Turning rocks to grow clean vegetables
On the days leading up to the Lunar New Year of Giap Thin, I had the opportunity to visit Si Pa Phin High-Tech Agricultural Cooperative, Si Pa Phin Commune (Nam Po District). This is the first and only model in this border district that applies modern science and technology in growing and caring for “clean” vegetables, tubers and fruits on a scale of nearly 30 hectares.
Mr. Pham Ngoc Khai, Deputy Director of Si Pa Phin High-Tech Agricultural Cooperative, immediately drove me on a Wave motorbike, passing the steep, winding slope, many sections of which were paved with concrete, wide and smooth, "shining" in the early morning sun. From the top of the hill, amidst the sea of floating clouds, the eye-catching, fresh green of the rows of kohlrabi, cabbage, spinach, tomatoes, squash, pumpkins... appeared in each area, in neat, straight and scientific rows. The workers - skilled workers quickly picked fruits, cut vegetables, watered, tilled the soil... the working atmosphere was bustling, all workers were urgent and proficient in their work.
From a rocky, barren land, where it was thought that there would be no plants except weeds and miscellaneous plants, it is now full of life in the middle of a mountainous area full of sun and wind. Mr. Pham Ngoc Khai said: The land here has been mostly abandoned by people for many years, due to the lack of water for cultivation. To grow vegetables, the land must first be clean. To create fertile soil, we had to work very hard to improve it, and at the same time pump water from the stream to the top of the hill, through many stages to have enough water for irrigation. In particular, because it is mainly hilly land with high slopes, leveling the ground and building infrastructure is quite costly. However, with determination, turning "rocks into rice", especially with ideal and suitable climatic conditions, vegetables, tubers and fruits grow and develop well.
Currently, the Cooperative is producing more than 10 types of popular vegetables, tubers and fruits on a greenhouse area of 5,000m2 ; a 2ha greenhouse (under construction) and outdoors. Cultivation is carried out in a rotational manner to always have products to supply to the market. With the goal of food hygiene and safety for consumers and creating the first "clean" vegetable brand in Nam Po, the fertilization process is fully and strictly implemented by the Cooperative according to regulations from watering, fertilizing to monitoring and preventing pests. The Cooperative determines to only grow high-quality varieties of vegetables, tubers and fruits, using organic fertilizers, manure, and composted chopped green plants instead of chemical fertilizers. The Cooperative has also invested in an automatic irrigation system arranged in 2 areas to apply 2 measures: sprinkler irrigation for leafy plants and drip irrigation for root and fruit plants, ensuring maximum efficiency of operation. “Currently, the cooperative is actively coordinating with agencies and organizations to develop care, preservation and consumption processes according to regulations; carry out production procedures according to organic standards, thereby contributing to ensuring product quality, improving economic value and production efficiency,” Mr. Khai added.
Bringing clean vegetables and fruits to schools
In Nam Po, the poorest district in the country, the successful development and introduction of clean vegetable and fruit products by Si Pa Phin High-Tech Agricultural Cooperative has contributed to "solving difficulties" for the local education sector in bringing clean food, ensuring quality and food hygiene and safety to schools.
Present at Na Hy Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities (Na Hy Commune) at the right time for students to have lunch, next to the meat plate, there are plates of vegetables, bowls of delicious, green soup. Mr. Tran Hoang, Principal of the school shared: Currently, the school has 268 students eating at the school; every day they are arranged to eat 3 meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner). In addition to meat, fish and fresh food to ensure a source of fresh, delicious vegetables, the school signed a contract to import vegetables, tubers and fruits from Si Pa Phin High-Tech Agricultural Cooperative. Compared to before, vegetables had to be imported from Dien Bien district (3 times/week), vegetables had to be kept overnight, the cost was higher, now we import them every day, vegetables are used on the same day to ensure nutrition, improving the quality of meals for students.
Mr. Ngo Xuan Chien, Head of the Department of Education and Training of Nam Po district, said: “To ensure the supply of clean vegetables for boarding meals, the Department as well as schools have closely monitored the quality, origin and source of food, types, and quantities. Publicly and transparently disclose the source of food provided to school kitchens. In addition, the Department also directed schools with boarding students to increase production and grow vegetables to improve the quality of daily meals, contributing to improving health and education quality in the district.
It can be seen that, with the drastic participation of the Party Committee and authorities at all levels of Nam Po district; especially the efforts of each member of Si Pa Phin High-Tech Agricultural Cooperative, it has contributed to turning the arid, barren lands into greener ones, creating jobs for local people. From there, a concentrated production area was formed, bringing clean vegetables, tubers and fruits to serve the locality and supplying them to markets outside the district, especially serving the local source of high-quality, safe green vegetables for boarding students and tourists coming to the border district of Nam Po.
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