Chau Thanh longan - sweet product, fragrant with people and land

Updated date: 10/25/2023 09:56:09

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DTO - Having been associated with Chau Thanh since the 80s of the last century with many ups and downs, up to now, Chau Thanh longan is still the main crop in local economic development. For Chau Thanh people, longan is not only a typical product but also the pride of their homeland...

Farmers harvest longan

Ups and downs of Chau Thanh longan tree

Chau Thanh is a southern district of Dong Thap province, where the Tien and Hau rivers flow through, creating a land filled with alluvium. With a natural area of 246km2, the terrain is a series of islands and relatively high riverside mounds, and a favorable climate that is very suitable for growing fruit trees.

According to local elders, longan was introduced and grown in Chau Thanh in the 80s of the last century. Initially, people mainly grew longan and cowhide longan. Since 2007, cowhide longan was devastated by the broom disease, and people have sought to find new crops to replace it. At this time, the idor longan variety (later Chau Thanh longan) was considered a promising crop to help Chau Thanh gardeners convert and replace traditional longan varieties.

Having grown longan for more than 30 years, Mr. Nguyen Nhat Linh (born in 1951) in Tan An hamlet, An Nhon commune, recalls that when the broom disease broke out, he and many gardeners here struggled to find a suitable replacement crop. In 1994, in An Nhon area, there was a movement to grow Idor longan instead of the diseased cowhide longan variety. He bought a branch of Idor longan to try planting... “In the early days, this type of tree was very difficult to cultivate. Although the longan grew luxuriantly, it did not flower or bear fruit. After researching and learning cultivation techniques for a while, the tree “blossomed and bore fruit”. In the first crop, 1 longan tree produced several hundred kilos. Seeing the effectiveness, I multiplied it to 33 branches, then gradually converted the entire land to grow Idor longan,” Mr. Nguyen Nhat Linh shared.

Thanks to the suitable longan variety, which is accepted by the market, his family's income has increased day by day. From the initial longan plantations, he saved up and bought 2 more hectares to grow idor longan. According to Mr. Linh, on average each longan tree (over 20 years old) can produce about 400 - 500 kg (on average 10 longan trees per hectare), 1 crop per year, with the price of longan from 20,000 VND/kg or more, after deducting all expenses, each year, he earns several hundred million VND.

Mr. Nguyen Nhat Linh takes care of the longan garden

When the witches' broom disease broke out, 5 longan plantations of Mr. Nguyen Van Viet (born in 1960) in Tan An hamlet, An Nhon commune also had to be cut down for firewood. Realizing the effective direction of the new longan variety, Mr. Viet converted all 5 longan plantations with witches' broom disease to grow Idor longan. Thanks to learning from the experience of predecessors, the conversion to growing the new longan variety was quite favorable. "Compared to cowhide longan varieties, the technique for growing Idor longan is not much different, however, in terms of productivity and price, it is 2-3 times higher. According to calculations, on average, each longan plantation from 10 years old or more will yield 1.5-3 tons/cong. With the price of longan ranging from 20,000-35,000 VND/kg (depending on the favorable and unfavorable seasons), after deducting expenses, each year, I earn tens of millions of VND in profit," Mr. Nguyen Van Viet shared.

After more than 20 years of growing longan, Mr. Viet affirmed that on this sandbank, longan is still the main crop, bringing high economic value to gardeners. In particular, thanks to suitable climate and soil conditions, the fruit is of good quality, so the market is good.

Affirming brand from quality

Contributing to affirming the reputation of this agricultural product, in 2016, Chau Thanh longan (idor longan) was granted a Certificate of Trademark Protection by the Department of Intellectual Property - Ministry of Science and Technology . From this event, Chau Thanh longan gradually affirmed its brand and quality through cooperation with domestic and foreign enterprises, bringing Chau Thanh longan to "import" demanding markets such as: America, Japan, Korea and some European countries...

With outstanding characteristics of adaptability to the environment, good disease resistance, high productivity and stable market, this longan variety was quickly planted in all communes in the district. Up to now, the longan area in the district is 2,671 hectares, concentrated in the communes: An Nhon, An Phu Thuan, Tan Nhuan Dong, An Khanh. The estimated output is about 50,000 tons/year, of which about 90% are eligible for export.

To develop longan fruit in a sustainable way, bringing long-term economic benefits to people and businesses, Chau Thanh has gradually re-planned the growing area, built a brand, and improved the quality of longan raw material areas to meet the strict market conditions on product quality...

Up to now, the district's longan growing area has 126.19 hectares certified by VietGAP. There are 671.23 hectares/23 growing area codes exported to demanding markets (USA, Australia, Europe...) and China. Chau Thanh longan products ensure standards of quality, morphology, and product design according to the "Chau Thanh Longan - Dong Thap" certified label.

The development of organizations linking production with longan consumption (cooperatives, cooperative groups, and guilds) is a local focus. Currently, the district has formed and developed 2 longan cooperatives, 7 cooperative groups, and 2 guilds with 350 members. Through these organizations, stable consumption chains have been connected and formed between enterprises and cooperatives with a linked area of about 10,000 tons/year.

Mr. Phan Thanh Dung - Vice Chairman of Chau Thanh District People's Committee said that longan is one of the key products and strengths of the district in restructuring the agricultural sector. In the coming time, the district will continue to develop a plan to develop concentrated longan production areas, associated with promoting the transfer of scientific and technical advances into production, especially the application of digital transformation in product traceability.

Along with that, the district will review the agricultural infrastructure system, ensuring conditions for farmers to grow in different crops; continue to apply and support cooperatives to access policies in linking production and developing longan products according to the value chain; strengthen the promotion of the "Chau Thanh Longan" brand, expand the consumption market; boost the consumption of longan products on e-commerce platforms and social networks; attract businesses to link with growing areas, gradually improving the economic efficiency of longan trees...

NYMPH

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