Farmers in Nghe An province grow watermelons and pumpkins for their seeds.

In 2022, Quynh Tam Agricultural Cooperative collaborated with companies and businesses to develop a model for growing pumpkins, melons, and gourds for seed production, linked with product buyback agreements.

Having participated in the model for the past three years, the family of Mr. Nguyen Van Thang, in Hamlet 6, Quynh Tam Commune, regularly maintains a plot of 1.4 sao (approximately 1400 square meters) of pumpkins on previously unproductive, elevated land previously used for rice cultivation.

Mr. Thang excitedly shared: "This year, the pumpkin crop is bountiful. One sao (approximately 1000 square meters) yields 1 ton of pumpkins. After separating the seeds and drying them, we get about 12 kg of seeds. With a selling price of 850,000 VND/kg of seeds, my family earns over 10 million VND per sao."

According to Mr. Thang, the pumpkin variety is very easy to grow, virtually free from pests and diseases, and does not require the use of pesticides. To ensure a high yield, farmers must strictly adhere to the technical procedures guided by the company's staff in developing the model, especially during the flowering and pollination stages. Currently, he is rushing to harvest the pumpkins and preparing the land to meet the deadline for sowing watermelon seeds for this summer-autumn season.

With 3 sao (approximately 3,000 square meters) of pumpkins, the family of Ms. Pham Thi Thuy in Quynh Tam commune earns an average of 24 million VND per harvest. Ms. Thuy shared that growing pumpkins requires little cost and labor. To ensure the correct planting density, she usually leaves 280-300 pumpkin plants per sao. On average, each plant yields 3-5 pumpkins, each weighing 1.5-2 kg.

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After harvesting, the seeds are dried until crispy; under no circumstances should they be dried on a concrete surface to avoid cooking them and preventing germination. When participating in the model, I and other households were very excited when the company purchased all of the seeds, including the shells.

Ms. Pham Thi Thuy - Quynh Tam commune, Quynh Luu district

During the 2024 winter-spring season, the entire Quynh Tam commune planted 3.5 hectares of high-quality seed-producing fruit trees, concentrated in hamlets 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10.Growing crops for their seeds has brought the people of Quynh Tam commune an income of 200 million VND per hectare.

Initially, the people mainly grew pumpkins. Later, they received seeds from businesses to develop additional crops such as green squash, watermelons, fragrant gourds, and bitter melons. These crops are primarily cultivated using plastic mulch on elevated fields with controlled irrigation or within home gardens for easier management. The time from planting to harvesting for watermelons is only 75 days, while the other crops take 3.5 to 4 months.

Mr. Truong Van Phuc, Director of the Quynh Tam Agricultural Cooperative in Quynh Luu district, said: "The seed-producing plant varieties are very suitable for the local soil and climate conditions. The plants are healthy, resistant to drought, and yield high productivity."

Thanks to this, during this year's winter-spring crop season, farmers in Quynh Tam earned approximately 10 million VND per sao (1 sao = 360 square meters) for pumpkins; 16 million VND per sao for green squash; and 12 million VND per sao for watermelons and bitter melons. For fragrant melons, farmers expect an income of around 14-16 million VND per sao.

Besides purchasing quality seeds, the affiliated businesses also buy by-products from pumpkins, watermelons, and loofahs from farmers to supply as feed for livestock and black snails on farms.

Red Face