Farmers make barren land "bloom"

Mr. Nguyen Trong Dien in Yen Binh village, Cong Chinh commune with a highly effective model of growing passion flower.

That is the case of Mr. Le Van Thanh in Huu Can village, Thang Loi commune, who boldly brought the Ha Den grape variety to plant on barren land, creating a unique agricultural model combined with experiential tourism. On summer weekends, Mr. Thanh's vineyard is bustling with visitors, taking pictures, and experiencing grape picking.

Mr. Thanh's idea of growing grapes came after joining a delegation of local officials to study experience in Vinh Phuc in 2022 (now Phu Tho province). Seeing the potential of the local soil, Mr. Thanh determined to invest more than 1 billion VND to improve the land, build greenhouses, and buy seedlings. Initially, many people thought he was taking a risk with grapes, a crop that was not yet popular in the locality. But with perseverance and learning techniques from garden owners, nearly 1 hectare of Mr. Thanh's grapes grew and developed well. In the second year, the vineyard began to yield a profit of nearly 300 million VND/year. In addition to providing fresh grapes at prices ranging from 150,000 to 250,000 VND/kg, Mr. Thanh also opened a service of sightseeing, check-in, and grape picking experiences for children. On weekends, his farm welcomes more than dozens of visitors with revenue doubling.

Not attracting attention with its brilliant appearance like Mr. Thanh's vineyard, but in Cong Chinh commune, the passion flower is considered the "green gold" of farmers. Every early morning, Mr. Nguyen Trong Dien in Yen Binh village and his family members gather and light up the 2-hectare garden to harvest the passion flower. Mr. Dien said that the passion flower harvested early in the morning is the best, the flowers retain their deliciousness and value. Mr. Dien said that he used to work as a construction worker to earn an income to maintain his life. Once, when he went to work far away in Hai Duong province, he saw that people growing passion flowers were profitable, so he boldly quit his job and returned to his hometown to start a business. Starting with only 3 sao of land, he has now expanded to 2 hectares, harvesting more than 30 tons of flowers each year. The selling price ranges from 40,000 - 60,000 VND/kg, after deducting expenses, his profit is up to nearly half a billion VND.

According to Mr. Dien, the flower is easy to grow, has few pests and diseases, and requires little initial investment. The plant begins to flower after only 3 months. In particular, it only requires light labor, making it suitable for both the elderly and women to participate in caring for and picking flowers. Each year, growers only work for 8 months but have a stable income. Realizing the high efficiency of this crop, in recent years, dozens of households in Cong Chinh commune have switched from ineffective rice cultivation to growing the flower.

There are more and more economic models in which the owners are farmers who dare to think and dare to do, demonstrating the right direction of the agricultural sector as well as the goal of transforming the crop structure towards increasing value in localities. Statistics show that up to now, the province has built more than 5,000 hectares of agricultural production area applying high and smart technology on crops, vegetables of all kinds, sugarcane, fruit trees and intensive white-leg shrimp farming. In addition, many enterprises and cooperatives producing vegetables, tubers and fruits have applied QR-Code stamps; established and managed growing area codes for crops for export. To accompany the spirit of "self-reliance and self-reliance" of the people, in recent times, Thanh Hoa province has also issued many mechanisms and policies to promote the development of high-tech agriculture, ecological agriculture associated with tourism, gradually restructuring the industry towards increasing value and sustainable development.

Article and photos: Dinh Giang

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/nhung-nong-dan-khien-dat-can-no-hoa-257408.htm