Pioneering breaking of acacia plantation VietGAP bưởi

The late April sun burns like fire in Hoai An’s midlands (Binh Dinh). Sizzling hot. However, as we entered the almost 2-acre orchard, we saw that the hot sun outside immediately disappeared. The canopy of 250 5 year old grapefruit trees has closed like a giant umbrella covering the sky.

In addition, the green color of 1,500 6- to 7-year-old pepper roots interspersed as “green walls” in the pomelo garden prevent outside heat from penetrating. This is the feeling of walking around the fruit tree farm of Mr. Lo Ngoc Vinh, Village Chief of Thach Long Village 1, An Tuong Dong Township (Hoai An District).

The story of Mr. Vinh’s VietGAP grapefruit tree rhythmically follows our footsteps, which slowly crept into the green space of grapefruit trees and pepper pillars. Vinh’s family bought this almost 2-hectare land at the end of 2002 for VND 15 million, which was the equivalent of 3 gold trees at the time. At that time, this land had no electricity, so it was impossible to close wells for irrigation, so only productive cassava could grow, which was planted to cover the land, but the cassava tree had no effect.

In 2015, Hoai An District People’s Committee had a policy to destroy forest trees (acacia) planted on agricultural land to develop fruit trees with starches. Accordingly, the provincial people’s committee opened roads and supplied electricity to areas where fruit trees would be planted. At that time, Vinh’s family had 5,000 m2 of land growing acacia trees. At that time, the acacia tree was valuable, but according to the policy of the district, Mr. Vinh and a villager, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thach, pioneered to destroy the acacia tree to plant green-skinned grapefruit.

From the beginning, Vinh has followed the direction of VietGAP with 1 ha of grapefruit with the cultivation of fruit trees. Vinh is one of the first two people in An Tuong Dong Township and one of the first 21 households in Hoai An District to be granted a VietGAP certificate for pomelo by the relevant authority.

When Hoai An district first mobilized people to destroy acacia trees planted on agricultural land, Vinh was still working as a village front committee at the time, but not as a village chief. At that time, Vinh and Thach Long 1 village chief had to sweat to mobilize, initially people didn’t understand, so they didn’t agree with the local government’s policy. Coming forever, 26 ha of acacia trees in the area were eventually torn down and replaced with a green-skinned grapefruit tree.

“While participating in a project to develop plants using local starches, we were supported by the District People’s Committee with 100% of the cost of purchasing pomelo seedlings; are supported with maintenance costs for the first 3 years, 1.6 million VND per year and 50% of the cost of drilling wells and installing irrigation systems. Back then, only the village of Thach Long 1 destroyed 26 ha of acacia trees to plant pomelos,” Vinh recalls.

According to Mr. Vinh, the production process of VietGAP grapefruit is managed by the functional sector to plant with a tree density of 7 m from the tree. Once pomelos start bearing fruit, growers must limit chemical pesticide use to the lowest level. Pesticides are periodically sprayed at a rate of 1 liter/ha. When grapefruit trees need adequate watering, more than 20 hectares of grapefruits in Thach Long 1 village have been equipped with automatic irrigation systems.

“There are currently 6 households growing VietGAP pomelo with an area of ​​more than 20 ha in Thach Long 1 village, which are connected with Hoai An Youth Agricultural Cooperative to buy products. Care techniques, fertilizer and pesticide spraying procedures are regularly instructed by the cooperative through zalo.

In 2022, my 250 pomelos started bearing fruit, each batch sold a few tens of kilograms, so I didn’t calculate the turnover, this year pomelos started business, an average of 15 fruits per tree. Currently, Hoai An Youth Agricultural Cooperative buys VietGAP pomelos priced at 26,000 VND/kg (Type 1) and grade 2 pomelos at 18,000-22,000 VND/kg,” said Mr. Lo Ngoc Vinh.

A bridge to “start a business” for people

The central land of Hoai An (Binh Dinh) has so far formed orchards covering an area of ​​over 1,594 ha, of which pomelo accounts for more than 859 ha; avocado almost 466 ha; Siamese Coconut 112 ha; durian 30 ha; citrus fruits 44.5 ha; 40 ha of red flesh dragon fruit…Many gardens are growing intensely with green skinned pomelos, Siamese coconut, sugar oranges…although they are just beginning the recycling cycle, they have an annual profit of 150-200 million VND/ha.

Hoai An Youth Agricultural Cooperative plays the role of a technical “midwife” for the farmers to plant fruit trees in the area and sell produce. The cooperative formed a Zalo group to connect with 150 pomelos growers, 50 Siamese coconut farmers, 20 vegetable and other fruit growers… VietGAP grapefruit care techniques are regularly popularized by the cooperative in the Zalo group, pomelo growers . others do not, so for an explanation the cooperative must turn to those with long experience of growing VietGAP pomelos.

If the pomelo farmers in Thach Long 1 village (An Tuong Dong commune) are still confused about how to care for the pomelos towards VietGAP, they all come to Mr. Lo Ngoc Vinh, a 36-year-old “village chief”. “, who has been growing VietGAP grapefruit for almost 10 years, for guidance. Recently, residents of Thach Long 1 village cleared another 5 ha of acacia forest to plant pomelos according to the poverty alleviation project of An Tuong Dong Commune People’s Committee. These households are the first to plant Look at Pomelos, so they are still confused about technology, need to learn from experience, from the forerunners.

“These households often come to me to ask how to spray pesticides on grapefruit trees, what kind of medicine, when to press branches to create a canopy for grapefruit trees to produce more fruit. Now people from the village come to me not to report the loss of chickens and ducks like they used to, but just to inquire about how to take care of pomelo trees towards VietGAP.

At times like this, even when I’m busy picking peppers or cutting branches for pomelos, I have to stop and engage in enthusiastic discussion with them. People believe they come just to ask, I have to work to earn this belief, later what policy does the district have to mobilize people so they can easily agree,” Vinh shared.

According to Mr. Vinh, the members’ brand awareness in the local VietGAP Fruit Tree Club is very high. For the common interest, they monitor each other themselves, if someone is found to be cultivating in the wrong process, they will immediately remind them. “The fruit tree club in An Tuong Dong municipality regularly audits VietGAP households growing grapefruit in the region. If a household does not meet the requirements, the first 1-2 times will be reminded. After being reminded but not changing, the club will propose to the district agricultural service center to revoke the VietGAP certificate to avoid the situation that “a worm makes the soup pot,” Mr. Lo Ngoc Vinh said.

As I said goodbye and left, Mr. Lo Ngoc Vinh said to me, “If you come back here in a few years, you will see that An Tuong Dong township has changed even more, because at that time 200 hectares of durian were cultivated formed on this land. . In particular, 20 ha of land in Dong Gio and Na Bui fields of Thach Long 1 village will no longer be allocated according to the type of contract allocation for each 1-2 Sao household as before. The local government will conduct an auction of at least 5,000 square meters (0.5 hectares) per person, giving priority to the local people in continuing the development of the second phase of plant growth (2022-2025).

“As of 2015, the average income of people in Thach Long 1 village was only 60 million VND/person/year. As the area has strongly developed fruit trees with starches, the average income of the people in the village has increased to VND130 million/person/year, more than doubled,” said Mr. Lo Ngoc Vinh excitedly.