Continuing to address challenges for banana cultivation in Huong Hoa

Although Huong Hoa district has implemented many solutions to overcome difficulties for Huong Hoa banana cultivation, such as granting 9 planting area codes (for export to the Chinese market); encouraging and supporting businesses to invest in planting and processing banana products... currently, the area planted with honey bananas in the district is gradually decreasing; banana growers are not investing in sustainable intensive farming to improve productivity, yield, and product quality to meet export standards; Huong Hoa bananas are mainly consumed domestically with unstable prices...

A model of banana cultivation using tissue culture in Tan Long commune, Huong Hoa district - Photo: HA

Despite being quite tired after a day of weeding and cutting down fallen banana trees in his banana plantation of over 500 trees, Mr. Nguyen Tam (59 years old) in Long Phung village, Tan Long commune, Huong Hoa district still took some time to share the ups and downs of the honey banana trees that his family has been involved with for decades.

Mr. Tam said that the soil and climate conditions of Tan Long commune and some neighboring communes are very suitable for growing the honey banana variety, so the yield and production always average 13-14 tons/ha/year. That was the situation about 10-15 years ago, when the honey banana trees were planted on newly reclaimed land.

Over time, many banana plantations in Tan Long commune, due to being old and not being fertilized or irrigated, have seen their yields and production decline. For example, Mr. Tran's family planted about 1,000 banana trees in the hilly area of ​​Long Phung village more than 20 years ago. For the first 10 years, the banana trees consistently yielded high productivity, generating tens of millions of dong in income annually.

Over the past 10 years, the number of banana trees, yield, and quality of his family's banana plantation have gradually decreased, and currently, there are only about 500 trees left, providing an income of 3-4 million VND per month. During the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Dragon, his family had almost no bananas to sell. The reason is that his family's honey banana plantation was planted using traditional methods, relying on natural growth rather than care. For nearly 20 years, Mr. Tam has been inspecting his honey banana plantation daily, cutting down broken or fallen trees, and leaving the young saplings to continue growing on the nutrient-poor soil...

According to Vo Van Cuong, Chairman of the Tan Long Commune People's Committee, the total area planted with honey banana trees in the commune is currently 750 hectares, accounting for nearly 40% of the honey banana area in Huong Hoa district. While previously the yield of honey bananas reached 13-14 tons/ha/year, it has now decreased to approximately 8-9 tons/ha/year.

Besides the fact that people mainly grow bananas on hillside and hilly land, completely dependent on soil quality and climate, and with almost no investment in fertilizer or irrigation, the consumption of fresh bananas is unstable, heavily dependent on the Chinese and Thai markets. At times, the price of bananas drops very low, only about 2,000-3,000 VND/kg on normal days, and 8,000-10,000 VND/kg during holidays and Tet (Lunar New Year), so many banana growers are not enthusiastic about caring for their banana plantations.

In fact, the honey banana variety has been cultivated for decades and has become a key crop in Huong Hoa district. To date, the district's banana cultivation area is 3,048 hectares, of which 2,916.3 hectares are producing bananas with an estimated yield of 42,053.2 tons per year. This is concentrated in the communes of Lia, Tan Long, Tan Thanh, Lao Bao town, and a portion of the land is leased by local people in Laos for cultivation.

In recent years, several businesses in the district have invested in banana cultivation and processing, such as Long Viet Food Production Co., Ltd., Green Globe Co., Ltd., and Chanh Nhung Vacuum Banana Processing Facility, with a total banana consumption and processing volume of over 20,100 tons per year. Three processed banana products have achieved OCOP 3-star certification: Huong Hoa honey banana wine, chewy dried bananas, and Chanh Nhung dried bananas. In addition, the district has also made efforts to provide the necessary certifications for banana cultivation to banana growers in the communes of Lia, Tan Long, Tan Thanh, and Lao Bao town.

To date, the entire province (including Huong Hoa district) has issued 24 geographical indication codes (MACs) in various localities, with 11 of them serving export purposes: 9 MACs for bananas (exported to the Chinese market) covering an area of ​​over 2,057 hectares and 2 MACs for rice (exported to the European market) covering an area of ​​over 37 hectares. A MAC is an identification code for a farming area, helping authorities and consumers easily trace the origin and determine the production process of agricultural products. This is also a prerequisite for agricultural products to be exported through official channels.

According to Le Quang Thuan, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Huong Hoa district, to continue addressing the difficulties faced by banana growers, the district will seek ways to expand export markets to increase the value of bananas; and find resources to support banana growers in gradually improving productivity, yield, and product quality.

Encourage banana growers to apply scientific and technological advancements to production; focus on intensive investment to increase productivity and product quality; link production with the exploitation and protection of resources and the ecological environment; support businesses with mechanisms for leasing land and capital to invest in machinery and equipment to improve productivity, efficiency, and quality of processed products.

Recently, the People's Council of Huong Hoa district issued a resolution approving the investment plan for the new banana market in Tan Long commune (approximately 300 meters from the old location) with a total investment of 11 billion VND; implementation period from 2024 to 2026. The Tan Long banana market project includes items such as roads, concrete yards, agricultural product kiosks, agricultural product shelters, and auxiliary facilities...

The investment in constructing the banana market in Tan Long commune aims to serve the needs of local people and neighboring areas for buying, selling, and exchanging goods, especially products from banana trees, contributing to socio-economic development... Huong Hoa district also sent officials to participate in a study tour organized by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to explore opportunities for cooperation in developing banana and medicinal plant cultivation.

As a result, Musa Pacta Co., Ltd., headquartered in Hanoi, has agreed to collaborate with Quang Tri province to produce and market banana products. Currently, Huong Hoa district, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, is facilitating Musa Pacta Co., Ltd. to survey planting areas with the aim of forming joint ventures and partnerships with banana growers in the district to create a raw material area for processing banana starch and other products from banana stems.

In addition, the People's Committee of Huong Hoa district directed the District Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to provide technical support for the tissue culture banana planting model covering nearly 4 hectares (8,000 tissue culture banana plants) of Mr. Nguyen Van Quan's family in Tan Long commune. The tissue culture banana planting model is irrigated using an automatic irrigation system; and fertilized with organic fertilizer, manure, etc.

The tissue-cultured banana plantation is expected to yield a harvest after 14-15 months of planting and care. This will serve as a model not only for banana growers in Tan Long commune but also for those in the surrounding communes of Lia, Tan Thanh, and Lao Bao town to learn from and invest in intensive banana cultivation, using proper fertilization and irrigation techniques, gradually improving productivity, yield, and quality of bananas for both domestic and export markets.

Hai An

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/kinh-te/tiep-tuc-go-kho-cho-cay-chuoi-o-huong-hoa/184234.htm