Supporting farmers to elevate their fruits to the international level

In Long Xuyen City, the An Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development recently collaborated with Ca Mau Petroleum Fertilizer Joint Stock Company (Ca Mau Fertilizer) to organize the conference "Linking and Promoting Consumption of Fruit Trees in An Giang Province 2024".

This event serves as an opportunity to assess the potential and advantages, as well as the current state of fruit production and the development orientation for An Giang's fruit sector from 2021 to 2025, with a vision for 2030. It also creates opportunities for businesses, cooperatives and collaborative groups to connect in providing quality input materials, organizing production and consumption along the value chain.

Connecting the value chain - A lever for development

With favorable natural conditions and fertile land, An Giang is one of the provinces with a significant area dedicated to fruit cultivation in the Mekong Delta. The main fruit varieties include mangoes, bananas, longans, citrus fruits (oranges, tangerines, lemons, grapefruits), durians and jackfruits.

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, Deputy Chairwoman of the An Giang Provincial People's Committee, stated that the area of fruit trees in An Giang covers approximately 20.000 ha, with an estimated total annual output of over 350.000 tons. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has issued 446 codes for export planting areas.

Among them, the main fruit varieties of An Giang include over 225.000 tons of mangoes, 14.000 tons of bananas, 2.500 tons of longans, 11.000 tons of citrus fruits, 3.600 tons of durians and 22.500 tons of jackfruits. The agricultural sector has supported the establishment of many concentrated fruit-growing areas, providing 514 codes for both domestic and export planting areas to markets such as the United States, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, China and many other countries.

However, An Giang is also facing numerous challenges in developing large-scale production. The fragmented and small-scale production, along with the lack of sufficiently large specialized growing areas to meet export standards, coupled with some regions abusing pesticides due to a lack of effective cultivation techniques and solutions, has affected product quality and made it difficult to meet international market standards.

To address the aforementioned challenges, Mr. Lam Van Thong, Deputy Director of New Products at Ca Mau Fertilizer, shared insights on the effectiveness of demonstration models across various fruit crops. The results indicate that when using cultivation solutions from Ca Mau Fertilizer, the average yield of red-fleshed jackfruit increased by 14.3%, while mangoes saw a 12.2% increase compared to traditional farming methods.

At the same time, representatives from Ca Mau Fertilizer reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the development of a more effective agricultural product value chain, helping farmers enhance their production capacity, optimize costs, increase income and develop their family economies.

The fertilizer brand connected with An Giang farmers

For a long time, Ca Mau Fertilizer has established itself as a reliable partner for farmers. With a widespread distribution network, particularly in the Mekong Delta, Ca Mau Fertilizer supplies approximately 500.000 tons of urea and 60.000 to 100.000 tons of NPK fertilizers each year, along with high-quality organic fertilizers imported from Europe, such as those from Belgium and the Netherlands, which are highly suitable for various fruit crops.

Ca Mau's NPK products are produced using Polyphosphate technology from Spain. Functional urea products such as N46.Plus, along with biological urea that includes Bacillus microorganisms and N. Humate TE with humic acid, not only enhance nutrient absorption but also improve soil quality and increase crop yields.

In addition, Ca Mau Fertilizer offers various technical consulting programs, providing guidance on nutritional solutions for a diverse range of crops through online information channels such as their website (pvcfc.com.vn), the Facebook page (Ca Mau Fertilizer) and directly at workshops designed for farmers.

Farmer Le Huu Thong in An Giang Province shared that his family has 5 ha of land previously used for rice cultivation, which was converted to longan five years ago. However, throughout his time growing rice and now longan, he has consistently chosen fertilizers from the Ca Mau Fertilizer brand due to his trust in the company’s reputation.

Thanks to careful nurturing and the use of appropriate fertilizers, his longan garden consistently yields high production, with longan prices ranging from approximately 2.94 to 3.27 USD/kg, allowing Mr. Thong to earn approximately 29.900 USD/harvest. 

Not only does the company excel in its role as a "nurturer" of Vietnamese agriculture with superior quality products, but it also stands out for its dedication and responsibility to the community. As a partner in organizing this conference, Ca Mau Fertilizer continues to demonstrate its pioneering role in promoting sustainable agricultural development and enhancing the livelihoods of farmers.

According to Mrs. Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, Vice Chairwoman of the An Giang Provincial People's Committee, in order for An Giang’s fruits to develop sustainably and increase exports to many countries worldwide, the provincial government has directed the agricultural sector to continue innovating and developing forms of production organization.

Particularly, the local government emphasizes the role of cooperatives as the core to organize production and establish links with businesses through value chains, contributing to enhancing the value of fruit trees in the province. This encourages the formation of connections between farmers and the establishment of production groups such as cooperatives and associations, thereby creating strengths for the production and consumption of fruit trees while minimizing risks in the fruit consumption process in local areas.

An Giang is also implementing policies to encourage and support the sustainable development of fruit trees through safe production models such as VietGAP and GlobalGAP. The province is expanding the scale of certification according to GlobalGAP and VietGAP standards to trace product origins and register trademarks. This will enhance competitiveness in export markets, particularly aiming for 50% of the fruit tree area to be assigned codes for growing regions between 2025 and 2030.

The focus is on attracting businesses interested in investing in the development of raw material areas for fruit trees, linking consumption with farmers and investing in the construction of processing factories for various types of fruit to increase the value of products.