Bring bananas up the hill.

Instead of traditional acacia and bodhi trees, for nearly a year now, 21 households in the San, Buong Hoat, and Thu areas (Lai Dong commune) have simultaneously reforested 21 hectares of hillside with red Cavendish bananas. With suitable soil conditions and proper technical care, the trees are growing well. The entire harvest is being purchased under contract by a business. The promising results from the first harvest are opening up a promising direction for the local people to develop large-scale, concentrated banana cultivation, bringing high economic efficiency and practically contributing to poverty reduction and sustainable family economic development.

New trees on old soil

Living in isolation on a high hill in the San area, for many years, Mrs. Ha Thi Tien's family has been accustomed to clearing weeds and cultivating land for timber production. She divided over a hectare of hillside forest land into several plots for planting acacia trees, allowing for rotational harvesting and replanting annually. Forestry is hard work; it's labor-intensive, and even with year-round diligent labor, they only barely make ends meet, with little savings or accumulation. Midway through last year, after her family had finished harvesting the acacia trees and clearing the undergrowth to prepare for a new planting season, an agricultural extension officer from the commune, who was also a relative, came to talk to her and encourage her to switch to planting red banana trees, which would yield significantly higher income. Mrs. Tien was skeptical, because having lived there for over thirty years, she had never seen anyone plant banana trees on the hillside in large-scale plantations before. It's true that banana trees have higher economic value, and most parts can be utilized, but usually each household here only plants a few clumps. When harvested, they take them to the village market; if they planted an entire forest, who would they sell them to? Even her own family received a clump of pink Cavendish bananas from a relative and planted it in their garden over a year ago. The bunches are large, and the ripe fruit has a much more fragrant and delicious flavor than the local Cavendish banana variety, but she only thought of it as a snack and never considered it as a commodity for sale. A few days later, she and dozens of other people from the commune were taken by a business from Lam Thao (formerly) and agricultural extension officers from the commune to visit pink Cavendish banana cultivation models in Lao Cai and Lam Thao, to visit a processing plant, and to learn about the terms of the contract for cooperative cultivation and guaranteed purchase of pink Cavendish bananas.

Having heard and seen for herself, and with assurances from the commune authorities, she discussed with her husband and decided to register for the banana planting project, receiving seedlings and fertilizer, and learning planting and care techniques. The entire hillside around her house is now lush green with banana trees. The rows are neat, and the first crop of pink bananas has already borne fruit, with some trees already yielding a harvest. She excitedly shared: “A bunch of bananas has a dozen hands, the fruit is plump and uniform. I weighed one hand and it weighed up to 6kg. Based on the purchase price from the company, my family will have a considerable amount of money this Tet holiday, much more than planting acacia or bodhi trees...”

Along with Mrs. Tien's family, 20 families who registered for the pink banana cultivation project in Lai Dong commune are now filled with confidence and excitement about the upcoming harvest. On the hillsides along the road to the San area, banana trees are now abundant. Many high hills have also been prepared and raised into rows for planting pink bananas. The villages are buzzing with stories of families about to receive substantial income from bananas and plans to switch crops and expand banana cultivation on the hillsides...

Ms. Ha Thi Tien in San area has over 1 hectare of pink banana trees that are about to be harvested.

Linking for growth

As the first banana crop was about to be harvested, the Tan Son High-Tech Agricultural Service Cooperative (HTX) was established with members being households participating in the Lai Dong commune's pink banana cultivation project. Mr. Ha Minh Thang, Deputy Director of the Cooperative and also the Head of the Agricultural Extension Team in Lai Dong commune, and owner of 3 hectares of pink banana plantations, shared: “In implementing the One Commune One Product Program, Tan Son district (formerly) has repeatedly come to work, exchange ideas, and assigned Tan Son commune (formerly) to research and select an agricultural product suitable to the natural conditions, leveraging the potential and strengths of the hilly and forested land to expand and help people increase their income and develop sustainable family economies. We surveyed and considered many options, from cinnamon trees and medicinal plants to citrus fruits, but none were very feasible after testing. At this time, Manh Thinh Phat Green Agriculture Co., Ltd. in Phung Nguyen commune contacted the local government and advised on a model of linked cultivation of pink bananas for export. Commune officials and households with sufficient land for cultivation were invited to visit banana cultivation models in many localities and visit the processing plant for export products...”

By participating in the banana cultivation project, farmers will receive investment from the enterprise in seedlings, fertilizers, and technical training in cultivation. Most importantly, the enterprise will guarantee the purchase of all the produce at a price ranging from 3,000 to 7,000 VND/kg, depending on market fluctuations. This purchase price is significantly higher than the current market price. According to farmers' calculations, each hectare can accommodate 2,600 banana trees, with each tree yielding one bunch per year, estimated to generate hundreds of millions of VND in revenue. The pink Cavendish banana variety, once planted, can be harvested for five years. Furthermore, in addition to the fruit sold to the enterprise, the by-products of the banana plant can also be utilized, bringing economic benefits: banana leaves can be sold to businesses making cakes, sausages, or used as fish feed; banana stems can be used as animal feed; and banana blossoms, after blooming into a full bunch, are also a popular food item for consumers.

Mr. Ho Sy Manh, Chairman of the Lai Dong Commune People's Committee, affirmed: "Focusing on rapid and sustainable socio-economic development based on leveraging the local potential and strengths is a central and continuous task, as well as a consistent goal of the Lai Dong Commune Party Committee and government. Agriculture and forestry remain the main economic activities, so changing mindsets, farming methods, and selecting suitable high-value crops and livestock that ensure market demand is the only way to improve people's income and quality of life. The model of linking the cultivation of pink banana trees between Manh Thinh Phat Green Agriculture Co., Ltd. and local households is promising positive results. The commune will continue to research and expand the scale and area of ​​the linkage, and find more suitable crop varieties to effectively utilize the potential of Lai Dong's large area of ​​hilly and forest land..."

Currently, in Lai Dong commune, 21 households are partnering with Manh Thinh Phat Green Agriculture Co., Ltd. to participate in a project to grow pink banana trees, covering a total area of ​​21 hectares. If the concentrated planting area expands to over 30 hectares, ensuring a sufficient supply of raw materials, the company will consider investing in a factory to produce fiber from banana stems. And in that case, banana growers in Lai Dong will have even more reason to enjoy the benefits of banana cultivation on their hillside land...

Box: The pink Cavendish banana is a specialty fruit tree of Vietnam, distinguished by its reddish-pink pseudostem with large dark brown patches. The fruit has a beautiful yellow peel when ripe, firm flesh, and a fragrant, sweet, and refreshing taste, unlike the sourness of other Cavendish banana varieties. This variety has high economic value, is suitable for export, and can be grown in many regions across the country. In particular, pink Cavendish bananas propagated using tissue culture methods produce uniform fruit with fewer disease spots, allowing for concentrated harvesting and yielding 10-20% higher productivity compared to planting with suckers.

Ha Phuong

Source: https://baophutho.vn/dua-chuoi-len-doi-240398.htm