Thousands of walking steps along the Northwest high mountainous area

The nuclear of Mai Son

This season, the road from the center of Hat Lot town to the communes of Chieng Sung, Chieng Ban, Chieng Chan, and so forth in Mai Son district is adorned with trees and fruits on both sides. The slopes are filled with plums, which are in abundance. Mangoes are currently in the process of ripening, and each fruit is as plump as the calves of Mong boys who have grown to ascend mountains. Longan, custard apple, pineapple, and passion fruit... cover the hills with a verdant greenness, replacing the barren hills of the past.

Mr. Lo Thanh Bang, the director of the community agricultural extension group in Mai Son district, smiled and stated, "It appears to be vast, but the locals do not allow any piece of land to rest. The total annual cultivated area in Son La is approximately 212,602 hectares, with the area of citrus trees expected to reach 84,160 hectares by the end of 2023. The country's greatest fruit tree capital may now be Son La. In Song Ma, Mai Son, Thuan Chau, and others, there are nearly 20,000 hectares of longan, over 12,400 hectares of plums in Moc Chau, Yen Chau, and Van Ho, and over 19,692 hectares of mangoes. Additionally, there are areas of custard apple, banana, strawberry, and passion fruit. Our mission is to interconnect and assist in expanding each land area, which is a natural material area".

Initially, Mr. Bang was an agronomy engineer employed as an official at the Son La Agricultural Extension Center in Thailand. He was unexpectedly appointed head of the first community agricultural extension group in Son La province. In August 2022, Son La implemented the pilot project "Improving the Effectiveness of Agricultural Extension Activities based on the Consolidation of the Community Agricultural Extension Group Model" issued by MARD.

Bài liên quan

The main force contributes significant to the knowledge empowerment of farmers

The involvement of organization and enterprises is needed for sustainability

The Mai Son district community agricultural extension group comprises eight members. Ms. Ha Thi Bich Nguyet, a Livestock Engineer employed at the Mai Son District Agricultural Service Center, serves as the deputy leader in addition to group commander Lo Thanh Bang. The other members consist of representatives from Dong Giao Export Food Joint Stock Company (Doveco), leaders of the People's Committee, and some chiefs of social organizations at the commune level.

Just a short time after it became operational, the effectiveness of the community agricultural extension group model in Son La became apparent in its core function: establishing a linkage chain between people, cooperatives, and businesses to construct raw material areas for processing plants.

Mai Son district, previously called the "difficult corn capital," now features more than 11,200 hectares of fruit trees. Of these, 4,201 hectares are cultivated using advanced technology, 1,800 hectares are grown organically, and 1,119 hectares are produced following VietGAP standards.

The community agricultural extension team, the people's efforts and diligence, and the authorities' policy of transforming crop structures on undulating land all contribute to this accomplishment. In the Co Noi Valley and on the Na San plateau, there are current strawberry and custard apple cultivation models that produce over 1 billion VND per hectare. The linkage comprises 1,726 households and three high-tech agricultural zones, collectively spanning 1,373.7 hectares.

Businesses advocate for expansion

We visited Chieng Sung, the extensive, fertile land of the former Chieng Sung Farm. The soybeans that were verdant were striking. An extensive raw material area in which individuals are connected to Doveco to cultivate crops for the Doveco Son La Fruit and Vegetable Processing Center.

Ms. Lo Thi Mai, a Thai individual from Buc hamlet, stated, "Agricultural extension officers such as Mr. Bang, Ms. Nguyet, and other team members have consistently visited the site to motivate individuals to engage in the linkage chain, provide guidance on standard cultivation techniques, and establish cooperatives since the Mai Son district community agricultural extension team began operating." This has enabled individuals to understand the appropriate plants to plant, the animals to rear, the methods for their care, and the signing of contracts to sell to companies. It was exceedingly perplexing in the past.

According to an official commune, Chieng Sung has evolved into a substantial raw material production region, with 2,220 hectares of a variety of maize, over 54 hectares of rice, 791 hectares of fruit trees, over 170 hectares of sugarcane, and nearly 800 hectares of other crops. In 2023, 200 households in the commune partnered with the Chieng Sung Agricultural Joint Stock Company to cultivate sweet maize, spinach, and soybeans as raw materials for the Doveco Son La factory.

According to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung, Deputy General Director of Dong Giao Export Food Joint Stock Company, in 2023, Doveco Son La planted over 2,000 hectares of pineapples, passion fruit, sweet corn, soybeans, and spinach in collaboration with localities in the province. The total harvest is expected to exceed 16,400 tons.

Bài liên quan

Leaving the imprints in modelling a new rural foundation

This accomplishment is largely due to the community agricultural extension team. The Mai Son district community agricultural extension model was used to communicate and connect the farmers with mechanisms, policies, support, and investment in seeds, fertilizers, and techniques for each form of crop. The community agricultural extension team can be compared to a central connector between cooperatives, enterprises, and individuals.

In 2024, Doveco Son La intends to sustain its collaboration with local authorities and farmers in the districts and cities to expand the raw material area to over 5,000 hectares, where it will cultivate a variety of crops, including Cavendish bananas, spinach, mangoes, sweet corn, passion fruit, longan, and soybeans, to meet the factory's annual production of 52,000 tons of finished products, which is equivalent to 150,000 tons of raw materials.

Widespread

Mr. Cong Xuan Ngoc, Director of the Son La Agricultural Extension Center, stated in an interview with the Vietnam Agriculture Newspaper that the project has progressed from the initial establishment of two community agricultural extension groups in Mai Son and Thuan Chau districts to the expansion of eight additional groups. As a result, Son La now has 98 community agricultural extension groups in Moc Chau, Van Ho, Quynh Nhai, Yen Chau, Bac Yen, and Sop Cop areas after two years of implementation.

 The Son La community agricultural extension group model has proven to be a dependable ally for farmers and enterprises. To improve the value chain of safe crops in the northern provinces and develop raw material areas linked with consumption in several provinces in the Northwest, the community agricultural extension force in Son La has participated in projects such as the construction of fruit production models following VietGAP standards.

In 2023, the extension groups collaborated with Doveco Son La to sell 3 tons of pineapples to farmers in the Yen Chau district. Bao Lam Company acquired 2 tons of pineapples from farmers in the Quynh Nhai district. In addition, they connected with traders at tourist destinations to acquire 2 tons of pineapples from farmers in Moc Chau district; Nafoods Gia Lai Company acquired over 100 tons of passion fruit; traders at Long Bien market acquired over 50 tons of passion fruit and 15 tons of custard apples; and Chinese traders acquired 22 tons of passion fruit for farmers in Mai Son district through the Tan Thanh border gate in Lang Son.