Mango - the poverty alleviation tree of people in Thanh Hai coastal area

Creating value chain linkages, promoting the collective economy with economic models of cooperatives and cooperatives. That is one of the contents on developing the rural agricultural economy in a green-sustainable-ecological direction in the Political Report presented to the 1st Provincial Party Congress, term 2025-2030. In Thanh Hai commune, the Party Committee and local authorities have been sensitive to bringing mango trees to create livelihoods, promoting eco-tourism in Con Bung sea.

Mr. Vo Quoc Dat's mango garden is ready to harvest.

Mango tree on sandy soil

Mr. Nguyen Van Trung - Head of the Economic Department of Thanh Hai Commune said that the total mango area of the locality is currently more than 289 hectares, with 352 households participating in growing. Of which, 74 households grow and cultivate according to the VietGAP model, with an area of more than 30 hectares.

Thanh Hai commune has 12 hamlets, 4,524 households with more than 18,000 people. The hamlet with the largest mango growing area is Thanh Hung A, with 163 hectares.

“People mainly grow four-season mangoes - which produce fruit all year round. Previously, when mango trees were brought to the foot of this coastal sand dune, people grew Hoa Loc sand mangoes, which produce fruit seasonally and have low economic value.

Since the government implemented and encouraged people to switch to growing four-season mangoes to serve tourists when visiting Con Bung beach, people have boldly switched to this mango tree. Four-season mangoes have been growing for about 15-17 years now.

Talking about poverty alleviation trees, in Thanh Hung A hamlet, many households have become well-off and rich thanks to growing mango trees," said Mr. Pham Van Thang, Thanh Hung A hamlet.

Mr. Thang took us to Mr. Vo Quoc Dat's house in Thanh Hung A hamlet. Mr. Dat grows more than 1 hectare of four-season mangoes according to the VietGAP model. He is the person who grows the most mangoes in the hamlet and is a pioneer in cultivating according to this model.

The mango garden is preparing for harvest season, Mr. Thang said, according to the process, after pruning branches, shaping the canopy, fertilizing, treating flowers, fruiting... it takes about 2 and a half months, wrapping the fruit for another month then harvesting. If cultivated according to the VietGAP certified model, the price of mangoes when in demand can reach up to 25,000 VND/kg; normally the price is from 18,000-20,000 VND/kg.

With 1 hectare of mango of the family, on average 1 harvest is from 5.5 to 5.8 tons, bringing in an income of more than 100 million VND/crop. Compared to previous color growing, mango growing has a much higher income.

Associated with sustainable ecotourism development

Mr. Thang added that in Thanh Hung A hamlet, every house grows four-season mangoes. People take advantage of the land on the edge of the land, which was previously left unused or only used to grow grass to feed cows, to grow mangoes.

Mango trees are very suitable for this land. Many households have escaped poverty thanks to the four-season mango trees. Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Anh (a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City) and her husband and two children visited Con Bung beach and enjoyed experiences such as stopping by the roadside to pick watermelons, pulling cassava, picking mangoes by hand in the mango garden, eating on the spot or buying them as gifts at the same price of 20,000 VND/kg.

According to Mr. Le Van Tien - Secretary of Thanh Hai Commune Party Committee, at that time, Mr. Lam Van Tan was Vice Chairman of Thanh Phu District People's Committee (old), the person with the "first credit" for shaping mango trees on the sand dunes along Thanh Hai coast.

Mr. Tan boldly proposed to the Party Committee and the People's Committee of the commune to actively propagate, mobilize, and encourage people to change the crop structure with specialized planting and cultivation of mango. Because from reality and through visiting and learning from the provinces and cities that he went to and saw, mango trees are suitable for coastal sandy land, adapting to local climate conditions.

The day we met again with Mr. Lam Van Tan - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Vinh Long province, we talked about the mango trees in Thanh Hai coastal commune. According to Mr. Tan, since 2006, mango trees have appeared on the sand dunes of Thanh Hai commune with spontaneous planting among the people, mainly Hoa Loc sand mangoes.

The four-season mango tree has been planted by many people since 2012 until now. That is the sensitivity and flexibility of the Party Committee and the communal government when the Con Bung Eco-tourism Area has developed and attracted a large number of tourists from inside and outside the province to visit.

With the goal of encouraging Thanh Hai commune to continue expanding the mango area to 1,000 hectares, Mr. Lam Van Tan said that from the existing VietGAP models, he will encourage more people to participate, aiming for sustainable development and increasing the value of mango trees.

Currently, Thanh Hai commune has established 2 mango cooperatives and built a growing area code. Aiming to build and certify OCOP products, build geographical indications to export and bring mango products further.

Article and photos: ESTABLISHMENT

Source: https://baovinhlong.com.vn/kinh-te/nong-nghiep/202510/xoai-cay-xoa-ngheo-cua-nguoi-dan-vung-bien-thanh-hai-3ff0f7e/