Organic farming: hard to carry out, but easy to consume

Ms. Do Thi Thanh (Yen So village, Phuc Ninh commune, Yen Son district) has been planting 1 ha of pomelo and nearly 1 ha of oranges according to the organic model for three years. She is currently urging the procedures to get her family's pomelo certified as an organic product.

Although the pomelo and orange growing under the organic farming model may not come out as beautiful as growing under the conventional model, Ms. Thanh’s fruits have an even sweetness and guaranteed quality. The most important thing is that consumers can have absolute peace of mind about food hygiene and safety when eating them. Thanks to the organic farming model, her products sell more easily, especially for customers who order as gifts or have them bought for large conferences and parties.

However, the current demand for organic pomelos in the Tuyen Quang market is still low in reality. The heavy mindset of favoring cheap products and not paying much attention to product quality still remains.

According to Ms. Thanh, growers only need to sell their product at VND 7,000/ fruit to break even if they use the conventional model, abusing chemical fertilizers and pesticides, while in the case of the organic farming model the price must be at VND 10,000/ fruit to break even.

The scale of organic fruit tree farming in Tuyen Quang is still small. Having no large and long-term partners to create connections for consumption is also posed as a challenge.

As shared by Mr. Ta Van Tinh, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Yen Son district, compared to traditional agriculture, with pesticides sprayed whenever there are pests and diseases on plants and chemical fertilizers used whenever the plant seems stunted, organic farming indeed requires a massive amount of time and effort.

The story of organic farming remains a challenge for farmers in Yen Son district, Tuyen Quang province. For many years people have used too many chemicals and chemical fertilizers, so there must be land reclamation works for the soil to be clean once again.

Yen Son Department of Agriculture and Rural Development as well as the Tuyen Quang provincial government encourage people to expand the organic farming models. Farmers will receive support and detailed guidance upon participating in training courses on crop-care and soil improvement techniques.

The local residences will closely coordinate with scientists to improve their production capability and carry out strategic planning of concentrated production areas associated with the linkage of production, processing, trade promotion, and product consumption.

Yen Son district has been implementing four organic agricultural production models in 2021, including the tea production models of Su Anh Tea Cooperative and Kim Quan Tea Production and Processing Cooperative, the organic pomelo production models of Xuan Van Agriculture and Forestry Cooperative and Phuc Ninh Organic Fruit Cooperative, etc.