Song Ma district is known as the longan capital of Son La province. With a large area, supply always exceeds demand, longan products have had times when prices were forced down, even when in the main season, they had to be sold off, this is a story of previous years, longan growers often encountered. Struggling with the refrain "Good harvest, low price, good price, bad harvest", Mr. Luong Van Muoi, Director of Hoa Muoi Agricultural Service Cooperative, Chieng Khoong commune, Song Ma district is a pioneer in changing production thinking, pioneering the application of science and technology to grow early ripening longan, this has opened up a new direction to solve the worry of consuming agricultural products in the main season for local people.
Having been involved in agriculture since his childhood, Mr. Luong Van Muoi understands the difficulties and hardships of farmers. After many changes in crop structure, longan has taken root and become the main crop of Mr. Muoi’s family for nearly a decade. However, as his family expanded their acreage, their income decreased.
Realizing that growing longan in the region no longer brings high economic efficiency, in 2019, Mr. Muoi mobilized members of the cooperative to experiment with planting the early-ripening T6 longan variety. However, it is difficult to change the production mindset of cooperative members, when traditional production methods are deeply ingrained in the subconscious, despite the fact that the selling price is always in a precarious state.
Mr. Luong Van Muoi, Director of Hoa Muoi Agricultural Service Cooperative, Chieng Khoong, Song Ma, Son La : “To switch from one longan variety to another, when the Mien Thiet longan variety is generating income. We personally see that the current and future T6 longan variety will have higher economic development. We spend time with members, even holding hands and guiding each household to do a small model first to know its economic value.”
There were difficulties and failures, but Mr. Muoi still persevered with his choice, constantly learning from the experiences of early-ripening longan growers from the South to the North, researching and understanding the techniques, and using pesticides according to the correct process. When he mastered the science and technology, he guided and supported the members of the Cooperative to convert dozens of hectares of Mien longan to early-ripening T6 longan.
Mr. Lo Van Cham, member of Hoa Muoi Cooperative, Chieng Khoong, Song Ma, Son La: “Previously, when taking care of this early-ripening longan, the first difficulty was the way to take care of it, handle it to flower and bear fruit. After receiving advice and technical guidance from the director, by 2020, my colleagues in the cooperative and I had accumulated a lot of experience. This T6 longan has flowered and bore fruit, so far we have mastered the handling and can make the longan tree bear fruit off-season as desired and at the right time.”
Early ripening longan is harvested in May-June every year with a selling price of 40,000 - 60,000 VND/kg. That is 2-3 times higher than the selling price of longan in the main season. This not only helps cooperative members earn hundreds of billions of VND each year. It is also a premise for longan growers to learn and follow. Up to now, the harvest has become much more leisurely for farmers in Chieng Khoong, no longer worrying about competition, no longer worrying about price pressure, traders buy the fruit as soon as it is picked.
Mr. Luong Van Muoi, Director of Hoa Muoi Agricultural Service Cooperative, Chieng Khoong, Song Ma, Son La: "It's true that talking to farmers, seeing with our own eyes, touching with our own hands, and getting the models we do, advising them, we see the economic efficiency, and the price is easier to bring to the market. Up to now, everyone has applied it more in production."
What is special is that the early ripening longan of Hoa Muoi Agricultural Service Cooperative is also exported to the EU market, which is an affirmation of the quality of the improvement. With the above efforts, last October, Mr. Luong Van Muoi was honored as one of 63 outstanding Vietnamese farmers in 2024.
Mr. Luong Van Muoi, Director of Hoa Muoi Agricultural Service Cooperative, Chieng Khoong, Song Ma, Son La: “As an excellent farmer of 63 provinces and cities, I have shared and expanded agricultural production to people who trust me. This is like a spiritual encouragement for me to have the motivation to develop in the future so that I can try to learn, approach science and technology, put them into production as well as promote products to consume products for people”.
The journey of Mr. Luong Van Muoi, Director of Hoa Muoi Agricultural Service Cooperative, Chieng Khoong Commune, Song Ma District is a clear demonstration of the power of innovative thinking, perseverance and application of science and technology in agricultural production. Not only has he changed the lives of his family and his cooperative, but Mr. Muoi has also inspired many other farmers to learn and follow suit, contributing to the sustainable development of the agricultural sector of Song Ma District in particular and Son La Province in general./.
Performed by: Dinh Duc
Source: https://sonlatv.vn/hanh-trinh-thay-doi-tu-duy-san-xuat-tro-thanh-nong-dan-viet-nam-xuat-sac-25373.html
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