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 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 dry hilly land would only grow bananas for animal feed, but after a short time, the plants grew well. With the advantage of banana trees, the investment is small, and it does not require much care, the trees produce fruit all year round. On average, each bunch of bananas sells 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 sell 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 plant to grow, requires little investment and costs, and grows quickly. Planting bananas from the third year gives a stable income, and harvests alternately in batches; 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 the People's Committee of Nghia Loi commune, 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 growing 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 given stable harvests. To increase efficiency and take advantage of the area, this year Mr. Hai planted 1,000 more 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 banana growing model on barren land of Nghia Dan people has contributed to promoting the movement of good production and business in the locality, contributing to the construction of new rural areas in the current period.

Minh Thai

(Dai Nghia Dan)