The buffer zone of U Minh Thuong National Park, Kien Giang province, has an area of nearly 20,000 hectares, providing thousands of tons of vegetables and fruits of all kinds to serve domestic and foreign markets.
Among vegetables and fruits, some tubers such as ginger, taro, yam, and Mong Linh yam are chosen by hundreds of farmers to grow because they have a stable output market and price.
As one of the households that has been involved in growing Mong Linh taro for many years in Minh Hung hamlet, An Minh Bac commune, U Minh Thuong district, Kien Giang province, Mr. Luong Ngoc Danh said that in the 2023-2024 taro crop, his family will grow on an area of nearly 1 hectare.
By the end of January, his family had finished harvesting with a yield of more than 31 tons, selling at 9,000 VND/kg, earning nearly 280 million VND, after deducting expenses, a profit of about 180 million VND.
According to Mr. Danh, before 2022, when he had not signed an output agreement with the cooperative, his family as well as many local farmers growing Mong Linh yam had difficulty in selling and prices were unstable.
From the 2022-2023 potato crop until now, many potato growers have signed a purchase contract with a stable price of 9,000 VND/kg with the Kenh 10 Agricultural Production and Service Cooperative, so all harvested potatoes are purchased in the garden.
Taro farmers in Minh Thuan commune, U Minh Thuong district, Kien Giang province have a bumper crop of Mong Linh taro. Photo: Van Si/VNA.
Mong Linh yam grown in U Minh Thuong district, Kien Giang province usually weighs 2-4kg of tubers. Photo: Van Si/VNA
Mr. Danh also said that Mong Linh yams, when ready for harvest, usually weigh 3-5 kg/tuber, while some large tubers can weigh 10-15 kg. Therefore, the yield of the yams is quite high, about 4.2 tons/1,000 m2.
“Over the past two years, thanks to stable output contracts, my family and many potato growers here have made quite high profits and are confident in production.
Currently, my wife and I are improving the land and growing seeds to replant the potato crop in 2024-2025. Because the cooperative has increased the quantity supplied to partners and ordered more, I have expanded the planting area to 1.2 hectares for this crop," Mr. Danh shared.
As a household specializing in intercropping vegetables with root crops in Minh Kien hamlet, Minh Thuan commune, U Minh Thuong district, Ms. Nguyen Thi Be said that in the last potato crop, her family planted 0.3 hectares of yam; 0.2 hectares of ginger and 0.5 hectares of Mong Linh yam; of which, ginger was completely harvested in February and Mong Linh yam was just harvested about 2 weeks ago, and the family is harvesting the remaining rows of yam.
According to Ms. Be, the recent potato and ginger crop yielded about 10% higher than previous years thanks to favorable weather and less pests.
Specifically, from 0.2 hectares of ginger, Ms. Be harvested more than 1.5 tons of tubers; from 0.5 hectares of Mong Linh yam, she harvested more than 16 tons; and from 0.3 hectares of sweet potatoes, she has so far harvested more than 10 tons. The total profit is about 140 million VND.
“Of the three types of tubers my family grows, ginger has an unstable price, while taro and Mong Linh yam have contracts to purchase at relatively reasonable prices, so the profit is stable.
Specifically, the cooperative's contracted price for yam is 12,000 VND/kg for the best grade, 8,000 VND/kg for small tubers; Mong Linh yam costs 9,000 VND/kg.
In the coming time, I hope that businesses and cooperatives will strengthen their cooperation in purchasing ginger to have stable prices, helping farmers feel more secure in production," said Ms. Be.
Ms. Tran Thi Vy, Director of Kenh 10 Agricultural Production and Service Cooperative, U Minh Thuong District (Kien Giang Province) shares her experience in selecting fresh and delicious potatoes. Photo: Van Si/VNA.
According to Ms. Tran Thi Vy, Director of Kenh 10 Agricultural Production and Service Cooperative, Minh Thuan Commune, the members of the cooperative have completed the harvest of Mong Linh yam in 2023-2024 and the unit has purchased and supplied the company with more than 170 tons according to the contract. For the 2024-2025 yam crop, due to the company increasing the purchase quantity, the cooperative has signed a contract to supply 500 tons of Mong Linh yam.
“With the cooperative signed, farmers will be bold enough to expand their planting area and feel secure investing in their potato gardens without worrying about falling prices.
With a guaranteed purchase price of VND9,000/kg for farmers, growers will earn about VND20 million/1,000 m2. Currently, the cooperative guarantees the purchase of all Mong Linh taro from cooperative members and purchases from farmers outside the cooperative to supply to food processing companies. As for taro, the cooperative purchases it to supply to wholesale markets," Ms. Vy shared.
Mr. Pham Duy Tan, Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of U Minh Thuong District (Kien Giang Province) said that the buffer zone of U Minh Thuong National Park currently has about 2,800 hectares of banana plantations, more than 3,200 hectares of vegetable and root crops such as: yam, taro, taro, pineapple, etc.
In the past 10 years, thanks to the attention of the Central, provincial and district governments in investing in infrastructure of buffer zones, especially in removing alum and draining water during the rainy season, people have diversified their crops and livestock according to market demand.
“In order for production models to bring sustainable efficiency, in addition to enhancing the transfer of technical advances; consulting and supporting farmers in care techniques, pest control, etc., the district's agricultural sector also regularly advises and proposes to the District People's Committee, provincial departments and branches to find businesses to purchase and cooperate in guaranteeing output for farmers' agricultural products,” Mr. Pham Duy Tan added.
Source: https://danviet.vn/ven-khu-rung-noi-tieng-kien-giang-dan-trong-khoai-mo-dao-bat-len-toan-cu-to-bu-the-nay-day-20240811193049187.htm
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