Growing squash brings 30 billion VND to people in Thanh Chuong highlands

(Baonghean.vn) - This summer-autumn crop, Thanh Chuong district (Nghe An) converted about 200 hectares of high-yield rice land to grow squash and some other crops. The results were encouraging., especially with squash. Along with a good harvest, farmers can also sell at high prices and escape floods.

These past few days, people in Linh Hong village, Thanh Linh commune (Thanh Chuong district) have been really happy to harvest a high-yield squash crop.

Summer-autumn squash in Thanh Chuong reaches 2 tons/sao.

For many years, the people here have devoted all of about 3 hectares of rice fields to growing squash and vegetables. This year, due to the prolonged drought, the people have devoted another 1 hectare of rice-growing land in the highlands to growing squash. After 3 months of planting and caring for the entire squash area, the average yield was 2 tons/sao, with a selling price of 8,000 VND/kg, after deducting costs, each sao earned an income of 14 million VND.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thu's family grows 2 sao of squash. This season, excluding labor, fertilizer, seeds and money to buy "choai" (poles for squash to climb), his family earned about 30 million VND, including 3 crops, a net profit of 75 million VND.

People harvest squash. The selling price this season is 8,000 VND/kg, twice as high as last season.

After days of heavy rain and storms, people in Lien Chau and Lien Yen villages, Thanh Lien commune, and other localities such as Thanh My, Thanh Giang, Thanh Luong... are also going to the fields to harvest pumpkins. In addition to the Giang River alluvial land, this year Thanh Lien has also converted 7 hectares of rice fields to grow pumpkins.

Thanks to the new land and careful investment and care, this area has a much higher yield than the area that has been growing squash for a long time. The most exciting thing is that although it is grown on rice land, the squash crop has avoided flooding. This is a premise for the locality and people to feel more secure and confident for the following crops.

The first season of squash growing area has outstanding high yield.

In addition to high productivity, this summer-autumn squash crop in Thanh Chuong also recorded good sales, and people sold it at high prices: normally in other crops, squash is only 4,500 - 5,000 VND/kg, currently it is 8,000 VND/kg.

According to Mr. Nguyen Nam Bay - Owner of a pumpkin purchasing business in Tao Son commune, Do Luong district: "Because this season in the Northern Delta provinces, green vegetables are scarce, so pumpkins are very easy to sell. Every year, businesses purchase pumpkins to sell to this market at prices twice or one and a half times higher than other seasons. The high prices make both growers and traders excited."

Businesses and traders come to buy pumpkins right at the field.

With over 100 hectares spread across the district, this squash crop, Thanh Chuong district residents have earned over 30 billion VND. According to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Anh - Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture of Thanh Chuong district, this is a large source of income and will be the premise and opportunity for people to confidently invest, and the basis for the district to continue to propose policies to transform crop structure to increase productivity and economic value per unit area in the summer-autumn crop.

Tran Dinh Ha

Thanh Chuong Radio