Growing a plant with a meter-long root, used to stave off hunger, now a specialty
Since 2014, many households in Phuoc Hoi commune, Dat Do district, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province have experimented with growing yam in their home gardens and have succeeded.
Yam, a tuber plant, is not only food, but also a valuable medicinal herb in oriental medicine, sought after by many people.
Yam is a plant that grows naturally in dry, sandy soil, so it is difficult to grow in home gardens.
Realizing that the yam growing model can be replicated and developed sustainably, the agricultural sector of Dat Do district, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province has supported concrete pillars and climbing frames for households to expand their area and increase their income.
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| Yam in Phuoc Hoi commune after harvest. |
With the guidance of a relative who had experience growing yam, since 2015, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tuan, in Phuoc Hoi commune, invested in growing yam in his home garden, with an area of about 600m2.2.
Having grasped the growth characteristics of yam, Mr. Tuan took care of the garden to grow in the right direction and effectively. In the first year, the yam garden yielded a harvest, with a profit of more than 40 million VND.
In 2018, Mr. Tuan borrowed 60 million VND from the trust fund of the Social Policy Bank, he invested in concrete pillars, climbing frames and automatic irrigation systems, to expand the yam growing area to more than 1,000 m2. Currently, Mr. Tuan's family's yam garden is being harvested, expected to bring in an income of 90-120 million VND.
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| Yam trellis in Phuoc Hoi commune. |
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tuan said that he had some vacant land at home, so he took advantage of it to grow yam to earn extra money. A few years ago, due to financial constraints, he only planted a small area. Later, with support from the group and capital from the government, he expanded it four times. The yam only earned extra money, but after a year, it also gave him some money to make ends meet.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hong's family in Phuoc Hoi commune invested in growing yams since 2015 and has been quite successful so far, with the model generating an income of more than 100 million VND/year.
Mr. Hong said: Yam is also relatively easy to grow if you have grasped the rules of plant care. Seasonally, around September, the plant wilts and loses its leaves, this is the time to harvest the tubers. By February of the following year, you only need to water and fertilize the plant with organic fertilizer so that it can grow leaves and tubers again.
After harvest, traders come to buy yam tubers at quite high prices. Like this harvest, each yam root has 2 to 3 tubers weighing about 1kg, priced from 70 - 80 thousand VND. And over 1,000m2Mr. Hong's garden has thousands of yams.
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| Farmers in Phuoc Hoi commune, Dat Do district are excited to harvest cassava. |
Mr. Nguyen Van Hong shared more: this model of growing yam is very effective, bringing high economic benefits to the family. From there, the family started to research, dig wild yams in the forest and bring them back to grow artificially. Since then, the model has achieved very high economic benefits. It has brought stability, and is now much better than before.
Yam is only grown in the forest and is thought to be difficult to grow in the local soil, but surprisingly, some households dug up the yam and brought it home to try planting and found it to grow steadily.
After harvest, traders come to buy the yam tubers. According to farmers' calculations, 1 hectare of yam can bring in an income of more than 1 billion VND/year, many times higher than many other crops.
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| Long yam tubers are harvested in Phuoc Hoi commune, Dat Do district, Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. |
Mr. Le Hung Quoc Thai, an agricultural officer of Phuoc Hoi commune, said: The locality highly appreciates this yam growing model. With the attention of the district, recently, they have supported people with climbing frames and concrete pillars for people to grow yam. Previously, because people planted with mixed pillars, the wind made it fall, which was ineffective and reduced productivity. Since the support, people have expanded the area and improved efficiency.
From a few small households, up to now, in Phuoc Hoi commune, there are about 32 households growing yam, with an area of over 5 hectares. Aiming to apply high technology in agricultural production, yam growing households are being supported by the district's agricultural sector with concrete pillars, climbing frames and investment in water-saving irrigation systems, to expand the yam growing area.
