Initial results from coffee replanting in Huong Hoa

Coffee replanting has been carried out by farmers in Huong Hoa district for many years, but has been most concentrated since 2020. When replanting was first implemented, there were many difficulties. However, with the determination of local authorities and people, many old coffee gardens in the area are gradually being replaced by new, promising varieties with high productivity and value.

The coffee garden replanted with THA1 variety in Huong Phung commune, Huong Hoa district has many outstanding advantages compared to old coffee varieties - Photo: D.V

Mr. Tran Xuan Hai's family in Doa Cu village, Huong Phung commune has 2 hectares of old coffee planted more than 20 years ago, now degraded and low yielding. In 2020, with support from the project "Building a model for replanting Arabica coffee trees in Quang Tri in the period 2020 - 2022" implemented by the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center, Mr. Hai decided to plant a new THA1 variety.

This is a high-yielding Arabica coffee variety that is resistant to pests and diseases and is popular in the market. Entering the first year of business, Mr. Hai's garden has a yield of about 25 tons of fresh fruit/ha. The selling price of THA1 coffee currently ranges from 12,000 - 15,000 VND/kg. Mr. Hai said that his family started harvesting in October 2023 and is expected to finish in January 2024. Profit after deducting costs is estimated at about 150 million VND/ha.

Mr. Hai happily said: “THA1 variety ripens later, so it is easier for workers to harvest. Because if this coffee variety ripens too early, and there is not enough time to mobilize workers to harvest, it will fall and cause a lot of loss. This is a coffee variety with high economic value, at normal harvest time, the price is still on average 2,000 VND/kg higher than other coffee varieties.”

Implementing the project "Building a model for replanting Arabica coffee trees in Quang Tri in the period of 2020 - 2022", the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center has built 3 models with a scale of 30 hectares in Huong Hoa district. The models use Catimor and THA1 coffee varieties.

Monitoring shows that the trees grow well, have few pests and diseases, the survival rate is over 98%, and the yield is 5-10 tons of fresh fruit/ha. The expected yield during the main business period is 15-20 tons of fresh fruit/ha, 1.5-2 times higher than the current yield.

Thereby, it has contributed to increasing income for producers, stabilizing the area of tea coffee. During the years of implementing the model, especially from 2021 - 2022, the model has been replicated in communes with an increased scale of 106.47 hectares, concentrated in the communes of Huong Phung, Tan Hop, Huong Son, Ba Tang, Thuan.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung, Head of Technical and Technology Transfer Department, Provincial Agricultural Extension Center said that through monitoring, directing and providing technical guidance on implementing the model, it was found that the tea coffee variety (new variety - THA1 variety) has some outstanding factors compared to the Catimor tea coffee variety. That is the ability to grow well and have high resistance to pests and diseases.

In particular, in the first year of business, the THA1 variety has not yet shown signs of fungus or rust (a disease that is currently common on the Catimor coffee variety). The THA1 variety has a 20-25% higher yield than the Catimor variety; the quality and weight of the beans have increased by 15-20%. In particular, the THA1 variety is being purchased by agents and businesses at a price 2,000 - 2,500 VND higher than the Catimor coffee variety.

“With these positive results, we recommend that local authorities and specialized departments at the provincial and district levels continue to encourage farmers to boldly invest and increase the area of THA1 replanting in Huong Phung commune and other coffee-growing communes in Huong Hoa district,” said Mr. Tung.

Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hong Phuong said: "With the initial results of the THA1 variety, it promises to be a new variety included in the coffee tree replanting program in Quang Tri province.

At the same time, it will support models for developing and applying new varieties, converting monoculture coffee gardens to landscape coffee, agroforestry coffee combined with shade trees of higher economic value to improve productivity, quality and value of coffee gardens. On that basis, it will also improve the variety to help make the quality and yield of coffee more uniform, serving the processing and building of coffee brands in the province.

Coffee is the main crop of Huong Hoa district with a total area of over 4,000 hectares. Recently, thanks to support in terms of seeds, capital, and science and technology, farmers have implemented coffee replanting and have initially achieved positive results. This is an important premise for exporting Huong Hoa coffee products to many countries around the world, contributing to the socio-economic development of the locality.

Hieu Giang

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