The "millionaire" tree in Chi Lang

Officials from Bang Mac commune visited the model of growing sweet oranges at the home of Mr. Nguyen Van An in Dong Quan village, Bang Mac commune, Chi Lang district.

In mid-November 2024, we had the opportunity to visit the model of growing sweet oranges at Mr. Nguyen Van An's family farm in Dong Quan village, accompanied by officials from Bang Mac commune. While busy tending to the trees and building trellises to secure the heavily laden branches, Mr. An shared: "After researching the market, I realized that sweet oranges are a high-value crop . In 2019, I invested in planting about 2,500 orange trees (over 2 hectares). Currently, on average, my family harvests about 50 tons of fruit each year, with selling prices ranging from 40,000 to 65,000 VND/kg (depending on the time and quality of the fruit), bringing my family a revenue of over 2 billion VND per year."

Thanks to this model, Mr. An's family has increased their income, achieved legitimate wealth, and contributed to creating seasonal jobs for about 30 local workers with an income of 250,000 VND/person/day.

Similar to Mr. An's family, Ms. Trieu Thi Lan's family in Don Xa village, Hoa Binh commune, also developed a model of growing sweet oranges. Ms. Lan shared: "In 2022, seeing that the sweet orange cultivation model of some households in the commune and neighboring communes brought high economic efficiency, my family decided to invest and buy more than 500 saplings to plant. This type of tree requires a lot of care from the grower, including regular watering to maintain moisture, fertilizing, and clearing the area around the base. This year, our sweet orange trees are yielding their first harvest, with an estimated production of about 10 tons. Currently, we are preparing for the main harvest season, and my family has already sold more than 100 kg of fruit at a price of 65,000 VND/kg."

Mr. Nguyen Van An in Dong Quan village, Bang Mac commune, is tending to his family's orange orchard.

The district is promoting the development of citrus fruit cultivation models to restructure crop production in the area. In reality, the model of cultivating sweet oranges has initially yielded high economic returns for people in some communes.”

Mr. Luong Thanh Chung, Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Chi Lang District

Mr. Vi Van Huy, Vice Chairman of the Hoa Binh Commune People's Committee, said: The model of growing sweet oranges has been developing in the commune since 2020. Currently, the entire commune has 24 households growing them on an area of ​​nearly 28 hectares. To support people in developing the model, every year, the Commune People's Committee coordinates with relevant units to open 2-3 training courses and transfer scientific and technical knowledge on fruit tree cultivation (including sweet oranges) to the people. In addition, the commune government pays attention to and creates conditions for people to access preferential loan sources to develop the model.

Accordingly, currently, in the commune, there are 2 households that have received loans under Resolution 08 dated December 10, 2019, of the Provincial People's Council on specific policies to encourage investment, development of cooperation, and linkages in the production and consumption of agricultural and rural products in the province during the 2020-2025 period, with a total capital of 350 million VND to develop the cultivation of sweet oranges.

Besides the two aforementioned communes, the model of growing sweet oranges has also developed in several other communes in Chi Lang district. Specifically, the entire district currently has nearly 60 hectares of sweet oranges, of which about 50 hectares are producing fruit, with more than 50 households growing them, mainly concentrated in the communes of Hoa Binh, Bang Mac, Van Linh, and Gia Loc. The total harvest of sweet oranges in the district is about 1,000 tons/year, generating an economic value of over 50 billion VND. From this model, households earn between 200 and 500 million VND/year (after deducting expenses), with some households earning 2 billion VND/year or more. This is also one of the two districts (along with Bac Son district) with the largest area of ​​sweet orange cultivation in the entire province.

Sweet oranges from Lang Son province.

Mr. Luong Thanh Chung, Head of the District's Agriculture and Rural Development Department, said: The district is committed to developing citrus fruit cultivation models to restructure crop production in the area. In reality, the model of growing sweet oranges has initially brought high economic efficiency to people in some communes. In the future, the department will continue to coordinate with the authorities of communes with suitable natural conditions to promote and encourage people to develop and expand the model; organize training courses to transfer scientific and technical knowledge on planting and caring for trees to the people… contributing to helping farmers improve the productivity, quality, and economic efficiency of their crops.

Chi Lang District (Lang Son Province) and the National Target Program 1719: 'Reviving' many valuable traditional cultural values ​​of ethnic minorities (Part 7)