The dream of popularizing the Kong Chro longan brand

Longan trees helped the poor land

Besides the growing plants such as Thai custard apple, avocado, dragon fruit... Kong Chro district (Gia Lai province) is also known for having the largest longan growing area in the Central Highlands with more than 200 hectares.

Longan has been present in Kong Chro district for more than 20 years, and people from Thanh Mien district (Hai Duong province) come here to set up a business and plant it. Kong Chro Longan is known for its large fruits and thick and sweet flesh. Many people love and welcome the longan in the market.

To better understand the miraculous growth of longan in the barren land, we went to Kong Yang commune. A farmer's association of longan growers with high economic value was established here.

Mr. Trinh Tuan Anh, Director of Kong Yang Agricultural and Service Cooperative, is hoping to bring the Kong Chro Longan brand far out.

Explaining the selection of longan trees for economic development, Mr. Tuan Anh said that in 2014, when he visited a friend's house, he saw the T6 longan showed very effective productivity, bringing high and stable revenue. While his family in Kong Chro has a huge land area that only grows sugarcane, corn, and cassava with little income.

With the idea of ​​plant conversion, Mr. Tuan Anh went to buy 100 T6 longan trees for trial planting. He found the climate and soil in the sunny and windy land of Kong Chro very suitable for the longan trees. Since then, he was determined to learn about longan tree growing techniques to expand the material area for his family.

After having positive effects, the family decided to destroy more than 4ha of sugarcane and tapioca to switch to growing longan and a few Thai custard trees.

According to Mr. Tuan Anh, an average of 1 ha of longan trees yields about 10-15 tons of longan. With the selling price of about VND30,000/kg, the family can receive about VND300 million. Excluding expenses, the family earned about VND200 million in profit.

Seeing the efficiency and high profits, many people in the area came to learn and gradually converted to growing longan. As a result, many disadvantaged families have gradually risen out of poverty and have a better economic life.

In 2020, with the strong growth of longan trees in the region, the localities have joined in with specialized departments. They established a model of a fruit farming association in Kong Yang commune.

Mr. Tuan Anh said that when Kong Yang was first established, there were only 16 members with 29 ha of fruit trees. The association currently has 46 members with more than 76ha, mainly growing longan and a few Thai custard apple trees.

When participating in the agricultural association, the households received help to improve their production level and apply science and technology according to the method of using organic fertilizers for crops. They also limit the use of chemical fertilizers and reduce the cost of pesticides, care, and management... In particular, members of the agricultural association have access to support funds to plant and take care of longan trees. They also have access to buy fertilizer at a reasonable price.

Thanks to the support of the local government, many households overcome difficulties to get out of poverty and gradually get rich. Typically, the family of Mr. Hoang Dinh Dung (village 2, Kong Yang commune) used to grow sugarcane for a long time with little result, even falling into debt. After that, Mr. Dung decided to convert part of his family's area to grow T6 longan. Mr. Dung has currently planted 260 longan trees on an area of 1.5ha, of which 100 have been planted for 7 years.

“This year, longan has a good harvest, many trees yield more than 1 quintal, with a current price of more than VND30,000, my family estimated to earn about VND200 million. Compared to growing sugarcane, longan has a much higher economic value”, Mr. Dung said. With the participation of the farmer's association and the help of the local government, the family will continue to change the inefficient crops to grow longan.

Determined to popularize Kong Chro longan brand

Continuing the story of the revival of longan, Mr. Tuan Anh said that after many years, Kong Chro district has built a stable longan material area. Many businesses and traders come to buy through off-take contracts. However, agricultural associations do not have legal rights to sign contracts for the people. Consequently, he decided to establish Kong Yang Agriculture and Service Cooperative for easier and more stable consumption of longan products.

Mr. Tuan Anh said that the biggest concern of the people of Kong Chro district is that the T6 longan tree has no brand and suffers many losses in the market. 

“Recently, during participation in a regional specialty contest organized by the Gia Lai Farmers' Association, T6 longan was highly appreciated by the jury for its quality and design. However, because the T6 label does not have a brand, it has not been given a high score compared to other products, "said Mr. Tuan Anh.

Before those concerns, Mr. Tuan Anh was determined to build a brand for Kong Chro's T6 longan through OCOP products. With the support of specialized departments of the district, all procedures for registering OCOP 3 products for Kong Chro's T6 longan are gradually being completed.

Additionally, the members of the cooperative will aim to develop the planting area code to bring Kong Chro's T6 longan to export through official channels to China. 

“Currently, the members of the cooperative have built a material area for growing longan with an area of 35ha. In the coming time, the members will continue to promote longan cultivation so that by 2025, the cooperative will have about 100ha of longan material area. In addition, the cooperative will also cooperate with other localities in the district to have a large enough material area for export, "said Mr. Tuan Anh.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Quoc, Director of the Agricultural Service Center of Kong Chro district, said that with the orientation to expand the material area for growing longan, the Center has increased technical support for Kong Yang Agricultural and Service Cooperatives and agricultural associations. It also has built a model of growing longan according to VietGAP standards to create safe products, helping to increase production efficiency.

“Currently, the Center is also supporting Kong Yang Cooperative to build a brand for longan trees through OCOP products. From there, all people in the district can learn, and participate in the production chain to create a large area of longan raw materials for export", Mr. Quoc said.