When farmers work collectively

Raising livestock to reduce poverty

With the goal of supporting farmers to reduce poverty and improve their lives, Khanh Hoa Trade - Service - Frog Breeding Cooperative has implemented a frog farming model in tarpaulin tanks with high efficiency.

Mr. Tran Minh Hai - Director of Khanh Hoa Frog Breeding - Service - Trade Cooperative said: "At first, people did not master the techniques, the source of breeds was not stable, the output was uncertain, so the profit was not high. Thanks to the Commune Farmers' Association in coordination with the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the commune, training and guidance on breeding techniques, the model has become increasingly perfect. Members raise 10 - 30 tanks per year, with a productivity of about 1 ton/tank/year. After deducting expenses, members earn a profit of 6 - 8 million VND/tank. Thanks to that, many households have a good income, and their lives have improved significantly."

According to Mr. Tran Minh Hai, the cooperative currently has 10 members, the output of commercial frogs supplied to the market is about 400 tons/year, the selling price is stable at 34,000 VND/kg. The cooperative members carry out a closed farming process, from breeding to raising frogs for meat, ensuring food safety standards, absolutely not using antibiotics. If the frogs get sick, only the water source is treated, vitamins and digestive enzymes are added to ensure the frogs are clean.

Mr. Bang Nguyen Dung with My Duc longan trees in his garden. Photo: THANH TIEN

“Currently, the cooperative has researched the one-sun dried frog product with the motto of “3 no”: no antibiotics, no chemicals, no preservatives. Each month, the cooperative brings to the market more than 100kg of dried frog, with a selling price of 250,000 - 300,000 VND/kg, which is favored and highly appreciated by consumers. We are completing the application for origin traceability, striving for the dried frog product to meet the 3-star OCOP standard, helping to increase product value and create stable output for members”, Mr. Tran Minh Hai emphasized.

In the coming time, Khanh Hoa Frog Breeding - Service - Trade Cooperative will continue to expand its scale, apply high-tech, environmentally friendly technology, and diversify processed products. At the same time, strengthen the connection between businesses to expand the consumption market, build the brand "My Duc clean frog" to become a typical local product in the coming time.

Preserving hometown specialties

Formed in the My Duc longan restoration project, the My Duc longan production cooperative group became a place to preserve and develop this famous longan variety. Mr. Bang Nguon Dung - representative of the cooperative group said: "In the period of 2019 - 2020, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Chau Phu district previously coordinated with the Southern Fruit Research Institute to implement the My Duc longan restoration project. At that time, the locality mobilized us to join the My Duc longan production cooperative group, with 24 members. Each member was instructed on grafting techniques, propagation, longan care and was given 100 My Duc longan seedlings".

When being granted the seed label, Mr. Dung and the members of the cooperative regularly exchange techniques and take care of the longan to grow well. Mr. Dung is cultivating My Duc longan garden with an area of 8,000m2, each tree has a yield of 40 - 50 kg/season. The selling price at the beginning of the season is 100,000 VND/kg, dropping to 50,000 - 60,000 VND/kg when the harvest season begins.

“My Duc longan with its characteristic aroma, thick flesh, and sweet taste has long been a favorite of consumers. When the fruit season comes, customers everywhere order longan as gifts. It is a small gift from the countryside but has the rich sweetness of the alluvial soil of My Duc - Khanh Hoa garden. Many people mistake the yellow rice boat longan for My Duc longan, but it is not. Genuine My Duc longan has a different shape and quality, customers will remember it forever after eating it once,” said Mr. Dung.

The cooperative members mainly harvest longan for seasonal sale, while Mr. Dung continues to propagate this specialty plant to supply the market. Each month, he sells about 200 - 300 seedlings to neighboring communes and wards. Through research, Mr. Dung realized that My Duc longan is suitable for the soil of many regions, so the potential for propagation of this plant is quite good.

“I just hope that the professional sector and local authorities will continue to encourage local farmers to return to the traditional My Duc longan variety. If there is a suitable approach, we can build a large longan growing area to help farmers improve their lives. Because there is nothing better than farmers becoming prosperous thanks to their hometown’s specialty,” Mr. Bang Nguon Dung hopes.

Chairman of the Farmers' Association of My Duc Commune, Duong Van Le, said that up to now, the locality has 2 branches, 8 professional farmer associations, 2 farmer clubs established with the main industries and occupations being cultivation and animal husbandry. The Farmers' Association of the commune has used the farmer support fund of more than 170 million VND to lend 4 projects for members to develop production, contributing to the transformation of the local economic structure.

THANH TIEN

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/khi-nong-dan-lam-an-tap-the-a462220.html