With a total planting area of ​​over 200 hectares, Dong Cao General Service Cooperative in Trang Viet Municipality (Me Linh, Hanoi) currently supplies clean vegetables and tubers to many supermarkets and large wholesale markets of major retailers in northern provinces and cities.

Every day, the cooperative supplies the market with 200-300 tons of all kinds of vegetables and tubers, the main product being white radish, which currently accounts for 70%. Especially during the Lunar New Year in 2023, Dong Cao Cooperative is expected to bring 300-400 tons of vegetables and tubers to market per day.

To cut costs and improve productivity, especially against the backdrop of ever-volatile gasoline prices, Dong Cao cooperative members have collectively invested in an electricity system for agriculture. This involved switching from petrol pumps to electric pumps for the water supply of the entire irrigation system of the cooperative.

Mr. Nguyen Van Ngoc, a member of Dong Cao Cooperative, said that using a gasoline pump to supply water costs a lot, takes a long time to transport and causes frequent breakdowns, not to mention polluting the environment.

“The cooperative’s farm workers are mostly women, so it is very difficult to transport or repair machinery. From the day the power system came to the field, farmers only need to connect the power to supply water to the irrigation system, and there are almost no outages. Everyone feels much more relaxed,” Mr Ngoc said.

According to Dong Cao cooperative members’ statistics, the fuel cost of irrigating each batch of vegetables was 600,000 VND/sao in the past, but when switching to electric pumps, the cost was only about 80,000 VND/sao times.

Mr. Dam Van Dua, director of Dong Cao Cooperative said that the production cost of 1 stick of this vegetable was reduced by VND 1 million by using an electric pump instead of a gas-powered machine because of additional savings of more than VND 500,000 of fuel money, Gasoline, people also reduce repair costs, as well as operating personnel. In the coming period, the cooperative will continue to research and improve the automatic irrigation system to reduce farming and labor costs for its members.

Regarding the situation of pests and diseases in vegetables this year, Mr. Dua said that this year’s weather is warmer than previous years, which is a factor causing many pests and diseases to thrive on a large scale and thus the productivity is reduced. while the cost of care has increased significantly.

In order to limit pests and grow safe vegetables, Dong Cao Cooperative has implemented many solutions, such as: propaganda and mobilizing members to increase the use of insect traps, adjust the amount of fertilizers and irrigation water accordingly.

“Every month we hold 2-3 conferences to educate farmers about growing methods that are suitable for weather conditions, pests and diseases and the market. The cooperative also urges farmers to sow appropriately, not massively. Therefore, the value of vegetables is stable, there is no oversupply situation, although the quantity is small, it brings high economic value,” Mr. Dua said.

Mr. Bui Manh Tien, head of the Me Linh Cultivation and Plant Protection Station (Hanoi Cultivation and Plant Protection Subdivision), said that warm weather is both a favorable condition for the growth of plants and a weak factor that promotes the growth of pests and diseases.

In order to promptly assist farmers to prevent pests and diseases and maintain safe vegetable growing areas, the station will appoint officials to closely monitor the fields and gardens, when the density of pests and diseases is high, the unit will announce through loudspeakers instructions to direct pest control.

Mr. Tien added that the station is coordinating with the Dong Cao Cooperative to organize a production schedule at the beginning of the harvest and mobilize farmers to cover the winter crops area. At the same time, assign a supervisor in Trang Viet township to guide the farmers from planting to harvesting.

Cultivation and crop protection station Me Linh recommends farmers to focus on crop adjustment and increase crop spread to ease the pressure of a busy crop. This changes the production thinking to properly and fully meet the demands of the market.