shared.

The young farming couple not only cultivates lettuce and supplies it to the market, they also hope to introduce the brand of lettuce from Quang Lap region by building an OCOP product for Thuy Tinh lettuce. “Building a 3-star OCOP product also takes a lot of effort and requires our farm to go through many stages. The farm must implement and ensure many standards. However, this is also an opportunity for us to re-evaluate our process to ensure the highest quality for Thuy Tinh lettuce,” said Ms. Minh Thanh.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nam - Head of the Farmers' Association of Quang Loi village, Quang Lap commune, assessed that the hydroponic lettuce farm of the young farmer couple Nguyen Thanh Hai - Vo Thi Minh Thanh is a very large farm, with high investment and produces good quality lettuce plants. The farm is currently coordinating with the Quang Lap commune government to build a 3-star OCOP product for Thuy Tinh lettuce, with the goal of enhancing the brand and reputation of Quang Lap agricultural products. Not only are they good at business, the young couple are also advanced farmers, employing a large local labor force, contributing to the economic development of the vegetable land.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/kinh-te/202503/xay-dung-ocop-3-sao-cho-xa-lach-thuy-tinh-7c0186a/