Production and processing of dragon fruit in the direction of green agriculture

Mr. Do Thanh Hiep - Director of Hoa Le Clean Dragon Fruit Cooperative said: "The cooperative was established on July 24, 2017, currently has 52 members (plus associate members) with a dragon fruit cultivation area of 45.6 hectares. Of which, 10 hectares are produced according to Global GAP standards, the remaining area is produced according to VietGAP standards. At the same time, the consumption chain is linked with cooperatives and farmers producing VietGAP dragon fruit locally with an area of about 200 hectares". From 2022 - 2024, the cooperative will develop more green dragon fruit material areas, reduce energy consumption by drip irrigation, use 9W LED bulbs, use more solar power, reduce greenhouse gas emissions... In addition, the cooperative is also developing more agricultural tourism services combined with visiting green dragon fruit growing areas, wine cellars, in Dan Tri village, Ham Thuan Bac commune, Lam Dong province. This will be an extracurricular destination for students and an ideal tourist destination in the near future for domestic and foreign tourists.

In the difficult challenge of unstable market prices, at the end of 2023 and 2024, Hoa Le Clean Dragon Fruit Cooperative and other cooperatives and chain members will work together to build a process of making dragon fruit that meets Global GAP standards according to export standards to the EU, US, Australia, Japan, Korea... with stable guaranteed prices. Not only stopping at providing the freshest dragon fruit, Hoa Le has boldly invested in modern processing lines. With the desire to turn seasonal fruits into products that can be enjoyed all year round, the Cooperative has researched and launched 17 products that meet OCOP standards and typical rural industrial products at the provincial level. Products processed from dragon fruit are recognized to meet 3-star OCOP standards such as dried and freeze-dried dragon fruit, fresh cream and dragon fruit jam, dragon fruit juice, dragon fruit flower tea, dragon fruit wines... "In 2024, the cooperative sold about 8,000 tons of dragon fruit to members, creating regular jobs for an average of 80-100 workers with an income of 5-10 million VND/month, of which over 90% are female workers," Mr. Hiep added.

According to Mr. Hiep, the cooperative is continuing to cooperate to expand the market, increase the output of purchasing and exporting dragon fruit to about 10,000 tons/year. Continue to develop more members, expand the area of dragon fruit growing areas that meet the standards for exporting to demanding markets. At the same time, expand the processing plant, cold storage, invest in modern machinery and equipment, synchronize the production process according to standards, Global GAP, Viet GAP, organic... Research and develop more new processed products from dragon fruit. In addition, participate in the chain, increase the area of ​​growing areas that meet the standards to more than 200 hectares. In particular, build clean dragon fruit garden standards, Global GAP about 30 hectares, apply drip irrigation system, off-season lighting with 9w LED bulbs, advanced farming in the direction of green agriculture , circular agriculture, reduce emissions, serve the export market...

Along with that, the cooperative develops garden tourism and agricultural tourism. Continue to enhance the brand and value of products for development, aiming to achieve 4-star and 5-star standards, typical rural industrial products, meeting domestic and foreign market demand, creating stable jobs for local workers. At the same time, develop online sales channels, domestic and foreign e-commerce platforms. Negotiate with import-export companies to guarantee stable prices, making the cooperative increasingly develop, bringing benefits to members and positive effects in society.