Moc Chau high-tech agricultural area

Farmers in Muong Sang ward, Moc Chau town expand strawberry growing area.

New efficient production model

Spreading the crop is a solution that farmers in Moc Chau town are widely applying to extend the harvest time, reduce consumption pressure, increase selling prices, and increase income. In Co Do ward, at this time, many areas of plum growing in the main season are in the stage of nurturing young fruits, while in the plum garden of Mr. Nguyen Van Hanh's family, Pa Khen residential group, there are early ripe plums for harvest, with a selling price of 50,000-100,000 VND/kg, many times higher than the price of plums in the main season.

Visiting his family's plum garden, Mr. Hanh shared: My family is applying the crop spreading technique for 4 hectares of plums, harvesting from November of the previous year to May of the following year. To do that, in 2023, I invested more than 100 million VND, installing a drip irrigation system, ensuring a water source and providing adequate nutrients for the trees. Along with that, I have to choose plum trees that are old enough, qualified to flower and bear fruit early; choose the right time to prune and fertilize so that the plums bear fruit out of season. With the crop spreading technique, I don't have to worry much about consumption, as soon as I harvest, traders buy; with an average selling price of 60,000 VND/kg, 3 times higher than the plums in the main season.

Farmers in Dong Sang ward, Moc Chau town grow tomatoes in greenhouses.

In Dong Sang ward, there are currently more than 200 hectares of vegetables. Grasping the market demand, for many years now, cooperatives and farming households have invested in building net houses, greenhouses, purchasing equipment, drip irrigation systems, and misting irrigation systems to produce off-season vegetables. Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong, Tu Nhien residential group, Dong Sang ward, said: I have invested in a net house system, membrane houses and applied science and technology to growing and caring for vegetables, helping my family to proactively produce products according to market demand and limit the negative impacts of the weather. With 1 hectare of off-season tomatoes and cabbage, in terms of economic efficiency, growing off-season vegetables gives 3 times higher income than growing in the main season, thanks to that, my family earns more than 500 million VND/year from growing off-season vegetables.

The sugar orange tree planted in Moc Chau has also proven to be more economically efficient than traditional crops. Introduced in 2015, up to now, Thai Hoa residential group, Co Do ward has more than 100 hectares of oranges. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien, Thai Hoa residential group, said: From the initial trial planting of 300 sugar orange trees, after a year of care, seeing that the oranges grew well, had few pests and diseases, and had potential, I decided to expand the orange growing area. Up to now, my family has an orange garden of more than 1 hectare, with a yield of 25-30 tons/ha, helping the family earn more than 1.3 billion VND/year.

Support technology application in production

Implementing Resolution No. 08-NQ/TU dated January 21, 2021 of the Provincial Party Committee on concentrated, sustainable development of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, applying high technology to 2025, with a vision to 2030, Moc Chau town focuses on leading the application of high technology and organic production to agriculture, aiming at sustainable development and enhancing the value of local agricultural products.

Dung Tien Agricultural Cooperative, Van Son Ward, Moc Chau Town invested in software to control drip irrigation systems via smartphones.

Mr. Le Trong Binh, Chairman of Moc Chau Town People's Committee, said: To realize the project's objectives, the Party Committee and the government of Moc Chau Town have proactively implemented many synchronous measures. In particular, closely following the objectives, tasks, and solutions to develop and issue implementation plans, regularly and resolutely directing and inspecting agencies, units, communes, wards, enterprises, and cooperatives in applying digital transformation, high technology, and organic production. At the same time, propagating, disseminating, training, and guiding farmers to apply technology and digital transformation in production, processing, and consumption of agricultural products.

Choosing new crops combined with applying technology in production has brought about changes in quantity and quality in Moc Chau. 10 years ago, strawberries were introduced to Moc Chau, and have now proven to be a strong crop. On average, 1 hectare yields about 15 tons of fruit, with a revenue of about 2 billion VND. With the value that strawberries bring, many households have invested in developing this crop according to VietGAP standards to increase product value. From a few hectares of experimental planting, Moc Chau town now has nearly 130 hectares of strawberries, mainly concentrated in Dong Sang, Muong Sang and Moc Son wards.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa, Na Bo 1 residential group, Muong Sang ward, said: Strawberries are a plant with high economic value, but they are also a difficult crop, requiring a lot of care. Therefore, right from the stage of selecting the plant varieties, I have proactively nurtured and grown them in greenhouses and net houses; using drip irrigation and automatic fertilization to increase productivity, quality and product value. My family has nearly 3 hectares of strawberries, this year's crop yielded more than 40 tons of fruit, selling for nearly 2 billion VND.

Farmers in Co Do ward, Moc Chau town take care of plum trees during the harvest season.

The agricultural panorama of Moc Chau district is increasingly diverse, with more than 11,400 hectares of fruit trees, nearly 3,000 hectares of vegetables, and more than 2,100 hectares of tea. Enterprises, cooperatives, and households focus on applying science and technology to production with 486 establishments applying water-saving irrigation for more than 610 hectares; 141 establishments investing in greenhouses and net houses with an area of ​​more than 100 hectares; more than 1,120 hectares of fruit trees and vegetables of all kinds recognized to meet VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards; 24 codes of growing areas for export; production value per hectare of cultivated land reaching nearly 80 million VND.

With the participation of local Party committees and authorities, together with the efforts, creativity and change in thinking in production of farmers, quality agricultural products have been created, enhancing the competitiveness of Moc Chau agricultural products in the market, bringing high economic efficiency, contributing to promoting the socio-economic development of the locality, gradually building Moc Chau into a high-tech agricultural area of ​​the Northwest region.

Source: https://baosonla.vn/kinh-te/moc-chau-vung-nong-nghiep-ung-dung-cong-nghe-cao-ieKurgJNR.html