Breast milk is a crop that brings high and stable economic value to farmers in Ke Sach district of Soc Trang province. This place is also an important cultivation area, which supplies many kinds of milk apples for export markets, such as books reach more than 2,200 ha, the annual output is about 30,000 tons.
Purple breast milk from Tu Quy in Ke Sach District, Soc Trang Province bears fruit all year round, brings high economic value, and has been available in the US market for many years. Picture: its metal.
According to Soc Trang Provincial Cultivation and Plant Protection Sub-department, star apple will be harvested from late November to early April next year. However, the high harvest corresponding to the natural season caused the supply to exceed the demand and the price of breast milk fell sharply. Meanwhile, the remaining months of supply shortages. In particular, in the period from 2018 to 2022, the supply of breast milk by cooperatives in the district accounts for only 5-8% of the demand for export contracts and high-value domestic market segments.
Therefore, in addition to supporting cooperatives to expand the area of Tu Quy purple spurge (a variety that can bear fruit all year round), the Provincial Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection also collaborates with a number of other units involved in research and Research related Guidance of farmers on techniques to manage flowering and propagating plants for milkweed to increase economic efficiency per unit area, particularly to increase production to meet export demand.
At Loc Mai Agricultural Cooperative, Trinh Phu Commune (Ke Sach District), the unit has participated in the model of planting crops on milkweed covering an area of about 6 ha.
Soc Trang Province is stepping up to train farmers on techniques for handling flowering and spreading plants for milkweed. Picture: its metal.
Mr. Su Quoc Loc, director of the cooperative, shared that the off-season flowering management has positive effects if it does not increase costs, while productivity compared to the favorable season (about 20 tons/ha) and the selling price is about 9,000 VND/kg higher.
Mr. Loc noted that the application of off-season flowering treatments was mainly based on the growth and development characteristics of the milkweed plant, without chemical intervention, so that the milkweed plant grows well, the product creates a safe environment, and meets the needs of the import market.
From experience, Mr. Loc said that spurge crop propagation does not require high technology, gardeners just need to pay attention to observe and learn.
First of all, it is necessary to “have the liver”, because according to traditional cultivation practices, milkweed plants bloom every year around June and July in the favorable season, gardeners who want to deal with the off-season flowering plants must boldly cut off branches in order to bloom to form new buds and take good care of these buds so that they bloom in September, October.
The fruits are thus harvested in May and June of the following year. Also, mother’s milk trees must be 5 to 10 years old after planting to successfully handle off-season flowering.
Every year, Soc Trang province exports 400-500 tons of breast milk to the US market. Picture: its metal.
Mr Nguyen Thanh Phuoc, head of Soc Trang Province’s Cultivation and Crop Protection Sub-department, said the administrative unit and gardeners currently have agreements with companies to purchase and export breast milk if they supply dairy products for export or the off-season product earlier than the season, the gardeners will be increased by 10,000 VND/kg, this is the motivation for the province’s dairy farmers to apply and replicate the solution to plant the crop. This will make building and promoting the chain of links and consumption of human milk between producers, cooperatives and companies more sustainable and effective.
Every year, Soc Trang province exports 400-500 tons of milkweed to the US market, the harvest distribution solution, if applied evenly to growers, will help farmers at any given period to achieve stable production and the increase product value.