caught an eye for the fruit-laden longan garden
On August 5, we were present at the Son Thuy longan growing area, in Kim Boi district, the old Hoa Binh province (now nat Son commune, Phu Tho province). On both sides of the road to Khoang, Beo, and Loc hamlets are fertile longan gardens. This is a busy time when people start the harvest.
In Khoang hamlet, Mr. Bui Van Luc's family is the first household to bring longan varieties to plant on this land. The longan garden is over 25 years old with more than 200 longan trees Huong Chi and Mien are both thick, with large trunks, wide canopy and ripe fruit.
While breaking the label and wiping away the drops of sweat on her forehead, Ms. Chien (Mr. Luc's wife) said: "The bigger the sun, the sweeter the label is. This year has a good harvest, the quality of the fruit is also very good".
According to Ms. Chien, more than 20 years ago, her family visited the longan growing model in Hung Yen and decided to bring this new plant variety to try growing. After planting, the trees grew well, and the entire area of sugarcane land was converted by Mrs. Chien's family to longan growing.
At that time, I only planted a few trees behind the house, and I saw that the soil and fruit were suitable, so I replicated them. At first, it was only sold in the district market, then many people searched to buy, and other households also planted it. Now the entire Khoang hamlet has become an old village, said Ms. Chien.
Under the floor of the newly built house, Mr. Bui Van Tam (Ms. Chien's son-in-law) crammed a box of label to send to customers. The box reads: "Nhan Son Thuy - product meeting VietGAP standards".
Mr. Tam said, "We grow labels according to VietGAP standards. Nhan Son Thuy has a growing area code, reaches 3-star OCOP and has exported to Europe.
Also in Khoang hamlet, Mr. Bui Van Mien's family has been growing longan for 25 years. With an area of 7,000m2, the garden generates an income of over 200 million VND per year.
"The longan tree has given us a stable life. This year is the good harvest, I hope consumption will be more favorable and prices will be more stable" - Mr. Mien said.
Turning longan into a tree to get rich
According to statistics from the People's Committee of nat Son commune, the whole commune currently has about 240 hectares of label, with two main types: Huong Chi label and Mien label.
In 2024, the average yield will reach about 30 tons/ha, the selling price ranges from 12,000 - 15,000 VND/kg, giving an average income of more than 300 million VND/ha. Currently, the selling price at the beginning of the season at the garden is fluctuating around 15,000 VND/kg.
To stabilize output, people focus on linking and improving quality. According to Mr. Bui Hong Ky, head of Khoang hamlet, Son Thuy Agricultural Service Cooperative was established to connect label growers with businesses and traders, helping label growers stabilize output, avoiding the situation of "over-season, underpriced".
Ms. Le Thi Hai Yen - Chairman of the People's Committee of nat Son commune said that Nhan Son Thuy product was granted a collective trademark certificate by the Department of Intellectual Property in 2016. Next are VietGAP (2019) and OCOP (20ops) that have helped Son Thuy brand reach out to domestic and foreign markets.
"Laging not only brings income to households but also creates regular jobs for local workers, from care, harvesting to preliminary processing and packaging. During the main crop, many households hire 20-30 more workers per day, helping to increase the income of the whole community" - Ms. Yen said.
According to Ms. Yen, nat Son commune has identified longan as the main crop and is reviewing the entire area, assessing productivity and quality to build a long-term development strategy. Thereby helping people increase their income and get rich from longan trees.
In addition, the commune is also actively introducing products to businesses and cooperatives in the province and promoting on online platforms to move towards a favorable consumption label crop, "good season, good price".
