Starting with just a few households, the hamlet now has over 30 households cultivating more than 22ha of durian. — VNA/VNS
HANOI: Following the reorganisation of its local administration, Vinh Hanh Commune in An Giang province is speeding up a shift in crops and developing diverse economic models.
The move is widely expected to help improve residents’ income while also promoting sustainable socio-economic development in the province.
These days, the 2ha durian orchard owned by Cao Van Minh’s family in Vinh Hoa 1 Hamlet is bustling with visitors.
With more than 200 Ri6 and Monthong durian trees entering the off-season harvest, after production costs, the orchard is expected to bring the family nearly one billion dong in income.
Minh said Vinh Hanh is a remote commune with over 80% agricultural land, mainly for rice cultivation.
Implementing major crop changes in 2019, he converted the family’s rice paddies into off-season durian orchards.
Starting with just a few households, the hamlet now has over 30 households cultivating more than 22ha of durian.
In 2023, with support from the agriculture sector and local authorities, Minh and other farmers in the hamlet invested in automated sprinkler irrigation systems controlled by smart devices for their orchards to save costs and labour.
Determined to secure sustainable economic development for their family, in 2000, Nguyen Ngoc Chau’s family in Vinh Hanh Commune started cultivating Queen custard apples on low-yield rice land.
Starting from 2,000 sq m as a trial, the family has now expanded its fruit growing area to over 10,000 sq m, delivering high and stable economic returns.
To create commercial products on a larger scale, Chau started working with local households to form the Vinh Hoa Agricultural Co-operative.
Tran Van Thuy, deputy director of the Vinh Hoa Agricultural Cooperative, noted that the group’s off-season durian has received a planting area code and has been recognised as a three-star One Commune, One Product model for export and domestic markets.
Building on this momentum, they are investing in Phat Tai longan cultivation, rice seed production, livestock farming and eel seed production under Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices standards to diversify products, create jobs and increase incomes for members and local workers. — Viet Nam News/ANN
