By growing cucumbers on land previously used for two rice crops, farmers in Dien Chau district earn 140 million VND per hectare.

Clip: Xuan Hoang

Arriving at the cucumber fields of Van Tap village, Minh Chau commune, Dien Chau district on the morning of October 6th, we witnessed the bustling scene of farmers harvesting and transporting cucumbers to the purchasing point. Trucks belonging to traders from all over came directly to the fields to buy all the cucumbers from the farmers.

The joy of farmers in Van Tap village, Minh Chau commune, as they begin harvesting their winter cucumber crop. Photo: Xuan Hoang.

Ms. Vo Thi Le, a farmer, said that her family planted 3 sao (approximately 0.3 hectares) of cucumbers in the winter season on land previously used for two rice crops. After 45 days of care, they harvested them in early October. At the beginning of the season, traders bought them at 6,500 VND/kg, but now the price is 6,000 VND/kg.

"Following the local policy of cultivating winter crops, right after harvesting the summer-autumn rice crop, families in the hamlet started planting cucumbers. When the cucumbers are ready for harvest, they are picked twice a day, with yields reaching over 1.3 tons per sao (approximately 1000 square meters), bringing in nearly 8 million VND," said Ms. Vo Thi Le.

As soon as the cucumbers are harvested, the farmers take them to the market. Photo: Xuan Hoang

While transporting cucumbers to sell to traders, Ms. Vo Thi Thuan confided: "My family grows 2.5 acres of cucumbers. These harvest days, although hard work and the selling price isn't very high, I'm happy because I have work and earn 500,000 - 600,000 VND each day."

"For farmers, having traders buy their produce right in the fields eases the worry of finding buyers. Although the selling price isn't high yet, at 6,000 VND/kg, the income is many times higher than growing rice," Ms. Thuan said.

According to traders, because the market is selective about large cucumbers, careful selection is necessary during the purchasing process. Photo: Xuan Hoang

According to Mr. Le Khac Khoa, a cucumber trader in Hoang Mai town, he has been buying 2-3 tons of cucumbers daily for the past few days. All the cucumbers are transported to Hanoi for sale on the same day.

"I didn't expect the locals here to grow so many cucumbers. Overall, the cucumbers here are beautiful and of good quality. However, farmers need to harvest regularly every day to prevent the cucumbers from becoming overripe and too large, because the market prefers large cucumbers," shared Mr. Le Khac Khoa.

Around 7 a.m. each day, the cucumber purchasing points in the fields of Van Tap village are bustling with buying and selling activity. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Mr. Nguyen Van Nhuan, a trader from Do Luong district who buys cucumbers, said that he buys around 1 ton each day and transports it to mountainous districts for sale. He arrives at the fields around 6 a.m. each day to buy cucumbers from the farmers.

According to Mr. Ho Trong Nga, Chairman of the Minh Chau Commune Farmers' Association, this is the first year that Van Tap village has grown cucumbers in the winter season on land previously used for two rice crops. To grow cucumbers, in addition to seeds and fertilizers, farmers also need to buy netting and stakes to build trellises. Therefore, the first crop requires an investment of about 3 million VND per sao (approximately 1000 square meters), while subsequent crops will see reduced costs because the stakes and netting can be used for three cucumber crops.

This winter, Van Tap village, Minh Chau commune, Dien Chau district, planted 27 hectares of cucumbers on land previously used for two rice crops. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Cucumbers take 45-50 days to harvest, with a minimum yield of 25 tons/ha. At the current farm-gate price of 6,000 VND/kg, farmers earn over 140 million VND. Therefore, with 27 hectares of winter cucumbers in Van Tap village, farmers earn approximately 3.5 billion VND. The cucumber harvest lasts 2-3 weeks, so by the end of October, the winter crop will be finished. Some families have earned tens of millions of VND.

Mr. Tran Hoai An, Director of the Dien Chau District Agricultural Services Center, said: This winter season, Dien Chau district planted about 50 hectares of cucumbers. However, the largest area is concentrated in Van Tap hamlet, Minh Chau commune, with the rest planted in Dien Loc and Dien Hoang communes... Currently, farmers in Minh Chau commune are harvesting the earliest winter cucumber crop in the district.

Source: https://baonghean.vn/trong-dua-chuot-tren-dat-2-lua-nong-dan-huyen-dien-chau-thu-140-trieu-dongha-post277815.html