Ha Nam commune makes off-season guava a typical agricultural product

Famous as the guava 'capital' of Hai Phong, Ha Nam commune (Hai Phong) is turning off-season guava into a local specialty thanks to its mastery of crop regulation techniques and safe care.

If done correctly, guava trees will produce fruit out of season at a time when the market is low in supply.

Master the harvest

In the early days of autumn, when the weather is cold, farmers in Ha Nam commune start harvesting off-season guava. The cold weather combined with dry sunshine helps the guava to be sweeter and the fruit's value is also higher. That is the reason why for many years now, farmers in Ha Nam commune have been growing off-season guava.

Visiting her family's guava field, Mrs. Pham Thi Viet Ha, in Van Mac village, excitedly said: "This year, the price of guava at the beginning of the season is more than 10,000 VND/kg. In about a week, my family will harvest the first off-season guava crop. The guava is purchased directly by traders, so there is no need to transport it."

According to guava farmers in Ha Nam, if guava is harvested in the main season around July and August every year, then guava is available everywhere so the selling price is very low. To increase the value, guava growers in Ha Nam commune control the season, applying techniques to push the harvest time later than usual.

Mr. Nguyen Phuc Doan, in Lang Can 1 village, is an experienced guava grower. He said that growing guava in the off-season is quite difficult because it depends a lot on the weather. Right from the beginning of the year, farmers have to take care of the fertilization, prune the branches, tighten the branches, limit the growth of the tree, then prune the top at the right time so that the guava tree flowers in the off-season, not to harvest in the summer but to harvest in late autumn to late winter. This is the time when there are many dry winds and dry weather, the guava fruit will be sweet, the consumption market is stronger than all other seasons.

If done correctly, guava trees can produce fruit off-season at a time when the market is low on supply. However, this is also the stage when the trees need careful care, such as: carefully wrapping the fruit, thinning to make the fruit large, crispy and avoiding pests.

Currently, the entire Ha Nam commune has 1,228 hectares of guava. This is the main crop of the commune, bringing stable income to the people and is also an agricultural product that meets 3-star OCOP standards, of which about 200 hectares of guava are certified to meet VietGAP standards.

To serve guava consumption, in Ha Nam, there are currently hundreds of families buying cars to transport guava to sell in many places, especially Hanoi and Quang Ninh province. From the income from guava, high-rise buildings in Ha Nam commune have gradually sprung up, and the roads to the guava fields to transport goods are also spacious and airy.

Ha Nam commune continues to connect and call on businesses, organizations and individuals inside and outside the commune to participate in investing in production and linking sustainable and stable guava consumption.

Sustainable orientation

The guava varieties chosen to be grown in Ha Nam are mainly Bo and Xuc guava. These guava varieties have large fruits, are crispy, sweet, and have high yields. In 2024, due to the impact of Typhoon Yagi , guava growers suffered heavy losses. This year, many guava areas were also affected by root rot, so they did not produce as many fruits as in previous years. However, with the diligence of the people, the guava output of the whole commune this year reached about 41,500 tons.

Mr. Mac Van Mui, a trader in Van Mac village, said that he and his wife have been trading guava for more than ten years. Every day, they buy 1.5 - 2 tons of guava from people in the commune to sell in Hanoi. The current price of guava is from 10,000 - 11,000 VND/kg at the garden, and the market consumes quickly. "Whenever the price is good, both the seller and the buyer are happy. Compared to previous years, guava this year is consumed faster and more conveniently. This can be considered a rustic gift that city people love," said Mr. Mui.

Despite the advantages, the sustainable development of guava trees is also a top concern for the Party Committee and the Ha Nam Commune authorities. Mr. Tieu Hoang Trung, Head of the Ha Nam Commune Economic Department, said that in the coming time, Ha Nam Commune will strengthen propaganda and guide guava growers to strictly implement VietGAP procedures, ensure food safety and hygiene, meet requirements and expand the consumption market.

The locality continues to connect and call on businesses, organizations and individuals inside and outside the commune to invest in production and link up for sustainable and stable guava consumption. Recently, the commune has brought guava to trade fairs, introducing and displaying products in provinces and cities. Thereby, it aims to introduce and promote Ha Nam guava to consumers inside and outside the city.

The locality encourages farmers to promote the image of guava on social networking sites such as Zalo, Facebook, online sales... "The commune should soon build guava production areas and concentrated agricultural products with links, forming garden tourism, ecology, and the experience of picking and enjoying guava. It is important to raise people's awareness and responsibility in the guava production process to ensure food safety, not spraying pesticides indiscriminately but applying biological measures, using fruit fly traps, gradually bringing products into the supermarket system and clean agricultural product stores," said Mr. Trung.

On average, Ha Nam farmers earn about 150 million VND/ha of guava each year. Building an eco-tourism model in the "guava capital" is considered a promising direction, both promoting the value of agricultural products and demonstrating the will and aspiration of Ha Nam farmers to rise up.

Ha Nam commune was merged on the basis of 4 communes, including: Lien Mac, Thanh An, Thanh Xuan and Thanh Lang of Thanh Ha district (formerly Hai Duong province). All 4 localities have strengths in guava cultivation, in which Lien Mac has specialized in guava cultivation for a long time. From the "capital" Lien Mac, guava is grown throughout Thanh Ha district (formerly).

BRIGHT MOON

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/xa-ha-nam-dua-oi-trai-vu-thanh-nong-san-dac-trung-524022.html