On the 50 million field of Nghi Long commune

(Baonghean.vn) - In 2006, hamlet 13, Nghi Long commune (Nghi Loc district) was chosen by the commune and district as the site for building a 50 million VND field with an initial planning of only 5 hectares, the structure of spring crop growing peanuts, summer-autumn crop growing watermelons and winter crop growing commercial green vegetables..

The peanuts have not been harvested yet, but the melon plants have taken root and spread branches.

After only the first crop, people voluntarily expanded the model. Up to now, the entire field of over 14 hectares has grown different crops each season, bringing high economic efficiency to the people in the village.

A normal day for farmers here during the watermelon season usually starts at dawn. People flock to the fields to trim the tops and select the fruits. The fields are always crowded with people. In the afternoon, when the sun sets, the fields are bustling and busy like the morning. At night, the temporary huts are always lit up, gathering people around a pot of green tea. There is a mechanic who carries tools to the field to serve; there is a weaver who goes to the field to knit and show the children. They work, rest, drink water and discuss work and village stories.

This melon crop is from Hoang Van Dung's family - Hamlet 13 Nghi Long
income of nearly 50 million VND

For the past 6 years, if there were no rainy and flood months, the high-income fields in hamlet 13 Nghi Long would have almost no time to rest. When the peanuts were still nearly a month away from harvest, people had already planted watermelons in their gardens. Half a month before the mass peanut harvest, people had pruned some rows to bring fresh peanuts to Vinh city and the coastal town of Cua Lo to sell to restaurants. When the mass peanut harvest was over, the watermelon plants had already taken root and were strong enough to spread their branches.

There are probably few places like the fields here, where power lines are strung across the fields, and there are countless drilled and dug wells. People estimate that on average, each sao of land has at least one drilled well, so the whole field must have over 250 wells. Thanks to that, even in the hot summer season this year, many places accept seeing crops wither because of drought, but this place still has enough water.

At the time when the whole country launched a campaign to build fields of 50 million VND/ha, farmers in hamlet 13 Nghi Long had left behind, earning many times more than 50 million.

Because if we had a good harvest year like 2008, 2009, 2010, just calculating the average spring peanut crop yield of 3 million VND/sao, the summer-autumn watermelon crop yield of 7 million VND/sao (500m2) would have had an income of over 100 million VND/ha. Not to mention that year many households in the hamlet also had a big win in the winter vegetable crop, earning from 5 to 8 million VND/sao, not to mention that many households personally brought their products to sell directly to consumers in Vinh city and Cua Lo town, the average income of the hamlet would be even higher.

Therefore, when there was an unusual flood year like 2011, there was a time when the whole village lost nearly a billion dong, but as soon as the rain stopped, people took their hoes and plows back to the fields to continue planting.

This summer-autumn watermelon crop, the whole hamlet 13 Nghi Long has been working on over 14 hectares. Although it is the big harvest season, there are still many fields that are being tended, and some fields that have been harvested are being rotated for further work.

With 64 households growing melons in the village, a rough estimate has made 2 billion VND after about 70 days of hard work. A typical example is the family of Mr. Trung and Ms. Ngan, whose children work far away, only the two of them grow 6 sao of melons and earn nearly 60 million VND; next are the households of Mr. Ngoc, Mr. Hien, Mr. Dung, Mr. Lien... who have a harvest of 45 - 55 million VND. Some households like Mr. Hai, Ms. Hue... although do not have much area, are leading in efficiency with an income of 11 to 12 million VND/sao.

The most favorable point of the melon field in hamlet 13 is that it has built a brand and trust with the fruit purchasing agents in Vinh market and big markets in Hai Phong and Hanoi. Whenever the melon and vegetable season is near, the stall owners in Vinh go directly to the field to place orders through some purchasing agents in the hamlet.

Therefore, for the past few years, people here have been able to grow without having to worry about consumption. Not only purchasing for people in their own hamlet, the purchasing agents have also contributed to solving the output for vegetable products in other neighboring hamlets and communes. Many people with little land to grow melons still have high income from the collection and consumption stage.

Receiving us right on the edge of the field, Mr. Tran Quoc Hung - the head of Hamlet 13 Nghi Long excitedly said: Since having high-income fields, the lives of the people in the hamlet have been significantly improved. Not only profiting from growing vegetables and melons, people have also actively invested in building surrounding walls, barns, renovating home gardens, and developing livestock. Therefore, other types of production and livestock in the hamlet have also brought much higher economic efficiency than before and are somewhat more prominent than other neighboring areas; the appearance of the hamlet has also changed clearly.

Hoang Minh