The effectiveness of crop conversion on sloping land in Phuoc Thanh commune

Implementing the policy of converting crop structure on sloping land, recently, Phuoc Thanh commune (Bac Ai) has mobilized people to grow fruit trees with high economic value such as: avocado, Australian mango, green-skinned grapefruit, jackfruit, custard apple, coconut... thanks to which people's income is increasingly increasing.

The family of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Kim Thanh, in Ma Ro village, is one of the first households in Phuoc Thanh commune to boldly convert crops on sloping land. Realizing that the local natural conditions are quite favorable for growing fruit trees, nearly 8 years ago, her family converted more than 2 hectares of land on the hill to grow cashew, custard apple, jackfruit, avocado, and green-skinned grapefruit. To have a stable water source for irrigation, her family invested over 100 million VND to equip a sprinkler system and bring water from the mountain to store in ponds to irrigate the crops, thereby helping the fruit trees grow well. Currently, the crops have produced sweet fruit, earning over 120 million VND each year, and the family's economy is growing more and more.

Thanks to switching to fruit tree growing, the family economy of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Kim Thanh in Ma Ro village, Phuoc Thanh commune is growing.

Like Ms. Thanh's family, thanks to the conversion of crops on sloping land, Mr. Dang Van Thanh's orchard of more than 1 hectare in Da Ba Cai village has now produced sweet fruit. Mr. Thanh shared: Previously, the family's upland land was mainly used to grow waxy corn, which was not very economically efficient. Since the commune mobilized people to convert crops on sloping land, I decided to switch to growing Australian mango, coconut, and jackfruit. In addition, taking advantage of the fresh grass under the tree canopy and raising breeding cows has helped stabilize the family economy, with an annual income of over 100 million VND, and a newly built house.

Mr. Dang Van Thanh's coconut garden in Da Ba Cai village is growing well. Photo: Phan Thanh

Phuoc Thanh commune has a total agricultural land area of nearly 11,000 hectares; of which, the rice area is nearly 100 hectares, the rest is hilly land without water. Therefore, crop conversion is a direction to help people develop production and increase income. In recent times, the locality has mobilized people to put into production a number of new crops such as: green-skinned grapefruit, avocado, papaya, custard apple, jackfruit, Australian mango, Taiwanese mango, coconut..., applying sprinkler irrigation and drip irrigation technology to ensure efficiency in production. After more than 5 years of implementing crop restructuring, up to now, the whole commune has developed nearly 40 hectares of fruit trees, helping many households have stable income, striving to get rich on their homeland. Comrade Chamaléa Nhien, Chairman of the People's Committee of Phuoc Thanh Commune, said: In recent times, the conversion of short-term crops to high-value fruit trees on sloping land and the application of water-saving irrigation models have shown remarkable effectiveness, thereby helping to solve employment and increase income for people; at the same time, helping to balance the ecosystem and increase forest cover, preventing erosion. In the coming time, the commune will continue to propagate and mobilize people to replicate the model of converting crops with high economic efficiency.

Kha Han

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