Nghe An: Farmers go to Thanh Hoa to rent land to grow watermelons

Of which, Nghia Son occupies a relatively large area, about 85 hectares, mainly people here rent land in neighboring communes such as Nghia Binh, Nghia Trung (Nghia Dan district) and Bai Tranh commune, Nhu Xuan district (Thanh Hoa).

This is the second year that Mr. Nguyen Thanh Thuy's family in Son Dong hamlet, Nghia Son commune, has rented land in Bai Tranh commune, Nhu Xuan district to grow watermelon. With the advantage of available labor and abundant water resources, in the 2017 crop, he only rented 3 hectares of land to grow watermelon after Tet; after harvesting, he earned over 350 million VND. This year, to have products sold to the market as soon as possible, from the end of December of the lunar calendar, Mr. Thuy has focused on preparing the land and growing the seedlings to plant after Tet. At the same time, he boldly expanded the rented area by nearly 7 hectares. With favorable weather like this, it promises to be a successful crop.

“This is the second year my family has rented land to grow watermelons, with 1 hectare of land rented for 12 million VND. This year I planted tea early, hoping to get a high price when harvesting the watermelons,” said Mr. Nguyen Thanh Thuy.

This year, Nghia Dan district planted more than 500 hectares of watermelon; planting watermelons under plastic covers will create more light, helping the plants photosynthesize easily. Photo: Minh Thai

Ms. Hoang Thi Le in Son Lien hamlet, Nghia Son is a long-time melon grower. Last year, she rented 2 hectares in Nghia Binh commune to grow melons. Thanks to good care and fertilization, she sold them at a good price, and after deducting expenses, her family earned more than 200 million VND. This year, she continues to rent 3 hectares of land in Nghia Binh commune to grow melons.

To increase crop productivity, farmers apply the technique of growing melons covered with plastic. Growing melons covered with plastic will create more light, help photosynthesize easily, stimulate plant growth, limit harmful insects such as thrips, green worms, earthworms and avoid evaporation of water and fertilizer; no soil erosion. After 3 months of planting, melon yield reaches 25 - 30 tons/ha, some households reach 32 - 35 tons/ha.

Nowadays, the melons have grown long and are pinned back by people to help them grow quickly. Photo: Minh Thai

Nghia Son (Nghia Dan) is an agricultural commune but most of the agricultural land is allocated to projects in the area. Currently, the whole commune has about 60 households renting production land in neighboring communes in the district and neighboring provinces to develop production with a total rented land area of ​​75 hectares.

Learning from previous years' experiences, seeing the profits of watermelon plants, people rushed to rent land to grow them without considering the difficulties in the care process such as pests and water sources, so in the dry season, many areas of watermelons withered due to lack of irrigation water. This year, right from the beginning of the season, the Farmers' Association of Nghia Son commune has stepped up propaganda work to mobilize people to switch to suitable crops, and has a specific plan for people to plant seeds, avoiding the situation of having to harvest all at once.

Staff from the Agricultural Extension Station and the Plant Cultivation and Plant Protection Station guide people on how to care for melon plants. Photo: Minh Thai

Mr. Tran Quoc Hong - Chairman of Nghia Son Farmers' Association said: "Learning from this year's experience, the commune has instructed farmers who are eligible to plant crops. If the land is too old, they should switch to growing new, more adaptable crops or rent land elsewhere. To help people feel secure in production, the commune has coordinated with the Agricultural Extension Station and the District Plant Protection and Cultivation Station to organize training courses on how to care for and prevent pests and diseases on melon plants.

Last year's watermelon crop had a field price of 5,000 - 6,000 VND/kg, with each hectare of watermelon yielding an average income of 120 - 130 million VND; each household renting land to grow watermelon earned hundreds of millions of VND/hectare.

Mr. Nguyen Huy Anh - Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture of Nghia Dan district added that in 2018, the area of ​​melons decreased a lot because the area of ​​melons that had been rotated for many years could no longer be planted, the area of ​​new planting was not much; there were some areas that were not proactive about water. Therefore, many households rented land to grow melons, the Department of Agriculture directed the Agricultural Extension Station, the Plant Protection Station to pay attention to seeds, techniques, pest control, and irrigation water. In the coming time, the Department will promote with purchasing units to help people have a stable output.