For sustainable development of citrus

Grasping the opportunities and requirements of the market, many businesses have invested millions of dollars bringing high technology to develop agricultural production in the province. In Bac Tan Uyen district, citrus is creating great value for agricultural products. Specialists said that in order to have citrus in particular and agricultural commodities in general, it is necessary to have a legal corridor which is strong enough for farmers to invest in applying high technologies to production.

Daring application of high-tech

Learning the lesson of earning from off-season fruits, Lam Thanh Thuong, the owner of a VietGAP-standardized orange farm at Chanh Hung Hamlet in Hieu Liem Commune of Bac Tan Uyen District, has get as far as Nghe An  Province to learn about local orange of Vinh so that he could plant on the land  which has been so familiar with rubber trees, banana, and cassava.

Vinh oranges are packed for exportation in Bac Tan Uyen District. Photo: Duy Chi

It has been a tremendous achievement of getting orange from the middle land of Vietnam to the South. Thuong also did his researches to apply modern science  and technologies to yield  orange beyond its riping season in logical and scientific  combination of technologies and cultivation experience.

Vinh orange is favored by Northerners, said Thuong; however, the locality of the fruit has harsh weather, making it to yield only once a year. It has been thanks to local climate of Bac Tan Uyen District, the immigrated orange grow under combination of watering and fertilizing technology to yield the fruits beyond its season and cover all year round.  As the matter of fact, he could produce orange fruits for any month of the year as required by customers; thus, keeping them fresh and attractive. Lam Thanh Thuong farm’s produces are all  consumed in the North and China by previous POs. Explaining the stable sales of Vinh orange of Lam Thanh Thuong Farm, Thuong informed that he leaned on trust and quality.  The basic difference is that his farm produces could be stored naturally up to 1 month thanks to the cultivation process without chemicals.

Agricultural experts believe that fruits are easily rotten due to calcium deficiency. To resolve the problem, farmers usually use chemicals to promote development of the fruits; however, they shall not be stored for long due to residue of chemicals. On the other hands, organic agriculture, farmers have their chances to understand plants and soil to offer nutrition to the soil not the plants as they have been usually carried out. This helps to elevate quality and production efficiency.

Chien also makes use of high pressure water to wash the roots before cultivation to prevent disease and fungi.  Besides, he also applies biological pest control around his orchard.

Legal corridor should be available at the soonest

Chien also expressed concern that VietGAP fruit and normal fruit prices are still the same without anything to distinguish except for the packaging and the label "VietGAP". Meanwhile, production of agricultural products according to VietGAP standards requires elaborate and expensive approach. Besides, with mass production people just labeled VietGAP as they sell. Therefore, it is necessary to have legal corridor to encourage and protect modern production in order to create clean and safe products for consumers.

Through a recent field survey in Bac Tan Uyen district, a survey delegation led by Tran Van Nam, Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the provincial National Assembly delegation asserted that investment into high technology requires huge amounts of capital resources and technology, no less than a commercial or industrial investment project. Meanwhile, in order to have a clean investment project, the State must pay attention to infrastructure, vocational training, labor attraction, and so on. Farmers invest themselves to applying technology, solving labor, creating new added  value, especially those very friendly with the environment. Therefore, it is necessary to create a legal corridor to protect and encourage the development of hi-tech agricultural production.

Citrus is energy-rich and very good for health, only available in the tropics. The market is still huge but for export, we need to invest more strongly to improve quality standards as well as value added products. Therefore, on the local side, the planning work should be well managed and developed. At the same time, it must combine synchronously and diversify its products in the direction of combining with tourism to help the product reach farther.

Along with the legal corridor in order to effectively prevent the "bearish season" of the agricultural market for many years, the sector of industry and trade is building trade promotion and image promotion for citrus of Bac Tan Uyen on the market at home and abroad.

Reported by Duy Chi – Translated by Vi Bao