Finding a sustainable direction

After years of "hot development" and then falling into a surplus crisis, avocado trees in Lam Dong are finding a more sustainable direction.

Mr. Nguyen Kien Phuong's avocado garden "survives well" amid unstable prices, Quang Phu commune

New direction for avocado trees

While many farmers “turned their backs” on avocado trees due to plummeting prices, Mr. Nguyen Kien Phuong in Quang Phu commune (Lam Dong) found his own way with avocado trees. On 10 hectares of land, Mr. Phuong planted foreign avocado varieties such as: Hass, Reed, Pinkerton - varieties that are dominating the majority of the world market share.

He said he was worried at first because foreign varieties are difficult to care for, expensive, and require high techniques. But thanks to his diligence in learning, investing in a drip irrigation system, and cultivating according to VietGAP standards, his avocado garden has gradually stabilized. “The foreign avocado varieties ripen in different seasons, have thick skin, are rarely damaged, and always have a good price. For many years, businesses in Gia Lai have been purchasing them, so I don’t have to worry about output. As long as the quality is good, the price will always be stable,” Mr. Phuong said, his eyes shining.

Not only planting, Mr. Phuong also established the Nam Kar Volcano Avocado Cooperative with the local people, linking the brand with the Dak Nong UNESCO Global Geopark. The cooperative's avocados have been recognized as 4-star OCOP - an important milestone to help the product reach a wider market. "We no longer follow trends, but do farming like real goods. Each avocado tree has a growing area code, which is closely monitored," he said.

While Mr. Phuong chose the path of “doing well to live long”, in Phuc Tho Lam Ha commune, Ms. Nguyen Thi Trang chose the way of “doing differently to survive”. Having been attached to avocado trees for many years, Ms. Trang understands the suffering of growers when prices drop, traders squeeze, and ripe avocados fall all over the garden but cannot be sold.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Trang's freezer in Phuc Tho Lam Ha commune

From that concern, she decided to invest nearly 2 billion VND to build a warehouse for processing and freezing avocados right in the raw material area, with a capacity of about 60 tons. "At first, many people said I was reckless, but if everyone just sits and waits for traders, how can the avocado trees survive?" she laughed.

Her freezer is currently operating stably. Avocados are selected, cleaned, sliced, quickly frozen and then refrigerated, preserving their natural deliciousness and quality. “The fresh avocado market fluctuates between high and low prices, making it easy for growers to get discouraged. Freezing is a way to extend the life of avocados, giving farmers time to breathe,” Trang shared. “Pre-processed, frozen avocados are not only for sale domestically, but can also be used as raw materials for export, cosmetics or beverage industries. Avocado trees are still healthy, as long as we know how to do it properly,” she said confidently.

By 2030, Lam Dong province aims to increase the proportion of avocados put into processing to 25-30%, focusing on high-value products such as avocado oil, frozen avocado, and dried avocado. The province promotes standardization of growing areas, application of VietGAP, GlobalGAP, organic and electronic traceability - mandatory conditions for expanding exports.

Growing avocados according to microclimates, opening the way to the market

According to the orientation to 2030, Lam Dong will stabilize the avocado growing area at about 17,500 hectares. The agricultural sector has identified key sub-climatic zones to develop suitable avocado varieties. In cool climate zones (altitude over 1,000 m, temperature 12 - 28°C) such as: Di Linh, Bao Lam, Dak Glong, Dak Song, the province prioritizes planting Hass and Pinkerton varieties with rough skin, fatty fruit flesh, high quality, serving for export.

Lower areas such as Lam Ha, Duc Trong, Krong No, Dak Mil focus on varieties 034, Booth, avocado and Mexico, which are well adapted to climate conditions and ensure stable productivity, serving the domestic market all year round.

Along with that, the province aims to standardize growing areas according to VietGAP, GlobalGAP, organic, associated with electronic traceability to meet domestic and foreign market requirements.

Lam Dong province encourages the development of off-season avocado in suitable areas to reduce the pressure of the peak season. Avocado trees are also encouraged to be intercropped in industrial gardens, helping to make use of land and increase income for farmers.

Notably, the province is cooperating with New Zealand partners through SAM Agritech to expand Hass growing areas in suitable sub-climates - aiming for products that meet export standards to high-end markets.

To overcome the bottlenecks in preservation and logistics - which are considered the "bottleneck" of the avocado industry today, Lam Dong province is implementing many synchronous solutions. The focus is on encouraging socialized investment in cold storage and specialized transportation vehicles, supporting businesses to access preferential loans and transferring post-harvest preservation technology.

Along with that, the agricultural sector is oriented to cooperate with enterprises applying modern technology to help extend the avocado preservation time from the current 3-7 days to 30-40 days while still maintaining the fruit quality. Developing a cold storage, preliminary processing and packaging system that meets international standards not only helps reduce 20-30% of output loss, but also creates a foundation for export and deep processing, contributing to building a more sustainable avocado value chain.

According to Mr. Ha Ngoc Chien - Head of the Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection, the biggest barriers to avocado trees today are logistics, processing and quality standards. Once these three points are resolved, Lam Dong avocados can completely step out into the world with a new position.

Mr. Chien said that in the coming time, the province will stabilize the area, focus on improving quality and investing in preservation technology, and at the same time support businesses and cooperatives to build a chain from production - processing - consumption. Along with that, the locality is promoting the registration of geographical indications for the 034 avocado variety and building the "Lam Dong Avocado" brand, aiming for the image of a green, safe and export-standard product.

Lam Dong province is focusing on standardizing growing areas, selecting suitable varieties, promoting deep processing and expanding consumption connections, bringing avocado trees back to the orbit of sustainable development. The responsibility for avocado trees today does not only lie with farmers, but is also a common problem for the entire agricultural sector - from planning, varieties, techniques to markets.

When planning is closely linked to market demand, production goes hand in hand with technology, and growers are placed in the right position in the value chain, avocado trees will step out of the spiral of “good harvest, low price”. Avocado trees will then no longer be a “temporary fever” of a period, but will become a crop that brings stable income and sustainable livelihoods to farmers. Further, avocado will become a typical agricultural brand of Lam Dong.

Lam Dong province has about 84 avocado processing and manufacturing facilities, including 4 large enterprises and 80 small-scale facilities, with a capacity of 15,000 - 18,000 tons/year, equivalent to only 15% of total output.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/tim-huong-di-ben-vung-400565.html