The morning glory flower crop is in bad shape, the price is 3 times higher but there is still no product to sell.

The field of morning glory flowers in Nam Anh commune is stunted, underdeveloped, and blooms poorly. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Truong Van Huong's family (Nam Anh commune, Nam Dan) has a long history.grow morning gloryfor decades. In the most productive years, they grow 2-3 sao, in the least productive years, they grow 1 sao of lily. This is the crop with the highest income among vegetable crops. Each sao of lily, after deducting all expenses, also brings in a profit of 15-20 million VND, dozens of times higher than rice. Therefore, lily is considered a key crop, a "rich" crop in the two localities specializing in growing this vegetable crop.

However, in the past 2 years, the passion flower has had consecutive crop failures, especially in 2022, the passion flower died after being planted, and many areas had to be replanted many times. However, it is still underdeveloped despite adequate investment in manure, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. When the plant climbs the trellis, it encounters unfavorable weather, consecutive unseasonal rains causing the passion flower to wilt, with some households losing 70-80% of its growth; in some households, the passion flower also loses about 30-40%.

Mr. Truong Van Huong said: “There has never been a year with such a severe crop failure as this year. In my family, the rate of dead trees is about 40%, the remaining trees grow poorly and have few flowers. In previous years, 1 sao would yield about 10-12 kg of rice per day, but now, we can only harvest 3-5 kg ​​per day.”

Like Mr. Huong's family, they are still lucky because the jasmine tree is still yielding fruit. Many households, after many unsuccessful plantings, have had to switch to other vegetable crops such as bitter melon, sweet melon, eggplant, etc.

Many areas of morning glory flowers in Xuan Son hamlet (Nam Xuan commune) have only yielded a few harvests but have already withered. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Nguyen Van Nam,Nam Anh Commune Agricultural Officersaid: “Every year, the whole commune has 50 hectares of sweet potato flowers, earning up to billions of dong per crop. However, this year, out of those 50 hectares, only a few hectares are flowering and yielding, and the yield is low, only half of that of previous years. The remaining area, people have switched to growing eggplant and squash. However, the prices of these vegetables are too cheap, currently 1kg of sweet squash in the field is only sold for 2,000 VND/kg and is very difficult to sell. The premature death of sweet potato flowers, wilting and low yielding have caused farmers to suffer heavy losses.”

In Nam Xuan commune, the situation is similar, with farmers’ incomes declining. Currently, the entire commune has less than 14 hectares of passion flower cultivation, a decrease of half compared to previous years.

Many areas have a low rate of tree deaths but very poor productivity, only half or even one-third of previous years. Photo: Thanh Phuc

In the fields, the jasmine plants are stunted, with few flowers. During the peak harvest season, they can only be harvested once every 3-5 days. In many areas, the jasmine plants have only been harvested 3-5 times and have started to turn yellow and stop flowering, while normally, jasmine plants should be harvested about 30 times, with an average yield of 18 tons/ha.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hung, an agricultural official of Nam Xuan commune, said: “The cause is currently unknown. In our opinion, it is due to unfavorable weather conditions, from after Tet until April and May, it is still rainy and cold out of season; secondly, the passion flower is “bored with the soil” so it grows poorly and has low productivity. Given the above situation, the commune is also researching so that people can have a reasonable plan to switch crops, let the land “rest” for a while and then replant.”

Besides, nowadays, many companies in Nam Dan area are operating, therefore, most of the rural workers go to work as factory workers, very few people still stick to the fields.

The current purchase price of wild morning glory flowers in the field is 40,000-45,000 VND/kg, sometimes up to 60,000 VND/kg, but people have no products to sell. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hang - head of Xuan Son hamlet, where the commune's households grow morning glory flowers, said: "Previously, 90% of the hamlet's agricultural households grew morning glory flowers. This was a high-income crop for the people of Nam Xuan. However, due to consecutive crop failures, and a large part of the main labor force in the families switched to working for companies, there was a shortage of labor, and people gradually reduced the growing area. Because this type of crop requires meticulous care and is present in the fields almost every day, people switched to other crops such as rice, elephant grass, etc., which are less labor-intensive, so they have time to work as factory workers."

Due to crop failure and high prices, traders are now buying at the field for 40,000 - 45,000 VND/kg, 3 times higher than last year, but people have no products to sell. Ms. Tran Thi Huong, a trader specializing in buying lilies in the areaNam Xuan, Nam AnhImporting to the provinces, he said: "In previous seasons, I bought tons of lilies every day to sell to customers in Vinh and Hanoi, but this year, I only got a few kilos from all the communes. The price of lilies at the beginning of the season was high, 50,000 - 60,000 VND/kg, but due to crop failure, people have no goods to sell."