Double benefits from intercropping in Dak Nong

Mr. Dao Vu in village 14, Dak Wer commune, Dak R'lap district has 5 hectares of land. After nearly 30 years of farming , Mr. Vu shared that intercropping is a way to bring stable income to his family. He always researches ways to intercrop so that every plant has good yield and quality.

“I intercrop pepper and durian in my coffee garden. The most important thing about intercropping is that all plants must have enough light for photosynthesis,” said Mr. Vu.

Pepper garden is planted with durian and ginger by Mr. Dao Vu in village 14, Dak Wer commune, Dak R'lap district.

According to Mr. Vu, durian is a tall crop so it should be planted sparsely. For every 6-7 coffee or pepper trees, Mr. Vu plants 1 durian tree. Next, he plants pepper, and every 2-4 coffee trees, he plants 1 pepper tree. The third floor is for coffee trees. The lowest floor he plants ginger, lemongrass, vegetables, etc.

In the garden, he leaves the bare areas to grow grass to protect the soil layer. When the grass grows well, Mr. Vu uses a mower. The grass that is cut over time will become a good source of green manure for plants.

Currently, Mr. Vu has 2,000 coffee trees, which yield over 7 tons of beans each year; 4,000 pepper trees this year yielded 5 tons; 300 durian trees last crop yielded 2 tons of fruit.

Mr. Vu affirmed: “Thanks to intercropping, income is stable. In the past two years, the high prices of coffee, pepper, and durian have significantly increased the family economy . Last year, my family's total income reached over 1 billion VND.”

Mr. Tran Phu My, Dak Nia commune, Gia Nghia city intercrops durian, pepper, and coffee.

Mr. Tran Phu My in Dak Nia Commune, Gia Nghia City also chose to intercrop many types of trees on the same area. With 2 hectares of land, he planted nearly 3,000 trees including coffee, pepper, durian, avocado, and cashew. Each year, Mr. My's family earns about 400 million VND.

“Intercropping helps us maximize the value of the land and save on maintenance. In addition, intercropped plants can support each other to grow. Durian and pepper provide wind protection for coffee, thereby increasing productivity,” Mr. My shared.

Dak Nong Organic Agriculture Cooperative, Gia Nghia City has 35 members, jointly growing 70 hectares of coffee and pepper. Most members intercrop coffee and pepper.

Since 2018, the Cooperative has had pepper products certified to meet international organic standards. In particular, the Cooperative currently has over 12 hectares of pepper certified organic by Europe and the US.

Mr. Pham Van Thach, Director of Dak Nong Organic Agriculture Cooperative, said that in addition to organic pepper, intercropped coffee gardens also yield better yields and quality than pure planting. This helps the Cooperative have more direction to produce organic coffee.

“The combination of pepper and coffee growing creates a very cool ecosystem in the gardens. Farmers work and produce in a clean environment. From this benefit, the cooperative has selected a number of pilot gardens for eco-tourism,” Mr. Thach informed.

The organic pepper garden intercropped with green coffee of members of Dak Nong Organic Agriculture Cooperative was selected to combine with agricultural tourism development.

In fact, most farmers in Dak Nong choose to intercrop coffee, pepper, cashew, and fruit trees in their gardens and fields to increase production efficiency.

Many farmers share that intercropping helps them avoid the situation of "all or nothing" due to unstable agricultural prices when growing only one type of crop.

Dak Nong currently has a total agricultural production land area of ​​over 378,000 hectares, of which annual crops are over 86,000 hectares and perennial crops are about 235,000 hectares.

Farmers who intercrop many types of plants in their gardens have significantly increased their profits. Experts have assessed that intercropping also helps balance the ecosystem, helping to limit the impact of weather and climate.

However, farmers need to grasp the technical process of intercropping and the quality of seeds, planting density, fertilizing, watering, and shaping the plants appropriately.

Authorities also need to specifically evaluate the effectiveness of intercropping to help farmers develop sustainably, especially in the face of the impact of climate change.

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/loi-ich-kep-tu-trong-xen-canh-o-dak-nong-228721.html