Almost 100 years rooted in the land of Lai Vung

When I was a child, in the days leading up to Tet, I would often see my mother going to the market to buy a pink tangerine. Mom said this was a fruit that symbolized happiness and prayed that the family would wrap tangerines in the New Year. And already the image of the tangerine was deeply embedded in my subconscious. Growing up, during the busy Tet market in the west, regardless of the price, I had to choose to buy round pink tangerines to display during Tet.

In the South, from New Year’s to spring, a plate of pink tangerines is a must on the altar of almost every family. Because people believe and consider tangerines as a sacred product that sends them hopes and dreams in the new year, full and brilliant.

Located between the Mekong Delta’s two major rivers, the Tien and Hau, Lai Vung (Dong Thap) District is blessed with abundant alluvial freshwater. From here, the land of Lai Vung stretches to develop and become a rich place of “good trees and sweet fruits” in the region. The tangerine in particular is one of the famous specialties “hunted” at Tet markets.

In Hau Giang, Vinh Long, Kien Giang… many traders were “zealous” as early as the beginning of December (December of the lunar calendar), renting vehicles, preparing tools and returning to Lai Swing to buy tangerines.

People who have lived on Lai Vung land for a long time, no one remembers exactly who first grew tangerines for this land. Just know that people here have seen the orange-yellow color of ripe tangerines for many generations. The sweet taste in each tangerine has created its own aroma, typical of Lai Vung tangerines.

Tangerine is deeply rooted in the soil and has co-existed with the ups and downs of the people of this land for almost 100 years. Through the process of being stuck out of the practice of productive work, the tangerine tree has proved suitable for the land in Long Hau, Tan Phuoc, Tan Thanh and part of Vinh Thoi and Hoa Long parishes.

According to Mr. Vo Hoang Cuong, secretary of the Lai Vung County Party Committee, after 1975 the transformation of the county’s cultivation structure accelerated. Thanks to its high economic value, the mandarin tree has been cared for more carefully by the people. The period from 1995 to 2010 is considered the period when tangerines “climb to the throne”.

At that time, in Long Hau Township, Mr. Le Hong Duc’s family was growing mandarins with only nearly 6 acres of land (1,000 m2/public) with a yield of up to 35 tons per harvest. Thanks to the development of tangerine trees, his family has a prosperous life, buying more land and vehicles and spending on developing production in the following crops.

Not only Mr. Duc’s family, many farmers in Lai Vung country have repaired their old houses, built new houses and raised their children thanks to the persimmon tree. To build a man and a woman, also thanks to the tangerine tree. Compared to traditional rice cultivation, tangerine brings farmers 3-4 times higher profit. That’s why Mr. Duc himself, who will be 75 this year, still works hard early in the morning, weeding, spraying, applying fertilizer, he does everything by hand. He takes care of tangerines as carefully as humans need to eat in moderation.

Mr. Duc recalled more than 10 years ago and excitedly shared that on the occasion of Tet, the pink tangerine gardens became more alive. From 3 a.m. to 4 a.m., motorbikes and boats are busy both on the road and on the river, people are busy picking tangerines, packing goods and handing them over to traders.

The most unforgettable memory with Mr. Tran Huu Hon, a gardener who grows tangerines at Long Hung Hamlet 2, Long Hau Parish, is the days and nights of tangerine picking. In the past, it was difficult to travel by road in Long Hau Township, people mainly traveled by boat. In season of ripe tangerines on the trees, boats and boats on the river are also busy.

“Everyone hangs a lamp and then picks it up, goes home to shut up shop all night and when it’s done the brothers throw a party and tell stories about food. Lai Vung would be very sad without these pictures,” said Mr. Hon.

Trees don’t love man’s land

With the development of socio-economic conditions, the tangerine brings quite high economic value, due to which farmers pay more attention to increasing productivity and yield. This has invisibly become a “double-edged sword”. Farmers are chasing production but forgetting about quality, resulting in tangerines falling into recession due to low quality, consumers losing confidence in tangerines. In the period from 2013 to 2019, tangerines struggled with diseases such as yellow leaves, root rot and green death on citrus trees, causing more than 70% of the area to die en masse and farmers growing tangerines perplexed and bored.

In the garden of Mr. Tran Huu Hon at Long Hung hamlet 2, Long Hau township, mandarins died en masse covering 80-90% of the area. Mr Nguyen Van Day’s neighboring garden was in a similar situation. Mr. Day once had the idea of ​​chopping down all the tangerines to grow pomelos. However, with determination to preserve this precious tree, the Dong Thap Provincial People’s Committee has undertaken a project to restore 500 ha of Lai Vung mandarin area.

With the support of scientists from Can Tho University, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dong Thap Province, farmers with a passion for tangerines like Mr. Hon, Mr. Duc, Mr. Day… have bravely participated in the process • Soil remediation , Use of organic fertilizers. It took 3 years to restore the persimmon garden, and in this 2023 tangerine harvesting season, the first sweet fruits have brought many perspectives to the persimmon orchards in Lai Vung.

“From the first year of implementation of the pink tangerine garden restoration project, tangerine trees tend not to spread more diseases. In the second year, the mandarine garden recovered about 60-70% and this year is the third year with almost 95%,” said Mr. Nguyen Van Day in Long Hau township, excited about the ongoing process of pink mandarin garden recovery.

In this year’s tangerine harvest, the persimmon orchards in Lai Vung district have stopped the disease completely, the trees have started to give high yields of 2~3.5 tons/ton, people are very excited.

In particular, diseased tangerine trees in the garden have been reduced almost to a minimum. The quality of the tangerines has been restored, the fruit is not dry, so it will not be damaged for a long time. If it is displayed in the family on Tet holidays, it can be kept for more than 20 days. This is a very good sign, because if Lai Vung farmers do not depend on the land or the trees, the trees and the land will not depend on the people.

Mr. Vo Hoang Cuong, Secretary of the Lai Vung District Party Committee, expressed the desire to restore the tangerine tree with a desire to keep some of the fruit left by his father. In addition, I also want to preserve the value of the humanity of Lai Vung land through nearly a century of productive work, and tangerines have witnessed the ups and downs of many generations.

From here, Mr. Cuong would like to convey the beliefs, aspirations and dreams of the Lai Vung to domestic and overseas consumers. In addition to the values ​​of nutrition, security and trust, the noble rose of the district is also the aspiration of the people of this country.

In the coming period, Lai Vung District has guidance to develop mandarin-based products such as mandarin essential oil, mandarin teas, mandarin beverages, including mandarin-based candies, etc., with mandarin added value.

Besides realizing the economic value, farmers in Lai Vung also know how to harness the potential of tourism development. Instead of developing in the form of seasonal tourism every spring, gardeners who grow tangerines in the district are also being organized into cooperatives to switch to a new tourism model, according to the experiential tourism model.

A journey from the time of planting and nurturing to obtaining sweet fruit in Tet season is the 9-month hard work of the people who grow tangerines. The tree did not betray the love of the country, the love of the people of Lai Vung and the future of tangerines will be a brand, widely sold in domestic and international markets.