Farmer Vo Van Nang hangs a board on a tree in his xoan orange orchard in Tan Thuan Dong commune of Cao Lanh city, Dong Thap province (Photo: VNA) Dong Thap (VNS/VNA) - The Mekong Deltaprovince of Dong Thap is encouraging farmers to grow more fruits to goodagricultural practice (GAP) standards to improve incomes and sustainability.
It has more than 600ha ofVietGAP- and GlobalGAP-standard orchards, according to Nguyen Phuoc Thien, DeputyDirector of the provincial Department of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment.
Mango and longan account for the lion’sshare of these fruits. The mangoes are exported to many markets, including theRepublic of Korea, Japan, Russia, Italy, and Hong Kong.
The province, the delta’s largest mangoproducer, has more than 9,000ha under the fruit, while mango is one of its keyagricultural products.
Farmers who grow mango to VietGAP standards earn200-220 million VND (8,620-9,460 USD) per hectare per year while those who growtraditionally earn 150-160 million VND (6,450-6,890 USD), according to thedepartment.
The province has also designated six areas witha combined area of 416ha in Cao Lanh city and Cao Lanh district to grow cleanmangoes in the off-season to avoid oversupply during the main season.
It has in fact designated specific areas forspecific fruits such as for longan in Chau Thanh district, pink mandarin in LaiVung and xoan orange in Lap Vo and Lai Vung districts.
The province, which had more than 25,000ha underfruits as of 2017, plans to expand this to 30,057ha by 2025, including 11,055haof mango, 8,460ha of various citrus fruits and 5,720ha of longan.
In 2016, the My Xuong Mango Cooperative in Cao Lanhdistrict began selling mango trees to customers through its website, , thus offering a steady income to its members andclean fruits to consumers.
The trees sold under the “My home mango tree”model, cost customers 3-5 million VND (129 – 215 USD) a year per tree dependingon their previous yields. Customers can get 100 – 150kg of mangoes for a yearfrom their tree.
In case of a poor harvest, customers still get70 percent of the quantity guaranteed in the contract.
The mango trees sold under the model belong tothree varieties: local specialties Hoa Loc and Cat Chu and Taiwanesevariety xoai tuong da xanh.
The mango trees sold online meet criteria likehaving fruits that are consistent in size, fruiting well and meeting VietGAPstandards.
When a tree is sold, its owner is responsiblefor tending the tree, pick ripe fruits and deliver them to the customer.
The trees sold on the website are assigned anumber, and buyers can check their current status on the website.
Nguyen Van Truyen, who was one of the firstmembers of My Xuong to take part in the model, said: “The model helps assurefarmers against price declines when there is a bumper harvest since the priceis set at the time of the purchase.”
The cooperative’s members have so far sold morethan 230 mango trees to customers, earning more than 900 million VND (28,770USD). Many of the buyers are from HCM City and Hanoi.
Vo Viet Hung, Director of the My Xuong Mango Cooperative,said: “The buyer can purchase a mango tree on the cooperative’s website, andafter the purchase the cooperative will take care of all the rest for thebuyer.”
The success of “My home mango tree” spurred thelaunch of “My home orange tree” last year by farmer Vo Van Nang in Cao Lanhcity’s Tan Thuan Dong commune.
Planted in 2012, Nang’s orange orchard has morethan 200 xoan orange trees which each yield 80 -100 kilogrammes of sweet andjuicy fruits a year. He does not use chemical fertilisers or pesticides in hisorchard.
The trees are sold on the website //nongsancaolanh.vn withsimilar conditions as My Xuong.
Last year he sold 35 orange trees at a price of 4million VND (170 USD) each for a period of a year. Fifty trees have been boughtso far this year.
According to Le Nhut Truong, Chairman of the TanThuan Dong Commune People’s Committee, Nang’s model of producing clean productsis an example the commune encourages its farmers to emulate.
It plans to instruct farmers to grow cleanproduce to meet the market demand and improve value.
Le Thanh Huy, head of the Cao Lanh City EconomicBureau, said "The 'My home orange tree' model produces clean fruitsand is environment-friendly. It also helps promote the city’s agriculturalproduce."-VNS/VNA
VNA
