Removing difficulties for safe vegetables

With the goal of protecting consumers’ health and increasing the value of agricultural products, safe vegetable production models have been born and achieved certain results. However, due to many factors, safe vegetables have not yet conquered the market and need support from all levels and sectors to develop as expected.

Output difficulties

Once a model in safe vegetable production, Vinh My Safe Vegetable Production Cooperative, Chau Doc Ward attracted more than 90 members to participate, with a cultivation area of ​​about 14.4 hectares. Diverse vegetable products include: green onions, chives, spinach, green mustard, sweet mustard... Cooperative members promote the application of science and technology, invest in greenhouses to ensure safe cultivation processes, control pests and diseases, and provide the market with standard products.

It is necessary to build specialized safe vegetable growing areas according to planning. Photo: GIA KHÁNH

Mr. Tran Van Hoai - Deputy Head of the Vinh My Safe Vegetable Production Cooperative said: "Members of the cooperative ensure technical standards on clean soil sources, use organic fertilizers, do not use pesticides outside the permitted list, and ensure the prescribed quarantine period before selling to the market. When following the process, farmers still have an average profit of about 35 million VND/acre/year."

Safe vegetables require strict farming processes, while the market price is not much higher than that of traditionally grown vegetables, so it does not really attract farmers. “When buying vegetables, people often choose beautiful bunches of vegetables, while safe vegetables cannot compare. However, I am still determined to grow safe vegetables, because this is a way to protect consumers' health. This is also a story related to the thinking and ethics of farmers, because each vegetable we produce will directly affect the health of others,” Mr. Hoai analyzed.

According to Mr. Hoai, the cooperative used to purchase vegetables from members, package them properly to distribute to Co.opmart Chau Doc or Phan Nam Trading - Service One Member Limited Liability Company, Long Xuyen Ward, however, this could not be maintained for long, causing the output of safe vegetables to continue to face difficulties.

“The cooperative has stopped operating but I still maintain safe vegetable growing. Growing vegetables this way is not difficult, finding a stable output is difficult. If there is a stable output, I will continue to encourage members of the cooperative to return to safe vegetables,” said Mr. Hoai.

Not only the case of Vinh My Safe Vegetable Production Cooperative, many farmers cultivating on swidden fields in Binh My Commune, My Duc have also participated in safe vegetable production. Their common opinion is that there needs to be a stable output with a suitable purchase price, because the effort that growers put in following the safe vegetable cultivation process is more difficult than mass-grown vegetables.

Solutions are needed.

After implementing the 2-level local government model, many localities have reoriented to develop safe vegetable production areas. Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Binh My Commune, Huynh Tan Hung, informed that the locality had been planned by the provincial agricultural sector to develop a specialized crop growing area of ​​more than 500 hectares on Binh Thuy Islet.

Mr. Tran Van Hoai takes care of his vegetable garden. Photo: THANH TIEN

“Currently, we are redeveloping the area of ​​safe vegetable cultivation in the locality, focusing on providing technical guidance to farmers in parallel with connecting outputs, so that people can feel secure in growing. The province is large, including sea and island areas, so the consumption of vegetables will be more convenient. In the immediate future, we will mobilize members of Loi Phat Agricultural Cooperative to be the core force to develop safe vegetables, because people already have the premise to connect and support production techniques,” Mr. Huynh Tan Hung informed.

In order to exploit the advantages of vegetable cultivation, in 2024, the Department of Agriculture and Environment issued a plan to develop specialized production areas and promote the consumption of high-tech vegetable products in the province. The plan aims to reorganize vegetable production in an advanced, modern and sustainable direction; develop new and improve the quality of cooperatives and cooperatives producing safe vegetables, creating conditions to promote the development of cooperative economics.

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment Tran Thanh Hiep, in An Giang province before the merger, the agricultural sector had planned 6 product groups to develop safe vegetables using high technology, including: leafy vegetables, fruit vegetables, root vegetables, corn of all kinds, peanuts and potatoes, with a scale of more than 5,788 hectares. This is the basis for the agricultural sector to redevelop specialized areas for safe vegetables, applying high technology, and being granted growing area codes for export.

Regarding the solution, the Department of Agriculture and Environment will issue growing area codes for specialized vegetable growing areas, with priority given to cooperatives, cooperatives and enterprises; promote propaganda, training, and support farmers in completing applications for domestic and export growing area codes. At the same time, promote production linkages associated with consumption along the value chain in concentrated vegetable growing areas with reputable enterprises, so that farmers can feel secure in growing safe vegetables for the health of the community.

THANH TIEN

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/go-kho-cho-rau-an-toan-a466667.html