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| Organic cucumber garden of Suoi Cat Vegetable Cooperative, Xuan Loc commune. Photo by Dang Hung |
Suoi Cat Vegetable Cooperative currently has 15.5 hectares specializing in growing vegetables, tubers, and fruits. On average, each year, the unit supplies the market with about 360 tons of vegetables, tubers, and fruits and 250 tons of leafy vegetables. In 2023, all products of the Cooperative will be certified to meet VietGAP standards, marking an important step forward in ensuring quality, food safety and hygiene, and enhancing reputation with consumers.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hong, Director of Suoi Cat Vegetable Cooperative, shared: Production according to VietGAP and circular agriculture is the long-term orientation of the Cooperative. The immediate effectiveness is not yet clear, because productivity is lower, product designs are not uniform and the selling price is only equal to products grown by traditional methods. However, the sustainable benefit is to ensure the health of both producers and consumers, while minimizing negative impacts on the environment.
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| Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hong, Director of Suoi Cat Vegetable Cooperative, Xuan Loc Commune, shared with reporters about the process of growing organic vegetables. Photo: Dang Hung |
The biggest difficulty of the Cooperative at present is the output for clean agricultural products. Despite high quality and methodical production, Suoi Cat's VietGAP vegetables have not yet reached large markets due to fierce competition and strict requirements on quantity and design. Therefore, most of the Cooperative's output is consumed through traditional customers, mainly based on long-term trust. "We are struggling to find ways to expand the market. If there are more stable connection channels, the Cooperative will boldly expand the area and improve production quality" - Mr. Hong said.
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| Organically grown cucumbers are not uniform in appearance or beautiful, but the quality is guaranteed. Photo: Dang Hung |
In the context of the recent high price of vegetables and tubers, such as squash at 16,000 VND/kg, cucumber at 14,000 VND/kg, leafy vegetables at about 10,000 VND/kg, stable production helps farmers increase their income. According to the Cooperative's calculations, if cultivation is good and prices are kept at the above level, each hectare of vegetables will generate an average revenue of about 450 million VND/year. Mr. Hong's farm currently creates regular jobs for 8 workers with a salary of about 8 million VND/month, and at the same time creates seasonal jobs for about 30 local workers with a salary of 300,000 VND/day.
Not only does it bring economic efficiency, the clean vegetable production model also creates a safe working environment, limiting exposure to toxic chemicals. Ms. Nguyen Thi Le, a worker at the cooperative, said: "The garden here uses only biological fertilizers, so it is very safe. We work without wearing masks, without worrying about chemicals affecting our health. Working long-term is also more secure."
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| Workers harvest cucumbers at Suoi Cat Vegetable Cooperative, Xuan Loc commune. Photo: Dang Hung |
In order to support people and cooperatives in developing clean agriculture, the Xuan Loc commune government has recently made efforts in connecting consumption and promoting products. The commune has proactively coordinated with businesses, supermarkets, and e-commerce platforms to bring products to modern sales channels; at the same time, it has supported cooperatives in building brands, origin traceability stamps, participating in the OCOP program and maintaining VietGAP certification.
According to Mr. Ho Van Tai, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Xuan Loc Commune, in the coming time, the locality will continue to accompany Suoi Cat Vegetable Cooperative in evaluating and renewing VietGAP certification; at the same time, it will propose that the province support capital from the Farmer Support Fund for organic agricultural models. "We hope that the clean and safe production model will be replicated to increase the value of agricultural products and income for people" - Mr. Tai emphasized.
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| Mr. Ho Van Tai, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Xuan Loc Commune (middle) shares about the local clean agricultural development direction. Photo: Dang Hung |
To develop organic agriculture and sustainable clean agriculture, Xuan Loc people believe that there needs to be a close connection between four parties: farmers, the state, scientists and businesses. This synchronous coordination will help form a closed production - processing - consumption chain, ensure stable output, improve product quality, and create motivation for farmers to confidently invest in production.
With the participation of the government and the efforts of the people, Xuan Loc clean agriculture is expected to continue to develop, contributing positively to the goal of building sustainable agriculture in Dong Nai province.
Le Thuy - Dang Hung
Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/kinh-te/202511/xa-xuan-loc-thuc-day-nong-nghiep-sach-mo-huong-di-ben-vung-cho-nong-dan-32a0142/
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