Bringing Ben Tre Siamese coconuts back to the rice-growing region.

Instead of having to travel all the way to the Southwestern region of Vietnam, people can now admire the lush coconut groves laden with fruit and enjoy refreshing, clean coconut water right in their hometown of Thai Binh. Not only does this bring the specialty of Ben Tre province to the rice-growing region, but the model of growing Siamese coconuts on acidic, low-lying land by Mr. Hoang Van Tam's family in Nhat Tan village, Tan Hoa commune (Vu Thu district) also helps growers increase their income and improve their lives.

With its sweet coconut water and reasonable price, Mr. Tam's family's Siamese coconuts are highly favored by the market in the province.

Previously, the entire coconut plantation of Mr. Hoang Van Tam's family was just a low-lying field, unproductive for rice cultivation, so the villagers abandoned it. In 2013, Mr. Tam's family took over the cultivation and improvement of 5,000 square ^meters of this land. In the early years, Mr. Tam planted various fruit trees such as guava, jackfruit, and papaya, but the economic efficiency was not high. In 2017, he boldly switched to planting Siamese coconut trees, a specialty fruit of Ben Tre province and popular in the Southwestern region of Vietnam, but very new to a rice-growing area like Thai Binh.

Mr. Tam shared that many difficulties arose, such as the lack of any existing models for growing Siamese coconuts in his hometown for him to learn techniques; the soil and climate conditions in the North were not suitable for the growth and development characteristics of Siamese coconut trees. The most challenging aspect was pest and disease control during the young tree stage. Coconut trees are easily damaged by stem borers or aphids attacking the tips and young leaves. Each tree only has one shoot, so if pest and disease control is not proactive and timely, the tree will be completely destroyed, resulting in significant losses. However, with perseverance and passion, after 5 years of planting and 3 years since the start of harvesting, Mr. Tam's family has reaped the sweet rewards from their Siamese coconut trees.

“In the first year of harvest, the entire orchard only yielded a few hundred coconuts. In the second year, the orchard had over 1,000 coconuts. This year, the third year, in the first and main harvest, my family has harvested over 10,000 coconuts, earning over 100 million VND. From the seventh year onwards, these Siamese coconut trees will yield 1.5 to 2 times more than they do now, resulting in higher economic efficiency,” Mr. Tam added.

Since Mr. Tam's family started their coconut plantation, Ms. Pham Thi Hue, from Nhat Tan village, Tan Hoa commune, has had an additional source of income by selling Siamese coconuts during the summer season. Ms. Hue said: "Initially, I came to Mr. Tam's coconut plantation out of curiosity to see if the Siamese coconuts grown in my hometown were as delicious as those from the South. After tasting them several times, I found the coconut water to be of very good quality, sweet and flavorful, and affordably priced. To date, I have sold quite a lot of Mr. Tam's coconuts to the market, and customer feedback on the quality has been very positive. I believe that Mr. Tam's coconut farming model saves on transportation costs, lowers product prices, and makes it easier for many people to enjoy coconut water grown locally."

Given the soil and climate conditions of Northern Vietnam, Mr. Tam has his own secret to ensuring that his coconut trees not only bear fruit and yield high productivity but also produce high-quality coconut water, meeting the increasingly high demands of the market.

“Monthly, after each harvest, I have to thoroughly clean the tree trunks and add 100% organic fertilizer. In particular, I drill a 50-meter-deep well to obtain brackish water, pumping it up daily for the coconut trees to drink. On each coconut tree, I place cloth bags filled with salt so that the salt gradually permeates the tree, the purpose being to ensure that when the coconuts bear fruit, the coconut water will be intensely sweet,” Mr. Tam shared.

In the summer of 2023, Mr. Tam's family harvested over 10,000 coconuts, earning more than 100 million VND.

With a ^5,000m² garden, Mr. Tam's family currently grows over 200 dwarf Siamese coconut trees, including varieties such as fire coconut, small-fruited green coconut, and large-fruited green coconut. Each year, the Siamese coconuts yield 2-3 harvests, lasting for the last six months of the year. To date, the coconuts produce an average of 200 coconuts per tree per year, with an average selling price of 10,000 VND per coconut. After deducting investment costs, Mr. Tam's family earns nearly 150 million VND per year.

Mr. Vu Van Tien, Chairman of the Tan Hoa Commune Farmers' Association, affirmed that the model of reclaiming barren land to plant Siamese coconuts is a new direction, demonstrating the creativity, boldness, willingness to think outside the box, and high learning spirit of member Hoang Van Tam. To date, the model has yielded high economic efficiency, providing a stable income and increasing the income of Mr. Tam's family. It also serves as a model and motivation for other farmer members to learn from and continue to transform the crop structure, introducing crops with higher economic efficiency than traditional rice cultivation.

By boldly converting barren land to cultivate Siamese coconuts, Mr. Hoang Van Tam's family not only increased their income and improved their lives but also met the demand for coconut water during the hot season right in the local market.

Quynh Luu

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