New "vitality" in agricultural production in Nan Ma

23:13, 10/04/2023

BHG - Nan Ma is a particularly difficult commune in Xin Man district. For generations, the Mong and Nung people here have only practiced pure agricultural production. However, in less than 2 years, the production and product consumption chain between people and businesses and cooperatives has been formed, breathing new life into Nan Ma. Thereby, not only has it changed people's production thinking but it has also created a breakthrough in agricultural production, opening up great opportunities for local agricultural products to expand their markets.

People in Lung San village grow Buffalo ginger according to the value chain linked with businesses.

Lung San villagers grow Buffalo ginger according to the value chain linked with businesses.

In April, when the morning sun had not yet emerged from the clouds, the people of Lung San village hurriedly went to the fields to plant Trau ginger. Instead of the anxiety of a good harvest - low price, struggling to find an outlet for the product like previous years, now that past is gradually coming to an end when the linkage and product consumption according to the value chain between people and businesses, the cooperative was formed. Secretary of the Nan Ma Commune Party Committee, Vang Van Dan, said: In September 2022, the Xin Man - Misaki Agricultural Cooperative headquartered in Nan Ma village (Nan Ma commune) - under VietNam Misaki Company Limited ( Bac Kan province) was established with 7 participating members. This is an important turning point to reorganize production for the people, form a commodity production area according to demand, market signals and "give wings" for Nan Ma agricultural products to reach the world market. Currently, VietNam Misaki Co., Ltd. is the first and only enterprise in Vietnam that can produce and process agricultural products for export to the Japanese market.

The radish processing activities of Xin Man - Misaki Agricultural Cooperative create jobs for many local workers.

The natural conditions in Nan Ma are suitable for developing organic agricultural production, typically growing commercial ginger. In the period 2016 - 2019, the whole commune had nearly 40 hectares of ginger with the main variety being Vietnamese ginger. Ginger production has brought a good income to the people, especially when the product was exported to the Chinese market. However, in 2020 - 2021, ginger in Nan Ma faced many difficulties due to the negative impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, making it impossible to export the product. In addition, most of the ginger area being harvested was affected by pests and diseases, leading to low productivity (ranging from 10 - 15 tons/ha) and a sharp drop in selling prices, at times only 3 - 4 thousand VND/kg.

In order to promote the potential and advantages of the locality, Xin Man - Misaki Agricultural Cooperative was established, opening up prospects for sustainable organic agricultural development in Nan Ma. Currently, the Cooperative is cooperating with local people to grow 16.5 hectares of Buffalo ginger according to the demand of the Japanese market (expected yield is estimated at 30 tons/ha). Through this connection, the Cooperative has promoted its role as a focal point for transferring science and technology, guiding local people to produce according to the "5 together" method for uniform products, high productivity, and stable output. At the same time, it provides input materials to households in the form of loans - recovery - reinvestment and product consumption, creating a closed value chain from production, processing to supplying products to the market. In which, local people are guaranteed to consume all products with a stable purchase price of 7,000 VND/kg.

The representative of Xin Man Agricultural Cooperative - Misaki Nung Van Tai said: In addition to cooperating with people in Nan Ma commune to grow Buffalo ginger, the Cooperative also cooperates with Moi Hanh Cooperative (Xin Man commune) to grow 6 hectares of organic radish, serving preliminary processing, deep processing, and exporting to the Japanese market. After one year of cooperation, it shows that radish yields from 60 - 70 tons/ha. In particular, with a purchase price at the garden of 2,000 VND/kg, it has helped households earn from 120 - 140 million VND/ha, many times higher than growing corn as before. Continuing this success, in early 2023, the Cooperative cooperated with 4 households in Nan Ma village to pilot 2 hectares of radish for export. To meet the requirements of exporting agricultural products, the Cooperative has invested in a radish preliminary processing and deep processing line, with a scale of up to 1,000 tons/year. Since its establishment, the cooperative has successfully exported 3 shipments, equivalent to nearly 60 tons of radishes to the Japanese market. Notably, not only is it a “bridge” for exporting local agricultural products, Xin Man – Misaki Agricultural Cooperative also creates regular jobs for 6 local workers with an income of 5 million VND/person/month.

In addition to the Xin Man - Misaki Agricultural Cooperative, in 2022, in Nan Ma commune, a link was also formed between Good Agriculture Joint Stock Company (Phu Tho) and local people in the production of 2 hectares of vegetables (Cabbage, Kohlrabi) in an organic direction associated with product consumption. This link continues to breathe "life", gradually changing the mindset of local people from small-scale, fragmented, self-sufficient production to concentrated commodity production associated with the application of scientific and technical advances in production, creating quality products to increase income. And now, many local vegetable products are available in some supermarkets in Hanoi...

In the period of 2021 - 2025, the policy of the Party Committee and the government of Xin Man district is to link production with product consumption according to the branded value chain. To contribute to realizing the above goal, Nan Ma commune has been forming a strong link between: State - Business - Scientist - Farmer. There, there is the enthusiasm of enterprises and cooperatives to invest and support the agricultural sector in linking production and consuming products for farmers. Nan Ma commune alone has mobilized the participation of the entire political system and people to build a sustainable "4-house" link. Thereby, converging political determination to bring Nan Ma agricultural products in particular, Xin Man in general to gradually affirm their brand, prestige and reputation in the market; contributing to promoting prosperous agriculture, wealthy farmers, and civilized countryside.

Article and photos: THU PHUONG

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