New directions in rural economic development

(Baonghean) - After only half a year of implementation, mushroom growing has brought visible results to farmers in Yen Thanh district. In the future, Yen Thanh will be a place to supply a large amount of mushrooms to the market in and outside the province. As for the family of Mr. Nguyen Van Thien (Khanh Thanh), 10 years ago, his family got acquainted with mushroom growing. However, at that time, due to low demand and limited output, the mushroom products could not be consumed, so they had to give up the job. This time, with the encouragement and support of the local government (June 2011), he was one of 20 households in the commune participating in the mushroom growing model according to the district's policy. With an area of ​​250 m2, and 25 million VND supported by the district, he invested nearly 40 million VND more to build facilities, workshops and buy mushroom growing seeds. With experience and close advice and guidance from the staff of the Bac Giang Mushroom Breeding Center, after just over a month of planting and caring for the mushrooms, his family has earned a significant income. Mr. Thien said: Each batch of mushrooms from planting to harvesting is 3 months, 1 ton of straw can yield 800 kg of mushrooms. With the current market price ranging from 25,000 to 30,000 VND/kg, a batch of mushrooms can earn 20-30 million VND, after deducting expenses, there is still more than half a profit.

Mr. Nguyen Trong Binh's family - Hamlet 8, Hop Thanh Commune has 4 workers, previously only farming, the family's life was not lacking but could not get rich. With the propaganda and mobilization of the commune, he attended a mushroom growing class taught by technical staff of Bac Giang Mushroom Breeding Center. Currently, his family has 600 bags of mushrooms, on a low day they can harvest 10-12 kg, on a high day they can harvest 25-27 kg, with the current price, the daily income is a significant amount for his family.

The mushroom growing model has brought Mr. Binh's family (Hop Thanh commune - Yen Thanh) a significant source of income.

According to Mr. Thien, Mr. Binh and many households participating in the mushroom growing model in Yen Thanh, the mushroom growing technique is simple, easy to do, does not require much effort or time to take care of, and the source of straw is very available. Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Hop Thanh commune - Mr. Nguyen Duy Lien, said: With the direction and investment of the district, technical staff of the Bac Giang Mushroom Center "sticking" from the time of organizing training until the time of releasing products, the strong consumption market makes mushroom growing a "money-making" profession, people are very excited to participate. Currently, in the commune, there are 10 households producing mushrooms, of which 3 households have from 100-300 m2 of workshops, from 1,500-3,000 bags of mushrooms/household.

From that practical effectiveness, the number of participating households as well as the mushroom growing area in Yen Thanh is increasing rapidly. From the initial 80 households, after only nearly half a year, the whole district now has over 200 mushroom growing households. Vice Chairman of the District People's Committee - Mr. Nguyen Sy Hung, said: Yen Thanh has great potential in developing mushroom growing, each year, the whole district produces 200 thousand tons of rice, equivalent to 200 thousand tons of straw by-products, along with the surplus labor force in rural areas, which are very favorable conditions for the mushroom growing industry to develop. Since then, the district has advocated introducing the mushroom growing industry, both to solve employment and increase income for farmers. First of all, the district chose 4 communes to implement: Nam Thanh, Hop Thanh, Khanh Thanh and Tay Thanh, in which Nam Thanh is the main one. Currently, there are 5 types of mushrooms grown: straw mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, button mushrooms and lingzhi mushrooms. Later, when the technique is mastered, high-quality mushrooms will be grown.

After just over 4 months of implementation, more than 11 thousand tons of mushrooms of all kinds have been sold to the market, bringing in a revenue of nearly 3 billion VND. Mr. Hung said: Compared to a popular profession in the district, which is the export of bamboo and rattan weaving, although the district has made many efforts, the annual revenue from this profession is only about 5 billion VND. The good news is that the market is currently very fond of edible mushrooms. In the long term, when the product has been produced in large quantities, there will be a source of consumption from processing factories in the North. Besides, this is a profession that can be done all year round. The district has determined that straw mushrooms will be grown in the summer, straw mushrooms and oyster mushrooms will be grown in the late summer and early fall, and button mushrooms will be grown in the winter, followed by lingzhi mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms.

In the long term, along with creating policies and mechanisms to encourage people to grow mushrooms, Yen Thanh has planned joint ventures and partnerships to find stable outlets for products, creating favorable conditions for people in the consumption stage. In the immediate future, in 2012, the district plans to expand the mushroom growing area in 6 communes, striving to produce about 80-100 thousand tons of mushrooms. "We are currently carrying out procedures for product declaration, product specifications, and clean product registration to widely consume them in the market," said Mr. Hung. It is known that Hai Duong's clean mushroom processing factory has registered to buy 200 tons of mushrooms, and has committed to consuming all products from the people. The district's goal is that by 2015, there will be 1,000 farming households producing mushrooms on a family scale, 100 households producing on a farm, family farm, cooperative scale, and 1-2 industrial-scale models. Every year, fresh mushroom products reach about 50 billion VND, creating regular jobs for 1,500 workers and thousands of seasonal workers. Up to now, Yen Thanh has allocated nearly 1 billion VND from the budget to support the development of the mushroom industry, including supporting people with 50% of the seed price. In the long term, when there is a large volume of products, the district will seek partners and consume products for the people. However, in the immediate future, for the mushroom industry in Yen Thanh to develop, we hope that the province will have a mechanism to support about 50% of the seed price, and at the same time invest in building a breeding room to receive level 1 and level 2 seeds at the Genetics Institute to then multiply level 3 seeds for cultivation. Currently, the district is promoting the establishment of a mushroom breeding center in Yen Thanh in 2012 to multiply original seeds into level 1 and level 2 seeds, in order to reduce the cost of mushroom production for the people.

Phu Huong