Safe vegetable consumption: Lack of sustainable links

(Baonghean) -Up to now, Nghe An has developed 500 hectares of safe vegetable, root and fruit production using technological production processes. This number is still quite modest compared to the potential of the province. To expand safe vegetable areas, the problem is to have a sustainable link between enterprises and farmers.

Farmers in Khanh Son commune (Nam Dan) grow chili peppers under a model of linking with enterprises to purchase products. Photo: Dinh Nguyet

Models noted

Currently, in the province, a number of RAT areas have been formed such as: Quynh Luong (Quynh Luu), Luu Son (Do Luong), Nghi An (Vinh City), Hung Phuc, Hung Loi (Hung Nguyen), Nam Xuan (Nam Dan)... In which, there are a number of RAT areas with the connection of localities, farmers and enterprises to develop production and consume products, which are promoting efficiency.

In Dien Thanh commune (Dien Chau), there is a tradition of vegetable production, but in the past it was mainly in the form of "self-sufficiency - self-consumption", with low efficiency. However, from 2015 to now, farmers in hamlets 9 and 10 have cooperated with enterprises to develop the RAT model on an area of ​​2 hectares. With the support of enterprises in terms of techniques, fertilizers, disease monitoring according to the RAT process, and at the same time ensuring product consumption, the average revenue reached over 200 million VND/ha; the output is more stable than before.

According to Mr. Le The Hieu - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dien Chau district: To attract investment in the SV area in the locality, in addition to the province's support policy, the district also allocated 180 million VND to support enterprises to invest in equipment for initial processing, clean water system... In the coming time, the district will continue to replicate the model of linking enterprises to develop SV areas in Dien Lam commune with an area of ​​5 hectares".

In Khanh Son commune (Nam Dan), since the beginning of 2016, farmers in some hamlets in the area have implemented a model of growing chi thien chili peppers with a total area of ​​nearly 5 hectares. Unlike before, when producing chi thien chili peppers, farmers do not have to worry about output because when the harvest season comes, there will be a company to buy them right at the field. Chi thien chili peppers are priced higher than normal chili peppers (11,500 VND/kg), so each sao brings in an income of more than 8 million VND (double that of other chili pepper varieties). Mr. Nguyen Trong Hong - Vice Chairman of Khanh Son commune said: The commune cooperates with enterprises to support production and purchase for farmers, so the output of the products is guaranteed.

For about 3 years now, Nghi An commune (Vinh city) has cooperated with enterprises to develop a model of growing chili peppers on an area of ​​4 hectares. With this production linkage model, enterprises have supported farmers from production to product consumption. Thanks to that, crop productivity has increased, output is stable, so farmers feel secure in production. Mr. Pham Van Son, Kim Binh hamlet (Nghi An) grows 400 m2, earning 20 million VND/crop (5 months).

Farmers in Khanh Son, Nam Dan import chili peppers from the field for purchasing companies. Photo: Quang An

To attract investment in RAT production projects, the Provincial People's Committee issued Decision 08/2015/QD - UBND promulgating a number of specific policies to encourage enterprises to invest in agriculture and rural areas in the province in the period of 2015 - 2020. Accordingly, investors with RAT production projects following good agricultural practices (VietGap) will receive support and investment from the provincial budget.

Specifically, maximum support of 1 billion VND/project (reaching 20 hectares) to invest in building factories, purchasing machinery and equipment; 100 million VND to hire a certification organization to evaluate and obtain a Certificate of Safe Products... Thanks to that, up to now, the whole province has developed 2-3 vegetable, root and fruit production areas applying technological production processes with an area of ​​over 500 hectares, output reaching over 50 thousand tons, ensuring food safety quality.

Need close connection

Although, there are currently some localities that have linked with enterprises to build some quite effective RAT models. However, the number of RAT areas that have links to support production, product consumption, and brand building is still small; not commensurate with the potential. Currently, in addition to the RAT area of ​​Dien Thanh, Hoang Mai town, in the province there are also some scattered vegetable areas linked to production with some enterprises such as: Doan Ket mushroom production cooperative (Yen Thanh), Phu Luong cooperative (Quynh Luu); mushroom model in Hung Loc, growing hot peppers in Nghi An (Vinh city), Nam Dan, Anh Son...

In general, the scale of vegetable growing areas is still small and the efficiency is still limited. According to Mr. Le The Hieu - Head of the Department of Agriculture of Dien Chau district, "in the process of producing RAT, farmers are facing many difficulties. Specifically, due to the weather characteristics, farmers can only produce for about 7 months each year, so they can only supply businesses with winter vegetables and fruits. On the other hand, because there is no clean vegetable brand, the value of RAT is not much higher than vegetables produced according to normal processes".

Dien Thanh Commune (Dien Chau) builds a model of cooperation with enterprises to invest in facilities to produce and consume RAT. Photo: Dinh Nguyet

“In addition, to maintain and replicate the SV model in specialized vegetable growing areas in the province, there are other difficulties, such as: SV production area is still fragmented, causing difficulties in management. Production products are not guaranteed in both quantity and quality, and funding for investment in building SV infrastructure is limited. As this is a high-risk field, businesses rarely participate in the production process, while the mechanism to attract businesses to invest in SV production is not really attractive. On the other hand, vegetable products are mainly unprocessed, so the products are not diverse and difficult to consume…” - Mr. Nguyen Dinh Huong - Deputy Director of the Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection of Nghe An added.

Dinh Nguyet