Looking for 'Leader' in orange growing

(Baonghean) - In recent days, I was quite surprised to continuously receive many calls from orange growers in Nghia Dan, Quy Hop. In general, they all felt more or less hurt and offended when comparing Vinh orange trees with Cao Phong oranges (Hoa Binh) after learning about an orange festival being held "well" in the North. Some people even said that the Cao Phong Orange Festival was like a "strong slap" to the self-esteem of Vinh orange growers who have been a brand for decades.

Vinh orange, a product of Nghe An province, has a geographical indication of the province (Photo: Archive).

» Bringing Vinh orange brand to the world market

» What direction for Vinh orange brand?

Discussing this issue with a leader of the province's Science and Technology sector, this person said that no one denies the value of Vinh oranges, from the nearly century-old tradition to quality, brand... but what Nghe An is lacking is a "leader monkey". As explained by the leader of the Science and Technology sector, in a troop of monkeys there must always be a leader to lead the troop from hunting to protecting safety and arranging order to adapt to the natural environment.

Similarly, in production and business, there will need to be strong enough enterprises to lead and guide the whole group. These “leading” enterprises must have special mechanisms and policies prioritized by the State and must be bound by regulations when implementing.

However, the reality of production and business is going in the opposite direction. Take Vinh oranges, for example. Everyone knows that Vinh oranges have been known for a century, and have been exported to the Russian market and Eastern European countries since the 60s of the last century. The famous Vinh oranges have even entered poetry, music and painting as an affirmation of the typical product of a dry, poor land. Vinh oranges have been branded and geographically indicated, and more importantly, orange growers have become high-income earners and become visibly rich. So what else is there to discuss?

Farmers in Nghia Hong commune (Nghia Dan) harvest oranges. Photo: Thai Truong

The problem of Vinh oranges is the mindset of small farmers.

With about 2,000 hectares, Vinh oranges are currently mainly distributed in the districts of Nghia Dan, Quy Hop, Con Cuong, Anh Son, Thanh Chuong, Yen Thanh. In fact, the current orange growing households all originate from the development of household economy, including many households who were workers and farmers of former farms and forestry farms. In the new context, state-owned farms and forestry farms are forced to change their form of operation from state-owned units to companies, joint-stock enterprises or limited liability companies.

Households have changed from being workers to receiving land contracts and paying annual profits. On the contracted land area, many households have about a few hectares, and the least have 0.5 - 1 hectare, people continue to grow Vinh orange trees, which are a traditional crop. Even though the area is not large, the value obtained from orange trees is always high and stable, making households soon feel satisfied.

That, the average interest rate of 300 - 500 million VND for 1 hectare of orange/year is not a very satisfying number! Everyone does their own thing, from choosing orange varieties, care methods to garden planning, wholesale and retail prices... are all balanced by households. What the taste and market need for uniformity in a product with the same brand and geographical indication is not seen.

And consumers have no way to distinguish Vinh oranges, to distinguish their unique value. Communication, promotion and product introduction activities of Vinh oranges have long been carried out by word of mouth.

Even the process of bringing oranges to the market is done by each household and mainly sold to small traders, retail at markets and sidewalks. Not participating in associations, operating without any certain standards... All of these things make Vinh oranges weak and vulnerable when competing with similar agricultural products from other localities.

Near Ve Vung Lake (Yen Thanh), tourists can visit the 25-hectare orange farm of Mr. Nguyen Huu Binh's family in Dong Trung hamlet, Dong Thanh commune. The orange growing model was recognized by the North Central Institute of Science and Technology as a VietGAP orange growing model.

And at this point, people think of the role of the “leader”, which is a strong enough enterprise to carry out the value chain from cultivation to market. Taking the leading role, the leading enterprise must solve all the above-mentioned realities on the basis of being favored and supported by the State in terms of policies and mechanisms. From here, the issue of agricultural product quality, brand, promotion and product protection will be guaranteed.

Leading enterprises will gather around themselves orange growers as a satellite system to ensure related interests. That is the way for Vinh oranges to step from a brand ticket to the market. To realize this requirement requires the hand of the State, from mobilizing, creating a path for enterprises to unifying the legal and technical corridor from production to the market.

Not only Vinh oranges, but the story of the lack of a “leader” is happening in almost all typical agricultural products of Nghe An. It is also believed that the household mindset with the secret competition for market influence is suffocating the value of typical agricultural products of Nghe An. According to the leader of the Department of Science and Technology, he recently brought two types of agricultural products to the Intellectual Property Office (Hanoi) to register for protection of geographical indications and trademarks for Tri Le passion fruit and Nghe An peanuts.

However, the Intellectual Property Office only accepts protection for one of the two agricultural products mentioned above. That is the Tri Le passion fruit tree. Why is the Nghe An peanut tree with the largest area, output and quality in the country not protected? Simply because there is no enterprise strong enough to take the leading role.

Dao Tuan