"Black gold" in Loc Ngai

Loc Ngai is the commune with the largest pepper growing area in Bao Lam district. In recent years, stable prices have helped local farmers earn high incomes thanks to this crop known as "black gold".

Farmers in Loc Ngai commune are happy because pepper prices have been stable over the years, bringing high income.

Currently, Loc Ngai commune has more than 150 hectares of pepper, with an output of 439 tons/year; mainly intercropped with coffee trees. The advantage of pepper trees is that they bear fruit early; the income is quite high compared to some other crops; the post-harvest storage time is long; the product price has a national trading floor; at the same time, the harvest time is in the dry season, convenient for drying.

Mr. Nguyen Men's family (Hamlet 6) currently grows about 800 pepper plants interspersed with coffee trees, each year harvesting 4 - 5 tons of seeds. In the last pepper crop, Mr. Men earned over 600 million VND. According to Mr. Men, pepper plants are very suitable for the local climate and soil, so the plants grow and develop well, the quality of the pepper is also guaranteed, so it is favored by the market.

Thanks to planting about 1,200 pepper trees, Mr. Do Dinh Tien's family (Village 6) harvests about 7 tons of peppercorns every year, bringing his family an average income of over 1 billion VND per year. Pepper in Mr. Tien's garden is grown purely and intercropped, bringing high productivity and quality. Mr. Tien analyzed that currently, pepper prices are stable at a high level of about 150,000 VND to 170,000 VND. If the above price is maintained for a long time, farmers in the commune will have a high income from this crop.

Meanwhile, Mr. Dang Kieu Chuong's family (Village 6) intercrops 450 pepper trees with coffee. In recent years, thanks to stable fish prices, the family has earned over 300 million VND every year. Mr. Chuong said that the pepper varieties grown locally are mostly Vinh Linh pepper varieties, famous in Quang Tri province. Notably, Vinh Linh pepper varieties have been evaluated by the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences as one of the top 5 pepper varieties in our country. The origin of the pepper varieties is small-leaf pepper selected from pepper trees that meet standards in pepper gardens in Vinh Hoa, Hien Thanh, Kim Thach communes of Vinh Linh district, Quang Tri province. The pepper variety has medium-sized leaves, long and slender shape, dark green color; the plants grow healthily, giving high yields.

Mr. Vu Van Binh - Agricultural Extension Officer of Loc Ngai Commune said: "Pepper is an effective crop for local farmers. Although the planting area is not large, the intercropping method brings clear results. In the past time, the Commune Farmers' Association and agricultural extension officers regularly guide farmers on sustainable pepper production techniques to improve product quality. We also provide information on the pepper product market, provide knowledge on planting, caring, harvesting, drying, and proper preservation, which will greatly contribute to improving the value and quality of the product."

According to the People's Committee of Loc Ngai Commune, pepper was first grown by some households in Village 6, then farmers in other villages also learned from the experience and intercropped with coffee gardens. Villages 10, 5, 3, and 2 all have pepper-growing households. For pepper plants, local people do not use concrete pillars to plant them, but often use plants such as cotton and legumes for pepper to climb. This also helps to retain moisture and cool the coffee garden, which can be said to be a double benefit.

However, the disadvantage of pepper plants is that they need regular watering; the soil must be drained and drained; the plants are susceptible to disease and die en masse. It can be said that pepper plants are quite difficult to please, requiring regular attention and care. Therefore, in the past, in Loc Ngai commune, there has been a phenomenon of pepper plants dying due to root rot. In the past few years, the pepper area has decreased by about 30 hectares, with the remaining 150 hectares as of now.

Mr. Do Van Thanh - Vice Chairman of Loc Ngai Commune People's Committee said: Loc Ngai is a purely agricultural commune, people's lives mainly depend on main crops such as coffee, tea... The current coffee area is about 5,800 hectares, tea trees are about 132 hectares. Pepper area is about 150 hectares, this is also the third crop bringing high income to local farmers. Currently, the local government does not encourage people to expand pepper acreage but focuses on care, applying scientific and technical advances in production, actively preventing diseases on pepper plants.

It can be affirmed that, in addition to the main crop of coffee, pepper is also a "black gold" that brings significant income to the people. Through the survey, many households earn from several hundred million to over 1 billion VND per year thanks to this crop. Thanks to the diversity of income sources from agricultural products, the locality has more and more examples of good farmers and businessmen at all levels, and the people's lives are clearly improving.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/kinh-te/202505/vang-den-o-loc-ngai-5b0766c/