Farmers earn over 100 million/ha from growing green beans

This is a very easy plant to grow and care for, bringing farmers 2-3 times higher income than growing other plants. Currently, the cowpea crop in Anh Son is in the main harvest season with high yield, the purchase price has increased sharply compared to the previous crop, so farmers are very excited.

In recent years, cowpea is a crop that farmers in Anh Son district grow a lot in the winter. Photo: Thai Hien

Going back to the winter vegetable fields in Cam Son commune, everywhere you look, you can see farmers excited about the bumper crop of green beans. Ms. Nguyen Thi Ly's family in village 1/5 of Cam Son commune has been growing green beans for 4-5 years now.

Quickly picking plump green beans in time for the harvest, Ms. Ly shared: This winter crop, her family planted 1.5 sao of beans, this is one of the easy-to-grow crops that adapts to all types of soil, it is a herbaceous plant, the main roots grow deep so the plant has a very good drought tolerance. When the plant has 4-5 leaves, the family must make a trellis for the plant to cling to, after the plant flowers, regularly pick off the leaves so that the plant can bear more fruit.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ly's family in village 1/5 of Cam Son commune has been growing green beans for 4-5 years. It is currently the bean harvest season. Photo: Thai Hien

Green beans flower 35-40 days after planting and can be harvested 10 days later. This bean variety has long, green, small pods and high sugar content, so it is popular with consumers.

On average, every 2 days, Ms. Ly's family harvests 20-30kg. This year, beans are very expensive. At the beginning of the season, due to the scarcity of vegetables, the price was 20,000 VND/kg. Currently, the wholesale price for traders is 12,000 VND/kg. After deducting expenses, her family earns 7-8 million VND.

With an average yield of 8 quintals/sao, after deducting costs, farmers earn a profit of 5-6 million VND/sao. Photo: Thai Hien

These days, Ms. Tran Thi Minh's family in Hamlet 1/5 of Cam Son Commune is also focusing on harvesting green beans. Ms. Minh said: In previous years, her family mainly grew corn for livestock. In 2015, her family started to switch to growing green beans. This year's weather is very favorable, so the beans are growing well. In addition, the period when the beans are flowering and fruiting is warm and sunny, so the fruit set rate is very high.

On average, her family harvests 800 kg of beans per sao. Currently, beans cost 12,000 VND/kg. This crop, with nearly 2 sao of beans, her family earned nearly 10 million VND.

Traders go to the fields to buy green beans. Photo: Thai Hien

This winter crop, Anh Son district planted over 20 hectares of green beans, mostly in the communes of Cam Son, Tuong Son, Thach Son, Vinh Son, and Tao Son. According to farmers, this is a crop that provides stable income, with continuous harvests for 2-3 months, with an average yield of 8 quintals/sao. After deducting costs, farmers earn a profit of over 100 million VND/ha.

The effectiveness of cowpea has helped farmers change their monoculture practices, applying new science and technology to production will improve economic efficiency per unit area, especially now the consumption market, relatively stable prices and suitable soil are completely suitable conditions for farmers in Anh Son localities to be able to convert cowpea development towards commodity production to increase income and improve life.