Visiting Tan Uyen district’s Phu Chanh commune in a late afternoon, every one here was busy with their farming work. “Phu Chanh commune has a traditional work of planting taro for a long time. Phu Chanh taro has appeared everywhere and brought high income for local farmers. We will help you learn about the traditional work”, said Nguyen Van Luu, vice chairman of the communal Farmers Society.

  Phu Chanh taro will become a strong trademark and bring high economic efficiency if it is invested properly.   Phu Chanh commune has changed daily. Before Binh Duong New City was formed up, the commune was an agricultural locality with the main work of cultivation and cow breeding. The local farmers have lived on agriculture, especially taro growing work. Income from taro growing here is at billions of VND per year. According to Luu, the commune now has about 17 ha of various taro, especially Chinese taro.

Farmer Luong Van Thanh in Phu Bung hamlet, said “My family has planted taro for 30 years and lived on taro”. Taro foot here sometimes has a diameter of 10-15cm and height of 2m. Thanh said that sitting under taro leaves is like to sit in a house.

Phu Chanh taro is from 0.5kg to 2kg per bulb. A kg of taro is priced at about VND30,000. 1,000sqm of taro field in Phu Chanh can give 15 tons of taro every 6 months (equivalent to VND50mil). “The remaining time in a year we grow additional okra and rice to increase efficiency of using land. We therefore reap a fair income of over VND200mil per year”, Thanh added. 

Will Phu Chanh taro have a trademark?

Farmer Bay Giang in the same hamlet possessing a 5,000sqm taro field, said “Taro growing is not difficult but it takes much time to take care of it”.

According to the local taro growing households, the best time for growing taro is in the lunar October. Many said that Phu Chanh taro’s famousness is thanks to geography and soil. These factors help Phu Chanh taro win high efficiency.

At present, Phu Chanh has over 100 households involving in taro growing. In the end of 2010, some taro growing households here applied for intellectual property registration of Phu Chanh taro. No one knows whether Phu Chanh taro trademark can spread far away. However, this is an audacious thinking born from stable development of taro farming work in Phu Chanh commune.

Reported by K.Vinh – Translated by A.C