Sustainable development of fruit-growing regions

- Tuyen Quang province has over 17,550 hectares of fruit trees, with an annual production of over 200,000 tons, including key fruit trees such as oranges and pomelos, as well as advantageous fruit trees like bananas, longan, custard apple, and persimmons. To maximize potential and develop fruit trees sustainably, the province has implemented many solutions to develop and expand the area according to the plan, aiming to improve the quality and value of fruit products and ensure sustainable development.

Focus on fruit trees that have a competitive advantage.

With suitable climate and soil conditions for citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, and pomelos, the province has planned concentrated citrus fruit growing areas in three districts: Ham Yen, Chiem Hoa, and Yen Son.

Xuan Van, a locality in Yen Son district, has a climate and soil conditions suitable for pomelo cultivation. In recent years, the commune has focused on planning for concentrated, sustainable, and long-term development, avoiding rapid expansion, with an area of ​​over 950 hectares of pomelo, 88 hectares of oranges, 12 hectares of custard apples, and 26 hectares of persimmons. Among these, Xuan Van sweet pomelo has achieved OCOP 3-star rating, and Soi Ha Xuan Van pomelo has been granted a geographical indication certificate by the Intellectual Property Office of the Ministry of Science and Technology and selected by the Vietnam Consumer Association as one of the "Top 10 famous brands and trademarks". The seedless pomelo from Xuan Van commune has also been awarded a collective trademark protection certificate by the Department of Science and Technology. Good news for pomelo growers in Xuan Van commune: in the 2024 harvest season, nearly 8,000 Soi Ha pomelos from local farmers were exported to the UK market, all meeting the required standards. This is an important foundation for the province to develop a systematic plan for key products and specialties, gradually affirming the brand and value of Tuyen Quang's agricultural products in both domestic and international markets.

Delegates from the northern mountainous provinces visited a Soi Ha pomelo orchard in Xuan Van commune (Yen Son district), which exports to the UK market.

Like many other localities, Ham Yen is known as the "kingdom" of mandarin oranges, with their distinctive, fragrant, and refreshing flavor. Ham Yen mandarin oranges are favored by consumers and have been voted as a typical and famous agricultural product of Vietnam for many years. In 2020, Ham Yen mandarin oranges were granted a Geographical Indication Certificate by the Intellectual Property Office and were recognized by the province as a 4-star OCOP product. Currently, Ham Yen district has more than 7,200 hectares of orange orchards, of which mandarin oranges account for nearly 80%, with the remainder being other varieties such as lemon oranges, Vinh oranges, and V2 oranges. The district's orange growing areas are mainly concentrated in 15 communes and towns with more than 5,600 families growing oranges. Thanks to orange cultivation, many families in Ham Yen have escaped poverty and risen to become well-off or wealthy households.

Challenges remain.

Currently, the province has 2,199 hectares applying production according to standards and regulations, including: 1,592 hectares of oranges; 491 hectares of pomelos; and 116 hectares of other fruit trees such as longan, pears, guavas, apples, dragon fruit, etc. Over 70% of fruit-growing farmers understand and apply integrated pest management (IPM) and integrated plant health management (IPHM); they also use plant protection data management software (PPDMS) in monitoring and aggregating plant pests.

However, along with the growth in area and yield, fruit production in the province is facing many limitations and challenges. Local varieties still account for the majority, while the proportion of newly developed and imported varieties is not high. Many varieties have degenerated, producing many seeds, reducing the competitiveness of fresh produce and hindering the processing industry. The application of advanced techniques is not yet widespread; the overuse of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides causes soil and water pollution. Furthermore, fruit production in the province is fragmented, small-scale, and scattered, lacking large-scale specialized fruit farms. In addition, most localities have only developed fruit cultivation based on intuition, without planning for specialized fruit-growing areas or developing distinctive fruit varieties with regional brands. On the other hand, post-harvest products are mainly sold fresh to traders. Therefore, the market for many types of fruit is volatile, prices are unstable, and farmers often find themselves in a situation where a good harvest leads to low prices.

With the goal of building sustainable and economically efficient fruit-growing areas, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has proactively advised the Provincial People's Committee to direct localities to focus on forming concentrated and staggered fruit-growing areas for certain fruit crops, ensuring productivity, quality, and food safety to enhance efficiency and competitiveness, combined with innovative market access methods. Attention is paid to famous specialty fruit crops with competitive advantages in each region to reorganize production towards large-scale commercial production. At the same time, emphasis is placed on investing in and developing sustainable fruit production, with production regulations following clean processes, GlobalGAP, VietGAP, organic farming, and registration of growing area codes... contributing to expanding product markets and increasing production value.

Many effective support policies

Recently, at the Agricultural Extension @ Agriculture forum organized by the Vietnam Horticultural Association in coordination with the National Agricultural Extension Center in Tuyen Quang, Mr. Nguyen Dai Thanh, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, informed that in recent years, the province has directed specialized agencies of the department to cooperate with businesses inside and outside the province to build demonstration models of fruit trees according to the value chain; provide training and technology transfer; and promote information dissemination to replicate effective models of production and consumption linkages for fruit trees.

The transfer and application of technological advancements have seen positive changes, such as: the application of high-tech techniques in seed production; the application of advanced irrigation technology, water-saving irrigation, and supplementary pollination for fruit trees (grapefruit, custard apple); and the application of techniques for staggered flowering of longan trees, etc. In addition, the province has also introduced several policies and mechanisms currently being applied to support fruit production in Tuyen Quang province, such as: policies supporting the development of agricultural, forestry, and fisheries production; OCOP products and rural development in Tuyen Quang province for the period 2021-2025; policies encouraging the development of organic agricultural production in Tuyen Quang province; and support for the implementation of projects developing production linkages along the value chain…

Dr. Phan Huy Thong, Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Horticultural Association, noted that Tuyen Quang has significant potential for fruit tree development. Therefore, focusing on developing key, high-value specialty fruit crops based on regional advantages will help farmers gradually increase their income and improve their living standards. However, to ensure sustainable development, each individual, enterprise, and cooperative needs to prioritize improving quality, building brands, and meeting the increasingly high demands of the market.

Source: https://baotuyenquang.com.vn/phat-trien-ben-vung-vung-cay-an-qua-214015.html