High-tech agriculture: "Bottleneck" of product output

Mr. Tran Van Hanh is one of the typical members of Dien Phong Agricultural Cooperative (Dien Chau) who boldly invested hundreds of millions of Dong to build a greenhouse and a sprinkler irrigation system to produce vegetables and fruits according to safe production processes.

Chi Khe Seedling Agricultural Cooperative (Con Cuong) is experimenting with growing American melons in a greenhouse. Photo: Tuong Vi

Mr. Hanh said: In June 2017, his family invested 300 million VND to build a 1,000 m2 greenhouse to produce vegetables. Although the initial investment was quite large, the good thing is that during the production process, the plants are closed in the greenhouse so they are almost free from pests and diseases, so there is no need to use pesticides; they are not affected by heavy rain, cold weather... even the vegetable watering work also applies sprinkler irrigation technology with rotary nozzles, so people are less tired, while the crop yield is much higher than outdoor production.

However, according to Mr. Hanh, CNC-grown vegetables have not been accepted by consumers to be purchased at a higher price than vegetables grown in normal fields, so the garden owner is at a disadvantage. On this occasion, in Mr. Hanh's greenhouse, cabbage is grown entirely according to VietGAP process, preparing for harvest, but no business has placed an order yet. It is expected that in the near future, Mr. Hanh will have to accept selling cabbage at market price. Therefore, Mr. Hanh hopes that businesses selling vegetables, tubers, and fruits will cooperate to consume products for members.
Dien Phong Agricultural Cooperative currently has 10 hectares of land for production according to VietGAP process, mainly growing chili, green asparagus... In which some areas apply drip irrigation technology. It is known that currently Dien Phong Agricultural Cooperative has 2 member households investing hundreds of millions of VND to build net houses for vegetable production. This can be said to be a breakthrough in the fertile coastal land where people here have had traditional experience in vegetable production for many generations.

Operating the Israeli drip irrigation system at the 1/5 Nghia Dan Fruit Tree Agricultural Cooperative. Photo: Xuan Hoang

In Con Cuong district, Chi Khe Commune Seedlings Cooperative received support from the district government to invest in applying CNC in production, bringing high efficiency. Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Trung - Director of Chi Khe Commune Seedlings Cooperative said: In early 2017, with the support of the district, the Cooperative built a 2,000 m2 net house, combined with the installation of a drip irrigation system, with a total investment capital of nearly 1 billion VND, most of which was supported by the district. Through 3 crops of melon and tomato, the yield was 3 - 4 times higher than that of normal field planting.

Mr. Trung is concerned that although the products are produced according to safe processes, they must be sold at free market prices, so the income is not commensurate. Therefore, the cooperative wishes that the local government create conditions for the cooperative to open a product sales location in Con Cuong town to serve consumer needs and increase income for members.