Developing organic agriculture

Organic fruit gardens

Previously, Mr. Pham Van Binh (Hamlet 5, An Thanh Commune, Ben Luc District, Long An Province) planted and purchased sugarcane to sell to factories. Nearly 6 years ago, the price of sugarcane was unstable, he had to travel all the way to Ben Tre and Soc Trang to find customers but still saw no positive signs. People destroyed sugarcane to grow limes and rice. "I'm afraid that when everyone grows limes, the issue of supply exceeding demand will repeat itself, affecting prices. Therefore, I decided to find a new direction" - Mr. Binh said.

The fruit garden of Mr. Pham Van Binh (Hamlet 5, An Thanh Commune, Ben Luc District) is popular with tourists

In front of Mr. Binh's house is a longan tree that is more than 30 years old, which bears a lot of fruit every year. Thinking that longan trees are suitable for his hometown, he boldly invested nearly 7,000m² to plant 200 trees. At first, Mr. Binh encountered many difficulties because this was a new tree species in the area, no one guided him to grow it, so many trees died. Determined to make it work, Mr. Binh went to Dong Thap province to learn and researched online guide. Thanks to his perseverance and efforts, the longan trees gradually grow well.

Tourists visit Mr. Pham Van Binh's fruit garden (Hamlet 5, An Thanh Commune, Ben Luc District)

After 2 years, the trees began to bear fruit. At this time, Mr. Binh encountered problems with output. He shared: “In times of difficulty, I decided to plant a few more fruit trees and open the garden for visitors to visit, both to earn ticket money and to sell fruit without depending on traders”. Currently, on an area of ​​1.5 hectares, Mr. Binh grows longan, apple, guava, plum, sapodilla, and Thai jackfruit. He cooperated with the Vam Co Farmstay Eco-tourism Area to open the fruit garden on the 3 weekends. Visitors from many places inside and outside the province love fresh, delicious, and safe fruit from the garden.

In farming, Mr. Binh limits the use of fertilizers and chemicals, focusing on organic production to ensure safety for tourists. “We only sell what we dare to eat to customers. Although growing trees and doing tourism is harder than growing rice or sugarcane, the income is more stable. The important thing is that I can be proactive and do not depend on traders," Mr. Binh added. He was supported by the District Agricultural Service Center with organic fertilizers and microbiological pesticide. He also applied an automatic irrigation system for the fruit garden. In addition, Mr. Binh also sold seedlings to local people and raised civets, which initially had good results.

According to information from the Ben Luc District Agricultural Service Center, the district has models of organic lime garden. Up to now, 20 models on an area of ​​400 hectares have been implemented, with 523 farmers participating, reaching 100% of the plan. When compared, the demonstration model of organic production reduces the amount of fertilizer, the number of sprays, and increases the yield from 450-600 kg/hectare.

Growing organic vegetables

Realizing the increasing demand for clean vegetables among the people, Mr. Nguyen Tran Minh Tai (Phuoc Ke Hamlet, Phuoc Lam Commune, Can Giuoc District) researched, learned and successfully applied the hydroponic vegetable growing model.

Mr. Nguyen Tran Minh Tai (2nd from right, Phuoc Ke Hamlet, Phuoc Lam Commune, Can Giuoc District) introduces the hydroponic vegetable growing model

He invested in a greenhouse on an area of ​​3,000m² to grow cruciferous vegetables. At first, he encountered many difficulties due to lack of experience, especially with pests and diseases. Not discouraged, he researched and learned to overcome them. Up to now, the vegetable garden has grown well, selling about 400kg per day.

According to Mr. Tai, if you are familiar with the work, growing vegetables using hydroponics is relatively easy and requires little care. Compared to growing in the ground, this method has a yield 3-5 times higher because farmers can proactively adjust the amount of nutrients so that there is no excess or shortage, helping the plants grow quickly. Moreover, it can eliminate pathogens arising from the soil.

Mr. Tai's hydroponic vegetable products are mainly delivered to supermarkets and clean vegetable stores. The price of vegetables is 2-3 times higher than vegetables grown in the ground, but they are still welcomed by the market because they are safe and do not contain pesticide residues. Currently, he produces vegetables according to VietGAP standards. He regularly studies knowledge about organic agriculture to apply to his vegetable garden. “The core issue is to ensure the health of consumers. Next year, if the market is stable, I will expand further,” said Mr. Tai.

Mr. Vo Van Van (Phuoc Ke Hamlet, Phuoc Lam Commune, Can Giuoc District) often studies documents on organic production methods to apply to onion cultivation

Mr. Vo Van Van (Phuoc Ke Hamlet, Phuoc Lam Commune, Can Giuoc District) has been growing onions organically for nearly 2 years now. On an area of ​​nearly 1 hectare, Mr. Van applies organic methods in the basal fertilization stage with cow manure, chicken manure, coconut fiber, etc. According to Mr. Van, the time from planting to harvesting of onions is about 60 days. Leaf rot is the most common disease of the plant. When the plant is seriously ill, chemicals must be used, otherwise it will spread very quickly. Therefore, to avoid using chemicals, it is best to use organic methods for prevention. Mr. Van said: “Although the yield of green onions grown organically is not very high, the products are beautiful, smooth, eye-catching green, and safe for consumers”.

According to the Farmers' Association of Can Giuoc district, in 2024, the whole district will have more than 1,337 hectares of high-tech vegetables. The Association will coordinate with the District Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the District Agricultural Service Center to continue to support and guide farmers to participate in the high-tech vegetable growing model (growing vegetables in greenhouses, net houses; using smart and economical irrigation systems; using organic microbial fertilizers, biological pesticides), expand demonstration models of organic agricultural production, ecological agriculture, and green agriculture such as Dream Field; Green garden, clean field, safe production; circulate irrigation system in growing orchids, melons, and hydroponic vegetables; apply smart irrigation in production; etc.

In addition, the District Farmers' Association is interested in and supports members and farmers in applying advanced science and technology, new technology in production, preservation and processing of agricultural products; promptly coordinates with specialized agencies, scientists, and enterprises to organize training, transfer technical advances, high technology in production, produce according to the value chain, support members and farmers to participate in innovation, successful startups.

It can be seen that organic agriculture is increasingly responded to by farmers because of its efficiency and safety. To protect the health of consumers and the environment, this is an inevitable trend in agricultural production./.

By Le An - Translated by Q. Thien

Source: https://baolongan.vn/phat-trien-nong-nghiep-huu-co-a187270.html