The project of Supporting citrus fruit tree development in Hieu Liem commune, North Tan Uyen district launched by provincial Vegetation Protection Bureau was approved by PPC on July 18th 2014. The project has been implemented for 4 years. After one year of implementation, tree gardens grew up well, promising to have high productivity.
Gardens are growing up well
With objectives of intensive cultivation, expanding the area of citrus fruit trees according to VietGAP procedure combines with tourism development and new rural construction, the project developed a model of 7 ha planting citrus fruit trees, like: orange, tangerine, pomelo according to VietGAP procedure, 5 ha intensive cultivation of orange trees also according to VietGAP procedure; then expand the model widely. Farmers participating in the project received instructions of production conditions and procedure of VietGAP; learned experiences from VietGAP certified models.
Mr. Tran Duc Viet and his tangerine garden developed according to VietGAP standard.
By now, the project has been implemented by 4 farmers with 2 ha of oranges, 1 ha of pomelos in Hieu Liem commune. Farmers were supported 100% costs of varieties, 50% costs of fertilizers, plant protection products. Provincial Vegetation Protection Bureau also set up a form for farmers to record production diary.
Thanks to instructions of agriculture engineers, gardens have grown up well. Currently, most areas planting citrus trees are applying high-tech production, such as: automatic irrigation system, underneath dripping irrigation system, spraying irrigation system, procedural fertilization… to achieve the highest yield.
Mr. Tran Duc Viet living in Cay Dau hamlet, Hieu Liem commune, said: “I was lucky to be one of selected households to implement the project. Initially, it was not easy to develop 1 ha of tangerines according to VietGAP standard, because I got accustomed to the old production process. However, due to thoroughly instructions of engineers, I realized advantages of the new model. Thus, our garden is growing well”.
Promising a bumper crop
Thanks to training courses, farmer Tran Van Minh was aware of the importance of the VietGAP application into production, which brings both short-term and long-term benefits to consolidate their brand name. He hoped that the project would also assist farmers in distributing and consuming their products.
Due to conveying directly technical instructions among farmers, the project has initially changed farmer’s perception of agricultural production in the international integration process. Farmers have switched from old production to applying new techniques, reducing the use of fertilizers, chemical pesticides, increasing the use of organic fertilizers. Farmers taking part in the project have also contributed to promoting local citrus fruits.
Due to natural advantages, especially for citrus fruit trees, farmers in Hieu Liem commune have invested in and applied advanced techniques into production, automatic irrigation systems… Expectedly, from the 3rd year, each ha will generate a profit of 100-200 million; from the 4th year, the profit could reach over VND1 billion/ha. This proves the high economic benefit of the project.
Reported by Q.Nhien – Translated by Ngoc Huynh
