Farmers in Nghi Loc earn high profits from growing water spinach.

(Baonghean.vn) – In recent years, farmers in Nghi LocThey have boldly converted large areas of land to commercial water spinach cultivation.Currently, the entire district has about 30 hectares of water spinach cultivation. The price of the vegetable is good, and farmers are delighted, earning a profit of nearly 2 million VND per sao (approximately 1000 square meters) per month.

In Hamlet 11 of Nghi Trung commune (Nghi Loc district), there are about 20 households growing water spinach. According to the farmers here, water spinach has the outstanding advantage of requiring little investment, little care, only needing to be planted once to harvest all year round, and having a stable price. Especially during the hot season, the market demand for this vegetable is very high.

In Nghi Loc, many families cultivate water spinach on large areas of land. Ms. Cam Tu's family (Nghi Trung, Nghi Loc) cultivates 2 sao (approximately 2,000 square meters) of water spinach, earning over 2 million VND per sao per crop.

The family of Ms. Nguyen Thi Cam Tu – from Hamlet 11, Nghi Trung Commune – is one of the households that grows a lot of water spinach, earning a high income from this common vegetable. Ms. Tu said: “My family has one sao (approximately 1000 square meters) of rice field, and we borrowed another sao nearby, all of which we grow water spinach on. On average, I harvest 100 bundles of water spinach each day to sell to traders, earning over 400,000 VND.”

Currently, the hot weather makes water spinach very popular and sells at a good price. On average, each bunch costs between 4,000 and 5,000 VND. The main markets for water spinach grown by farmers in Nghi Loc are the markets in Quan Hanh town, Nghi Trung commune, and markets in Vinh City.

Water spinach is bundled into small bunches, each bunch selling for 4,000 - 5,000 VND.

Farmers in Nghi Thuan commune are delighted because this year's water spinach crop is bountiful and fetches good prices. Visiting the water spinach fields of Hamlet 14 in Nghi Thuan commune in the late afternoon, we saw farmers busily harvesting bunches of green vegetables to meet demand from traders. According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Chau, a seasoned water spinach farmer in Nghi Thuan, the technique for growing water spinach is quite simple.

To grow healthy, high-quality water spinach, the soil must be thoroughly plowed, loosened, leveled, weeded, and a reliable water source ensured. Simultaneously, when planting a new crop, the remnants of the previous crop must be removed to eliminate hiding places for insects and pests that can harm the plants. Water spinach takes about 20 days from planting to the first harvest, allowing farmers to grow multiple crops per year. Regarding seeds, farmers utilize mature, multi-branched shoots for planting.

Water spinach sells well in the summer; as soon as farmers bring it to the market, traders buy it up.

Currently, Nghi Loc district has over 30 hectares of water spinach, mainly grown on garden land, pond land, and some less productive rice fields in the communes of Nghi Thuan, Nghi Hoa, Nghi Phuong, Nghi Trung, Nghi Dien, Nghi Thinh, Nghi Truong, etc. Each plot of water spinach can yield an income of 2.5 to 3 million VND per month. Compared to rice production, growing vegetables provides a much higher income.

Housewives also particularly prefer this type of refreshing vegetable for their summer meals.

Water spinach soup is always appealing in hot weather.

Mr. Dong Thanh Binh, Deputy Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Nghi Loc District, said: “In Nghi Loc, although the area planted with water spinach is not large, it has brought significant income to many households. In the future, we will continue to encourage people to expand this area. At the same time, we will encourage households to change the crop structure to plan a specialized water spinach production area in the district.”

Hong Vinh

Nghi Loc Radio and Television Station