The capital of Nam Anh rose crop failed

If last year, Nam Anh persimmon trees were full of fruit (photo above), this year, many persimmon trees only have a few fruits (photo below). Photo: Thanh Phuc

If at this time last year, people in the communesNam Anh, Nam XuanIt is the peak season for persimmon harvest, traders from everywhere flock to the gardens to buy, but this year, the place considered the "capital" of persimmons is quite deserted. "The persimmon crop has failed badly, there is nothing to sell. It is the peak of the harvest season but the amount of persimmons is small, so although many gardeners have received deposits from customers, they now have to return the money because there are no persimmons to sell. Like my family, last year, the whole garden of more than 100 persimmon trees of the family yielded about 3 tons of fruit, but this year, it is only about 1/3, many persimmon trees even yield only 10-15 kg of fruit", said Mr. Tran Nam (Nam Anh commune).

The hill gardens in Khe Mai and Khe Nua areas in Nam Anh commune were covered in the yellow color of persimmons in previous seasons, and the persimmon trees were full of fruit, but now they are bare, with only a few fruits on the trees. Many persimmon gardens that were considered better only achieved half the yield compared to 2021.

Although it is the main harvest season, rose gardens in Nam Anh have no more roses to sell to traders. Photo: Thanh Phuc

“From 2018 to 2020,rose crop failureheavy, some years lost everything. Last year, the weather was more favorable, the care process was correct, creating conditions for persimmons to "hibernate" for enough time, so the persimmons had a lot of fruit, large, even, and beautiful. However, it happened right at the time when the Covid-19 epidemic was complicated, so the price of persimmons was only at a relative level. This year, the price of persimmons is high, consumption is favorable, but the crop is bad, persimmon growers in Nam Anh have lost their crops. It is estimated that the total persimmon output of the commune is only about 200-250 tons, down more than half compared to last year," said Mr. Ho Viet Hoa, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Nam Anh commune.

Not only in Nam Anh, 50 hectares of persimmons grown by more than 100 households in Nam Xuan also suffered from crop failure. Households that planted in scattered gardens still had fruit, but the persimmon gardens on the hills saw a sharp drop in productivity, only half compared to the previous year.

The price of persimmons is higher than in previous years and they are easy to sell, but people in the persimmon capital of Nam Dan are not happy because of the crop failure. Photo: Thanh Phuc

“Not only has the quantity of fruit decreased, but the quality of the persimmons is also not as good as in previous years. The fruits are smaller, the color is also worse, and many trees are not yet mature enough but have rotted due to harmful insects,” said Mr. Ho Viet Thang, owner of a persimmon garden in Nam Xuan.

Currently, the purchase pricepink relianceIn the garden, the price fluctuates from 15,000-18,000 VND/kg (depending on the type), 3,000-5,000 VND/kg higher than the previous crops; the wholesale price for traders is up to 20,000-25,000 VND, the retail price in the markets is 30-35,000 VND/kg, but the people of Nam Dan persimmon orchard are still "not happy". Because with this selling price, if in a good year, each persimmon tree brings in an income of 2-2.5 million VND, but this year's persimmon crop, due to reduced productivity, the tree with the most fruit will only produce 40-50kg of fruit, the income is only half that of last year.

According to traders, although there are many orders from agents from other provinces and the purchase price is high, Nam Dan rose production has decreased so there is not enough supply. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Ms. Sam Hoa, a large persimmon purchasing agent in Nam Anh (Nam Dan) said: “If last year, I purchased about 100 tons of persimmons from people to sell elsewhere, this year, although I contacted the gardens in advance to make a deposit, due to a bad harvest, I estimated that I could only purchase about 40-50 tons of persimmons for the whole season. It is the harvest season, but the gardens have run out of fruit, many orders from agents from other provinces had to be canceled because there was not enough persimmon supply.”

The poor harvest of persimmons not only causes farmers to lose their income, but also other services such as harvesting, soaking, classifying, and transporting persimmons have no income. “In previous years, persimmons had a good harvest, and each day we had to hire workers to pick, carry, sort, wash, and soak persimmons for 200,000-250,000 VND/day, but this year, we can only buy 50-700 kg per day, so family workers have to manage on their own,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong, a persimmon trader in Nam Anh.

The persimmon crop failure not only causes growers to lose their crops but also seasonal workers who pick, transport, and classify persimmons, losing a significant source of income. Photo: Thanh Phuc

“In the 2022 rose season, Nam Anh has selected and put into operation two rose garden experience tourism areas in hamlets 6 and 8 with 50 ancient rose trees, ancient houses and ancient wells. At the same time, we will guide people to deploy accompanying services to display and sell typical products, especially local OCOP products; sell tickets to visit and experience the garden and provide food and beverage services if customers have a need. From this model, we will evaluate the feasibility, and from there, have a plan to replicate beautiful rose gardens in the area for tourism, creating more income for people.”

Mr. Tran Quoc Khanh, Secretary of the Party Committee of Nam Anh Commune (Nam Dan)