According to statistics from the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Phu Tho province, in Cao Phong commune, nearly 1,000 hectares of fruit trees with bags cover all the hamlets, becoming a large specialized crop area of the locality. Many orange gardens here are decades old, bringing a stable source of income to the people and creating great attraction for tourists during the ripe fruit season.
Located near National Highway 6, the garden of Mr. Pham Duc Mong (zone 2, Cao Phong commune) has been involved in the orange growing profession for 18 years. Among the wrong-fruited orange shoots, he shared: "This year the weather is very favorable, sunny days, and foggy nights help the oranges ripen slowly and become sweeter."
According to Mr. Mong, thanks to strict compliance with safe production processes, his orange garden always maintains stable productivity. This year's crop season, it is expected to harvest 17 - 18 tons, the selling price at the garden is about 20,000 VND/kg, bringing a significant source of income for the family.
This year's ripe orange season starts in September with the Wenzhou tangerine variety and lasts until the end of April of the following year with other orange varieties.
In the same commune, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen - the owner of a 16-year-old orange garden - is busy harvesting on an area of over 7 hectares, with about 8,000 orange trees bearing fruit. Pulling up the ripe yellow-heart oranges, she said: "Which house takes good care of them, the orange garden can harvest for more than 20 years".
Ms. Huyen's orange garden is intercropped with yellow-heart oranges and sugar-cane oranges, expected to earn nearly 1 billion VND in this crop, not including expenses. On average, each crop has an output of 70 - 80 tons, the price of sugar orange is from 60,000 - 70,000 VND/kg, yellow heart orange is about 25,000 - 30,000 VND/kg.
Cao Phong oranges are not only a livelihood, but also an attractive agricultural tourism product. Ms. Huyen's garden on weekends often welcomes visitors to visit, pick fruit and experience agriculture. This activity helps increase the value of agricultural products and contributes to diversifying household income.
According to Mr. Hoang Van Luong - Head of Market Planning Department of Cao Phong Hoa Binh Company Limited, the unit manages about 390 hectares of trees with bags with more than 1,600 households under contract, of which about 170 hectares are in the business period.
The main varieties in the region are yellow-heart oranges, which account for a large proportion, and oranges. Households are trained in soil care, treatment techniques and disease prevention in the direction of prioritizing biological measures.
The entire Cao Phong orange area currently has about 1,700 - 1,800 hectares of cultivation according to VietGAP standards, providing products with stable quality, favored by markets inside and outside the province. Orange continues to affirm its key role in the agricultural structure, helping many households to become well-off, contributing to creating momentum for rural economic development of the region.
Currently, the locality continues to encourage the application of sustainable intensive farming techniques, improve post-harvest quality and connect to the market to increase product value. Developing experiential tourism associated with gardens is also considered a practical direction to increase economic benefits for farmers.
