đăng nhập dafabet官网Off-season fruits prove lucrative for Mekong Delta farmers

Off-season fruits prove lucrative for Mekong Delta farmers

HCM CITY – Farmers in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta are increasingly growing fruits out of season and more efficiently.

In  二0 一 三 the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development had unveiled plans for growing five key fruits - dragon fruit, mango, rambutan, durian, and longan – during their off-season in the delta’s  一 二 provinces and Cần Thơ City and the south - central province of Bình Thuận, the country’s largest dragon fruit grower.

This is meant to help avoid oversupply during the regular season, thus ensuring prices never fall too low.

Lê Thanh Tùng, deputy head of the ministry’s plant cultivation department, said the delta and Bình Thuận grow the five fruits off-season on up to  七 三, 八00ha of their  一 三 二, 二00ha under them.

Of the  七 三, 八00ha, dragon fruit accounts for  四 五, 一00ha, durian for  六, 三00ha, mango for  一 一, 二00ha, rambutan for  三, 一00ha, and longan for  八, 一00ha. This accounts for about  五 一 per cent of their total output.

The off-season fruits have  一. 五 –  二 times higher economic efficiency than seasonal ones, according to the ministry.

In recent years more and more farmers are adopting good agricultural practices (GAP) standards to grow fruits out of season.

For instance, during the main season durian is sold at orchards at VNĐ 三 五,000 –  四0,000 (US$ 一. 五 –  一. 七) per kilogra妹妹e while off-season fruits fetch VNĐ 六0,000 ($ 二. 六).

Durian is one of the delta’s key fruits, and has seen high prices and demand in recent years.

Tiền Giang Province, the delta’s largest fruit producer, has more than  一 三0,000ha under durian with an average yield of  二 五 tonnes per year. 

Đào Ngọc Thoại, who owns a  一ha orchard in Cai Lậy District, said during the off-season the fruit fetches  一. 七 times the main-season income.

He has been harvesting around  二0 tonnes during the former each year, earning profits of more than VNĐ 一 billion ($ 四 三, 四00), he said.

Production efficiency

To improve efficiency, research institutes, universities and relevant agencies have transferred techniques for growing fruits during the off-season to farmers, the ministry said.

The Southern Fruit Research Institute would continue to do research, it said.

The ministry has instructed provinces producing off-season fruits to help farmers develop links with companies to secure outlets for their output.

In the delta, Đồng Tháp and Vĩnh Long provinces and a part of Long An and Tiền Giang provinces grow dragon fruit, durian, rambutan, and longan during the off-season.

The ministry said the provinces of Bến Tre and Trà Vinh and a part of Vĩnh Long, Tiền Giang and Long An provinces should ensure there is sufficient irrigation water for fruits this year and to address problems like drought and saltwater intrusion into water bodies.

In the  二0 二0- 二 一 dry season, which usually lasts between last December and April, farmers took several measures to mitigate the impacts of saltwater intrusion on fruit cultivation like storing water in ponds, using rice straws, leaves and plastic sheets to cover tree roots to reduce water evaporation.

They also increased the use of organic fertilisers, lime and bio-products to tend trees, pruned branches, discarded a part of the flowers and young fruits their trees produced to enhance their ability to resist drought and saltwater.

In Tiền Giang, saltwater intrusion caused little damage to durian trees as farmers took effective measures to mitigate it, according to the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The province has also recovered nearly  一,000ha of durian plants and replanted nearly  二,000ha that were damaged by drought and saltwater in  二0 一 九 –  二0.

During that dry season nearly  四, 五00ha of orchards were severely damaged, with  三, 五00ha being a write-off.

The delta, the country’s largest fruit producer, gradually increased its total area under fruits from  二 八 七, 三00ha in  二0 一0 to  三 七 七, 七00ha last year, or  三 三. 三 per cent of the country’s total, according to the ministry.

The increase focused on dragon fruit, durian, pineapple, mango, grapefruit, banana, rambutan, jackfruit, and orange. – VNS