Mountain farmers are 'bitter' because they cannot sell chili

(Baonghean.vn) - The safe vegetable model of Tam Thai commune (Tuong Duong - Nghe An) currently has 1 hectare of chili ready for harvest but no one buys it, so people have to dry it.

The chili garden of farmers participating in the safe vegetable model in Na Tong village, Tam Thai commune has an area of ​​1 hectare. The chili is ripe but the farmers still cannot sell it. Photo: Huu Vi

Ms. Loc Thi Loi, resident of Na Tong village, Tam Thai commune (Tuong Duong) is one of 14 households growing chili peppers according to the safe vegetable model of this commune. She said that she and her daughter-in-law are currently taking care of more than 400m² hot peppers. The peppers are ripe in the garden but I don't want to harvest them because I don't know who to sell them to since there are too few buyers for this item.

The safe vegetable model is a vegetable farm planned to grow clean vegetables such as squash, Malabar spinach, eggplant, mustard greens, etc. All production stages are carried out according to the clean vegetable production process. Chili is also an agricultural product grown by 14 households participating in the model since 2014 when the farm started operating. This is also a project to help Tam Thai commune achieve the new rural target in the recent past.

Ripe chili peppers fall because there are no buyers. Photo: Dao Tho

Ms. Vi Thi Thang - Production Team Leader at the safe vegetable model said: In addition to hot peppers, other products are still selling well. People often gather agricultural products to participate in the market which operates once a week. The market is less than 300m from the safe vegetable garden.

At its peak, each kilo of chili produced under the safe process at the model cost about 30,000 VND. "Now, even if each kilo is twenty thousand, no one will buy it," Ms. Thang added.

According to chili growers in the Tam Thai safe vegetable model, there used to be a business that bought all the chili at 15,000 VND/kg. But this year, they haven't come to buy anymore" - said Ms. Loc Thi Loi.

Drying, grinding and storing in jars is how farmers in Tam Thai commune "rescue" chili peppers themselves. Photo: Huu Vi

To avoid ripe chili peppers falling in the garden, farmers pick them, dry them, and then grind them to sell gradually. This is a traditional practice of the highlanders. However, this is only a temporary solution because ground dried chili peppers are usually only consumed in the winter.

Mr. Vi Viet Kieu - Vice Chairman of Tam Thai Commune People's Committee said: Currently, the local government has grasped the difficult situation in consuming hot chili. "The government is mobilizing all levels of the locality and calling on businesses to buy hot chili to support the people" - Mr. Kieu shared.

Huu Vi - Dao Tho