From swampy to prosperous land

The 1000 south canal bank in Tan Lap commune, Tan Thanh district was built to help people travel and transport goods and agricultural products more easily

Building a high-tech rice growing area

The Dong Thap Muoi region of the province is a wetland area stretching across the districts of Tan Hung, Vinh Hung, Moc Hoa, Tan Thanh, Thanh Hoa, Duc Hue and Kien Tuong town; 7 northern communes of 2 districts: Thu Thua and Ben Luc with a total natural area of ​​nearly 300,000 hectares, accounting for more than 60% of the province's natural area.

Of which, the total agricultural land area is about 248,000 hectares, accounting for 78% of the total agricultural land area of ​​the province.

Previously, people in the region mainly produced rice from 1-2 crops but the efficiency was not high, especially in high mounds or low-lying areas without closed dikes.

To improve production efficiency, the provincial Department of Agriculture has developed many programs and projects to exploit the maximum potential and advantages of this land.

For rice, since 2016, the provincial Department of Agriculture has focused on building a 60,000 hectares of high-tech rice area in districts and towns in the Dong Thap Muoi region to develop the rice industry in the direction of commodities, increase competitiveness, be environmentally friendly and adapt to climate change.

To date, the whole province has more than 59,672 hectares of high-tech rice, reaching 99.5% of the plan for the period 2016-2025. The productivity of high-tech rice production models reaches 62-89 quintals/hectare, 1-5 quintals/hectare higher than outside.

Applying border seeders and burying fertilizers in rice production

Production costs are reduced by an average of 0.5-4.3 million VND/hectare. Rice products are guaranteed at a price 100-300 VND/kg higher than the market price, with an average profit of 27 million VND/hectare, higher than the outside model by 2.8-3.2 million VND/hectare.

Mr. Mai Van Ret (Hung Thanh commune, Tan Hung district) said that in the past, traditional production had unstable productivity, and traders often forced down prices. Since the locality implemented high-tech production on rice, productivity has been more stable than before, production costs have been reduced, and products have been guaranteed at a price higher than the market price.

Therefore, Mr. Ret boldly invested in and expanded high-tech rice cultivation on all 6 hectares of his family.

According to the Director of Huong Trang Agricultural Service, Production and Trade Cooperative (Moc Hoa district) - Tran Van Sua, the cooperative is producing rice according to the large-scale agricultural commodity production model associated with synchronous mechanization along the value chain from production to branding.

With 600 hectares of rice, Huong Trang Agricultural Service, Production and Trade Cooperative is currently applying advanced technology to rice production, 100% synchronous mechanization from land preparation, sowing, caring, harvesting and preservation. At the same time, the cooperative closely implements the production and consumption chain with enterprises, ensuring stable output for members.

The advanced technology application program in rice production is gradually proving to be the right direction, sustainable and suitable for modern agriculture.

Technical advances, mechanization applications, reduction of seed sowing, usage of organic biological fertilizers, etc contribute to changing farming practices and are boldly applied by farmers, bringing high production efficiency.

Developing fruit tree growing area

In order to exploit the potential for fruit tree development in Dong Thap Muoi region, the province has implemented a pilot project to build a fruit tree material area that meets domestic consumption and export standards in Long An province in the period of 2022-2025.

Accordingly, the project is implemented in 5 districts: Tan Hung, Vinh Hung, Moc Hoa, Tan Thanh, Thanh Hoa and Kien Tuong town.

Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development - Ho Thi Ngoc Lan said: “The goal of the project by 2025 is to form a fruit tree material area of ​​more than 10,500 hectares, forming production, processing and consumption chains between enterprises, cooperatives and farmers in the material areas. Thereby reducing input costs, post-harvest losses, increasing product value and increasing income for farmers”.

Farmer takes care of durian orchard  in Tan Thanh district

Tan Thanh district is gradually forming a fruit tree material area such as jackfruit, lemon, durian, etc, concentrated in the communes: Tan Lap, Tan Ninh, Tan Thanh, Nhon Ninh, Hau Thanh Dong.

To date, the total area of ​​fruit trees implementing the project is nearly 2,000 hectares, reaching more than 57% of the plan by 2025.

Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tan Thanh district - Tran Thi Kham Ly said: "Tan Lap commune is planned by the district to have about 650 hectares of fruit tree material area and aims to develop orchard eco-tourism. Therefore, the district has proposed the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to prioritize resources to support the locality in completing the traffic infrastructure associated with the development of the material area. Thanks to that, up to now, the 1000 south canal bank of Tan Lap commune has been concreted with a length of nearly 5km, a road surface of 3.5m wide, with a total investment of more than 13 billion VND, contributing to creating favorable conditions for people to travel conveniently as well as transport goods and agricultural products easily".

Tan Hiep commune, Thanh Hoa district has also invested in the traffic road on the South bank of canal 61, contributing to connecting the road to the border of Moc Hoa district to canal 90, Thanh Hoa district. In addition, Tan Hiep commune has also invested in building a jackfruit processing warehouse with an area of ​​200m².

Mr. Ho Van Duc (Tan Hiep commune, Thanh Hoa district) converted 3 hectares of ineffective rice land to grow green-skinned grapefruit.

After 6 years, the grapefruit garden has grown well, adapting to this alum soil area. In 2023, Mr. Duc's family harvested 60 tons of fruit, selling at an average price of 20,000 VND/kg, after deducting expenses, the profit was more than 600 million VND.

Citrus fruit trees are suitable for the soil and climate conditions of the Dong Thap Muoi region of the province

With the efforts and determination of the entire political system and all classes of people, up to now, the project has been vigorously implemented and brought about remarkable results.

Currently, the total fruit tree production area in the districts and towns of the Dong Thap Muoi region participating in the project is nearly 5,400 hectares, an increase of nearly 1,400 hectares compared to the area in 2021, reaching 51.1% of the plan for 2025; 2 production, processing and product consumption chains have been built between enterprises, cooperatives and farmers.

With the right decisions, Dong Thap Muoi, from a low-lying, alum-laden area devastated by war, has now transformed strongly, becoming a fertile land with orchards laden with fruit all year round and the 4th largest rice granary in the Mekong Delta./.

By Bui Tung - Translated by Q. Thien

Source: https://baolongan.vn/tu-bung-bien-thanh-vung-dat-tru-phu-a181856.html