Stabilizing income through successive cropping

Việt Nam•05/12/2023

One of the challenges for farmers is the unpredictable market situation where crop failures lead to high prices, resulting in low income after a season of hard work and investment. One woman has applied a crop rotation method to escape this dependence on the market.

Ms. Thao is preparing to harvest coffee.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thao, a farmer from Hamlet 5-7, Loc Thanh Commune, Bao Lam District, who has been living on this land since 1993, said that the biggest fear for farmers is a bumper harvest but low prices. Growing coffee, pepper, and avocado year-round, only to have prices plummet during harvest season, resulting in significant losses. There are especially times when agricultural products are so cheap that traders refuse to buy, causing farmers substantial damage. Therefore, learning from her own experience, Ms. Thao chose a crop rotation system. In her orchard, she grows various crops such as coffee, durian, avocado, mulberry, mangosteen, pepper, and bananas. Planting multiple crops spreads out the harvest season throughout the year, allowing her family to avoid dependence on income from a single crop, unlike monoculture farms.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thao said that in the 2023 durian season, her family harvested 5 tons of early-ripening fruit from a total of 300 trees. In the upcoming season, when the durian trees bear fruit simultaneously, it will significantly increase the family's income. After harvesting the durian, Ms. Thao prepares to harvest the coffee in her garden, which is expected to yield about 4 tons of green coffee beans this year, bringing in approximately 250 million VND. In her family's garden, the harvests are continuous throughout the year. This continuous harvesting also makes caring for the crops more efficient because the income from buying fertilizers and agricultural supplies avoids the need for credit.

Ms. Thao shared that her family's 2.7-hectare garden is planted with many different types of trees. Each type of tree has a different harvesting cycle. Right after Tet (Lunar New Year), the family begins harvesting pepper, followed by avocados, and then mangosteen. After the mangosteen, ripe durian and coffee will be the last crops harvested of the year. Although it requires more care and is more laborious than growing only one type of tree, the income generated from her family's garden, with its continuous cropping system, is 1.5 to 2 times higher than that of gardens with monoculture.

However, practicing continuous cropping like Ms. Thao's family requires specific garden planning and cultivation techniques. For Ms. Thao, this means planting sparsely to ensure sufficient sunlight for each crop. Ms. Thao explains: “Every crop needs enough sunlight to grow and avoid pests and diseases. Trees like durian, avocado, and mangosteen need a lot of sunlight, so they must be planted sparsely. Conversely, coffee trees prefer diffused light, sunlight under the shade of other larger trees, so intercropping them in fruit orchards is quite suitable; the trees stay cool, yield well, have strong roots, and provide stable productivity.” To provide nutrients to the plants, Ms. Thao focuses on providing abundant organic microbial fertilizer and applying NPK, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers during fruiting and budding periods, when nutrients are concentrated. Ms. Thao also lets the grass cover the ground, only clearing it with a mowing machine, then mulching the grass around the base of the trees to create a green humus layer. According to her, grass-covered land creates a natural-looking environment, with cool soil, allowing all plants to thrive, especially during hot, dry seasons when water is scarce.

Ms. Dinh Thi Ha Trang, Vice President of the Women's Association of Loc Thanh commune, assessed that Ms. Nguyen Thi Thao's family is a very exemplary family, and Ms. Thao herself is a skilled producer. She has experience in continuous crop rotation and diversifying her garden, avoiding dependence on a single crop and preventing the situation of bumper harvests leading to price drops. Not only is she a skilled producer, but she is also a good mother, raising well-behaved children, and is enthusiastic about social work. As the Vice President of the Women's Association in the village, she always encourages other women to develop their economy , care for their families, and actively participate in social work. The beautiful flower-lined roads, green gardens, and clean public facilities are all thanks to Ms. Thao and the other women in the village. With well-behaved and successful children, a stable economy, and a woman from the remote Loc Thanh area, she is contributing her efforts to building a beautiful new homeland.

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