On December 26, the Ministry of Crop Production and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tien Giang conducted field surveys on the development of durian trees in this province.
The durian acreage is still suitable for converting production
Mr. Le Thanh Tung, Deputy Director of Crop Production Department, said: In 2021, the country will have about 85,000 ha of durian trees, concentrated in the central highlands (35,000 ha), the southeast (20,000 ha) and the Mekong Delta (30,000 ha ). . In 2022, according to estimates by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the durian area has increased from 7,000 to 10,000 hectares. In the Mekong Delta, the area of durian trees is expanding in Hau Giang, Dong Thap, Long An and Tien Giang provinces.
Experts recommend that growers think carefully before deciding to invest in difficult crops like durian. Photo: Minh Dam.
Mr. Le Thanh Tung added that in recent years, especially in the period from 2015 to now, the growth of durian trees in the Mekong Delta has been relatively steady. However, he also acknowledged that due to the recently signed protocol to officially export durian to China in 2022, there will be an increase in durian acreage, which will cause excitement among farmers. However, this growth is still in line with the plan to convert fruit-growing areas throughout the southern region.
The Mekong Delta has about 350,000 hectares of fruit trees, of which the area of durian trees is about 30,000 hectares. Recently, farmers have become interested in this culture in order to learn more about the conversion of production.
In Tien Giang, the site with the largest area of durian trees in the Mekong Delta, Director of Tien Giang Plantation and Plant Protection Sub-Department Mr. Vo Van Men said: Up to now, the durian area in Tien Giang Province covers an area of 17,653 ha reached, of which the fruit-growing area is about 10,539 ha, most concentrated in Cai Be, Cai Lay and Cai Lay districts. Compared to the beginning of 2020, the area of durian trees in the province has increased by over 3,142 hectares to date.
“According to the goal of the durian development project by 2025, Tien Giang will have a 17,000 ha specialized area of durian, but according to the survey, it has been completed so far,” said Men Planen.
Mr. Le Thanh Tung, deputy director of the Department of Crop Production, also shared the view that these data are consistent with the overall growth, as recently a large area of durian plantations were affected by the 2019-2020 salt drought and are very well restored. Additionally, despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, durian trees have historically proven extremely economical, with farmers more interested in converting from ineffective paddy land and old-growth fruit trees. , fruit trees are weak due to salinity…
Must be considered when converting to durian
The current development of durian in the Mekong Delta is still in provincial planning, but there are still a number of issues that authorities should pay attention to before making the switch to this difficult crop. .
In the past, cheap durian prices have encouraged farmers to switch more to this culture. Photo: Minh Dam.
Mr. Vo Van Men recommends: Farmers switch to growing durian only in the planning area; in particular in accordance with regulations, in particular Decree 62 on conversion of crops in rice-growing areas. During the changeover, there should be a consumption coupling; do not convert on unadapted rice land; Distribute the harvest more evenly to avoid harvesting at the same time, leading to production overload and avoiding the harvest time of Thai durian; actively participate in technical training to improve the quality of export services.
According to Mr. Le Thanh Tung, the conversion of durian trees, as well as fruit trees in general, should not be carried out massively because then there is a shortage of quality seed sources. Fruit trees take a long time to take care of, if the quality is not satisfactory, it will bring low efficiency and even harm to people. The conversion must also follow planning, which has been carefully scrutinized by the provincial ministries of agriculture and rural development.
He also said that for agricultural products in general, including fruit, when exported to the markets of Europe, USA, Japan, China… technical barrier requirements are very strict. This is the strictness of food safety standards, quarantine barriers… If farmers without sufficient capacity to manage the quality of agricultural products to break through market barriers, the profits will not be high. , big risk.
In addition, the number of cooperatives in the field of fruit trees is currently very small and the effectiveness of their work is not high. If it is developed spontaneously, there will not be enough area to establish an export cultivation area (about 10 hectares of continuous cultivation and specialized cultivation).
Mr. Le Thanh Tung also mentioned many crops that were previously grown without preparation grew until the market could no longer be consumed and needed a “rescue”. “There will be no highly effective rescue, we must save ourselves now,” Tung stressed, advising.