Farmers in Luong region use flashlights to 'pick' millions of dong every day
(Baonghean.vn) - Farmers in the Luong region are finding many ways to increase the efficiency of farming per unit area, helping to increase income towards sustainable agricultural economic development. After the rice crop, people alternate growing winter cucumbers to earn millions of dong per day.
When it was still dark, the fields of Hamlet 1, Tan Son Commune (Do Luong) were bustling with people. Under the cucumber fields, flashlights were shining and people were laughing and talking. “For a whole month now, people in the village have been waking up at 5am to pick cucumbers in time to sell to traders. In the first days when the cucumber fields were ready for harvest, the price was 12-15 thousand VND/kg, and households that planted about 1ha earned 1.5 to 2 million VND/day. In the last days of the month, the price of cucumbers decreased, around 7-8 thousand VND/kg, but still brought in an income of 700-900 thousand VND, many times higher than growing rice,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi Giang.
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It was not yet dawn, so people used flashlights to harvest cucumbers in time to sell to traders. Photo: Hoai Thu |
With the motto "don't let the land rest, don't let our hands stop", right after harvesting rice, farmers in Tan Son immediately start growing winter cucumbers.
For Ms. Nguyen Thi Giang's household, she planted 1 mu (10ha) of rice in the spring crop. Mr. Hien, Ms. Giang's husband, said that for the current winter cucumber crop, he and his wife borrowed a rice field from a household in the village to plant, because Mr. Hien's family's rice field is part of the 10.58ha area of new rice varieties planted in Tan Son commune.
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Cucumber plants grow taller than people, so people use homemade tools from plastic bottles, or add chairs to pick the fruits from high up. Photo: Hoai Thu |
“This new rice variety is harvested half a month later than Khang Dan rice, so I don’t have time to plant winter cucumbers, so I borrowed land from other households to plant them in time, avoiding affecting productivity,” said Mr. Hien. Elaborating on this, an official from Tan Son commune added that the entire Tan Son commune grows 9.08 hectares of winter cucumbers. Some households earned more than 40 million VND after 1 month of harvesting cucumbers. Therefore, Tan Son people are very happy, taking care of their fields, rotating crops to increase productivity and efficiency on the same area of agricultural land.
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Winter cucumbers grown in alternating seasons on rice fields in Do Luong bring in millions of dong per day. Photo: Hoai Thu |
Having a winter cucumber field not far from the field of Mr. Hien and Ms. Giang, Ms. Nguyen Thi Dung said: "Because the family is short of people, I only plant about half a sao. Every day I wake up early to pick cucumbers and then bring them to the retail market to sell for a higher price. Picking every day, I earn an additional 5 to 5.5 million VND a month. Growing side crops but providing the main income."
In Do Luong district, not only in Tan Son, but also in many other communes, on the same agricultural land area, people have increased the cropping pattern with cucumbers and corn such as in Luu Son, Thinh Son... From there, contributing to improving the efficiency of land use, increasing the production value of the agricultural sector. Thanks to that, on a unit area, the agricultural production value of Do Luong has increased sharply.
In 2021, the production value of the agricultural sector in Do Luong reached 105 million VND/ha/year, an increase of 40 million VND/ha compared to 2011 and an increase of 22 million VND/ha compared to 2015. Some key crops of the district such as rice in 2021 reached 81.29 million VND/ha, an increase of 9.7 million VND/ha compared to 2011; vegetables, tubers, fruits reached over 400 million VND/ha, melon reached 2 billion VND/ha... The area of spring and summer-autumn crops reached 22,954.9 ha, equal to 100.6% over the same period. The total output of grain crops reached 109,078 tons, equal to 115.6% of the plan, an increase of 149 tons over the same period. Vegetables of all kinds reached 1,557.2 ha (equal to 103.9% over the same period).
In the period of 2011 - 2021, Do Luong has built many production development models applying scientific and technical advances in cultivation, livestock breeding, and aquaculture, bringing efficiency and increasing income for people such as: Model of vegetables, tubers, and fruits according to VietGAP standards; model of growing melons in greenhouses, potatoes, and asparagus; model of growing lilies and chrysanthemums; models of growing high-quality rice; models of raising buffaloes, cows, and goats for reproduction...
The district pays great attention to joint ventures and associations in the production and consumption of agricultural products, proactively inviting businesses to invest in agricultural production through land accumulation, supporting the promotion of the district's agricultural products in supermarket systems, fairs, etc. Therefore, in 2021, more than 11 local agricultural products were ordered for consumption by a large supermarket system.
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The entire Tan Son commune grows more than 9 hectares of winter cucumbers. When it is time to harvest, traders come to the fields to buy, bringing high income to many households. Photo: Hoai Thu |
In the coming time, Do Luong will continue to implement the land consolidation plan and conduct surveys of land areas in communes to build specialized production areas for agricultural products. At the same time, develop and promulgate the Project on Planning for high-tech agricultural areas, associated with restructuring the agricultural sector of Do Luong district in the period of 2022-2025, with a vision to 2030.
