Banana farmers earn 200 million VND/ha

(Baonghean.vn) - The advantage of banana is that it requires little investment, produces fruit all year round and is easy to consume, so many households in Nghia Dan district have chosen to grow it.

Implementing the policy of planting forests to develop raw material areas, Mr. Du Kim Truong in Hung Nghia hamlet, Nghia Loi commune (Nghia Dan) is one of the pioneers in the movement of planting hybrid acacia trees. However, due to the characteristics of the rocky hills in this area, the acacia trees grow slowly. In 2012, his family experimented with intercropping more than 100 banana trees.

Mr. Truong said: “At first, my family thought that this barren hill land would only grow bananas for livestock feed, but after a short time, the plants grew well. With the advantage of banana trees, the investment is low, and the care is not required, the trees bear fruit all year round. On average, each bunch of bananas is sold for 50,000 - 70,000 VND. On full moon and new moon days; especially on the full moon of January, July or Lunar New Year, a beautiful bunch of bananas can be sold for 60,000 - 80,000 VND”.

From the economic efficiency of banana trees, Mr. Truong has expanded the area to more than 2 hectares, planting 2,000 trees; on average, a year brings in over 200 million VND in revenue.

Mr. Du Kim Truong in Hung Nghia hamlet, Nghia Loi commune (Nghia Dan) is taking care of his family's banana garden. Photo: Minh Thai

Mr. Truong said: “Banana is an easy-to-grow plant, requires little investment and grows quickly. Planting bananas from the third year gives a stable income, and harvests alternately by batch; a banana bush can be harvested twice a month, at the end and middle of the month.”

According to Mr. Nguyen Viet Thang - Chairman of Nghia Loi Commune People's Committee, the commune currently has 1,000 hectares of agricultural land, of which 50% is ineffective. In recent years, the commune has promoted the movement of developing forest garden economy, mobilizing farmers to convert suitable crops to bring high economic efficiency per unit area. Up to now, in the commune, more than 150 hectares of low-efficiency hill land have been converted to banana cultivation, 70 hectares of sugarcane land have been converted to fruit trees such as oranges, tangerines, guavas, apples, pineapples"...

Moldy banana tree on Nghia Dan land. Photo: Minh Thai

In Phu Hoa hamlet, Nghia Phu commune, on an area of ​​4.5 hectares, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hai also planted about 1,500 banana trees, of which nearly 500 trees have produced stable harvests. To increase efficiency and make use of the area, this year Mr. Hai planted an additional 1,000 banana trees on his family's hilly land. "Banana trees can grow well in lowland and highland areas, the planting technique is easy and adapts very well to local climate change... From banana trees, my family has a monthly income of 12 - 15 million VND" - Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hai shared.

The conversion of suitable crops such as the model of growing bananas on barren land of Nghia Dan people has contributed to promoting the movement of good production and business in the locality, contributing to building new rural areas in the current period.

Minh Thai

(Nghia Dan Radio)