Not developing the strengths of orange trees is a mistake!

(Baonghean) - It would be a mistake not to quickly turn orange trees into a key crop in Nghe An in the context of Vietnam's economy deeply integrating into the world's common market - That was the opinion of Mr. Dinh Viet Hong - Vice Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee at the meeting on the morning of November 7, 2015 with departments, branches, sectors, agricultural and forestry companies and districts, cities and towns in the province to discuss solutions to develop orange trees into a key crop of the province.

Highly effective crop

Nghe An oranges are famous for the brand "Vinh Orange" which has been recognized by domestic and foreign consumers and on December 17, 2010, the Department of Intellectual Property under the Ministry of Science and Technology granted a certificate of protection for the geographical indication "Vinh Orange" for Nghe An orange products. This is the basis and condition for Nghe An to expand the orange growing area on a large scale, not only for domestic consumption but also to aim to be a large export product to the international market and a large source of raw materials to serve the high-value fruit juice processing factory in the near future.

The origin of the famous fragrant and delicious Vinh orange brand comes from the Xa Doai orange variety, which originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was brought to Xa Doai by a French missionary who came to preach in today's Xa Doai region. Up to now, Xa Doai oranges are no longer limited to the Xa Doai region, they have been grown in many localities inside and outside the province thanks to the asexual propagation method.

Illustration

Recently, through the exchange of science and technology, Nghe An has added the V2 orange variety which is grown on a relatively large scale. Both Xa Doai and V2 orange varieties have almost the same basic characteristics, which are: cylindrical fruit, average weight of 140 - 145 grams, thin peel, bright yellow flesh like honey. The fruit has few seeds, is fragrant, delicious and has a characteristic sweet taste. In particular, both of these orange varieties flower late and the fruit ripens concentratedly during the Lunar New Year, so they are very valuable when sold.

Currently, in Nghe An, there are 3,425 hectares of oranges planted with both Xa Doai oranges and V2 oranges, concentrated in the following districts: Quy Hop 1,642 hectares, Nghia Dan 425 hectares, Thanh Chuong 303 hectares, Yen Thanh 28 hectares, Con Cuong 137 hectares, Nam Dan 162 hectares, Anh Son 110 hectares, Nghi Loc 105 hectares and scattered in some other localities. Of that area, 1,867 hectares are commercial oranges, with the average orange yield of the whole province reaching 135 quintals/hectare.

At Xuan Thanh Agricultural Company in Quy Hop District, nearly 800 hectares of oranges are distributed to 680 contracted households, with each household growing an average of 1.07 hectares of oranges. The largest contracted household grows 3-5 hectares, the smallest 0.5-1.0 hectares. According to Mr. Hoang Minh - Director of Xuan Thanh Agricultural Company, of the nearly 800 hectares of oranges mentioned above, 320 hectares are for business. The 2013 orange crop was a good one, but despite the low price, it still brought in an income of 100 billion VND.

The 2014 orange crop had good prices and a good season, so the revenue reached 150 billion VND. The 2015 orange crop, due to severe drought, still had many oranges, but the fruits were smaller and still brought in about 143 - 145 billion VND. In 2016, the orange crop is currently very fruitful, and it is expected to be a year with a good orange crop, not inferior to 2014 and 2015... According to Mr. Hoang Minh, if there is good intensive investment and enough irrigation water, 1 hectare of oranges will bring in 1 billion VND in revenue, which is normal here.

At Xuan Thanh Agricultural Company, there are currently 40 farming households forming a club of orange growers with a revenue of over 1 billion VND/year. In Minh Hop Commune, Quy Hop District, there is Mr. Kieu Quang Vinh - an experienced old farmer who is good at growing oranges. Mr. Vinh said: His family only has 0.75 hectares of oranges, last year he harvested 40 tons of fruit, sold at an average price of 30,000 VND/kg, earning a revenue of 1.2 billion VND. This year's orange crop was severely droughted, irrigation water was not available, so the yield was somewhat lower than last year. But it is still impossible to have an income of less than 1 billion VND on this 0.75 hectare area.

Going down to the rice plain district of Yen Thanh, to the Thien Son orange farm in Dong Thanh commune, led by Mr. Trinh Xuan Giao, he said: His farm has 20 hectares of oranges planted with Xa Doai orange and V2 orange varieties and has harvested 15 hectares, the remaining 5 hectares will be harvested next year. The first orange crop (2012) yielded 200 tons of fruit, generating an income of 5.4 billion VND. The 2013 orange crop yielded 400 tons of fruit, generating an income of 12 billion VND.

The 2014 orange crop yielded 500 tons, generating an income of 15 billion VND, and the 2015 orange crop yielded 600 tons of oranges, generating a revenue of 17 - 18 billion VND. The 2016 orange crop is likely to be a bigger harvest than 2015. According to Mr. Trinh Xuan Giao, most of his farm's orange products are 50% consumed within the province, the remaining 50% are purchased by customers from Hanoi, Saigon and other provinces who come to his farm to buy and receive the goods. Currently, his farm is continuing to expand the planting area by another 12 hectares in 2016.

Vinh oranges are famous for their deliciousness, but why haven't they "broken through" to become the province's main agricultural product? (Illustrative photo).

Obviously, orange trees grown on Nghe An land have brought great economic efficiency to orange growers. Not only that, orange trees are also a crop that protects the soil and the living environment very well. In recent years, most orange growers with a scale of over 1 hectare have easily earned from hundreds of millions of VND to over 1 billion VND/ha; meanwhile, the investment cost to produce oranges, as calculated, is only at most 13 - 15% of the revenue.

If we go to some areas where farmers grow Xa Doai oranges and V2 oranges in the districts of Quy Hop, Tan Ky, Nghia Dan, Con Cuong, Yen Thanh... we can see the true value of orange trees, not only helping to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty but also truly enriching many families, said Mr. Ho Ngoc Sy - former Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Developing orange trees is a right policy.

At the meetings discussing policies and solutions for developing orange trees in Nghe An today, there are almost no hesitant, uncertain, or uncertain opinions in the discussion.

On the contrary, all opinions agree that expanding and strongly developing orange trees in Nghe An is a correct policy and in reality, the income from orange trees of orange growers in the past few years has proven that.

In Nghe An, orange trees have many conditions and advantages to develop, that is: There is the Xa Doai orange variety with good quality known to consumers in and outside the province and some countries in the world when talking about "Vinh Orange". Recently, there has been an additional V2 orange variety added with quality equivalent to the Xa Doai orange variety, both of these orange varieties are very good. The Western region of Nghe An has 13,400 hectares of red basalt soil, this is a very good soil with a thick arable layer, suitable for growing industrial crops and long-term fruit trees. Currently, this area is the key orange growing area in Nghe An in the districts of Quy Hop, Nghia Dan, Tan Ky, Thai Hoa town...

The Xa Doai orange variety has existed in Nghe An for nearly a century, very suitable for the land, climate and living environment in Nghe An and has been annually provided with full funding by the Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Science and Technology for research, selection, selection and restoration, so the Xa Doai orange variety today is still good, still retaining its inherent quality.

Nghe An people have had experience and tradition in growing oranges for many generations. When the Provincial People's Committee decided to expand the area of ​​orange growing on a large scale, this was an opportunity for orange trees to become a key crop, a tree that produces large commodities and a strong product of Nghe An in the near future.

In the Political Report at the Nghe An Provincial Party Congress for the 2015-2020 term, the section on agriculture and rural development clearly states: Strive to have 2,500 hectares of newly planted oranges by 2020, bringing the total orange area of ​​the province to 6,000 hectares. Strive to bring the orange yield on the commercial orange area to an average of 18 tons/ha, and the commercial orange output to about 36,000 - 40,000 tons.

To implement the policy of strongly developing orange trees from now until 2020 and the following years, the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee have a policy of calling on domestic and foreign businesses to invest in building fruit processing factories in Nghe An. In the immediate future, the Provincial People's Committee will allocate the province's budget to support 10,000 VND/seedling and the cost of land preparation and field improvement for growing oranges.

The policy of expanding and strongly developing orange trees in Nghe An with the traditional Xa Doai orange variety and the high-quality V2 orange variety is a completely correct policy, in line with the current trend, and is highly supported by farmers, especially farmers in mountainous districts.

To make Vinh orange brand fly far and always be in the unforgettable memory of people near and far in the country and internationally. Propose that the Provincial People's Committee assign the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to coordinate with the People's Committee of Quy Hop district to organize an orange festival, introducing Vinh orange products to consumers nationwide and internationally to know this rare specialty orange in Nghe An. From there, a closed value chain will be formed from producers to associated enterprises to consume all orange products for farmers.

Doan Tri Tue