Don Nhan develops fruit growing areas to achieve OCOP product certification

The journey of guava trees taking root in the fields of Don Nhan Commune (Song Lo) has borne “sweet fruit” when they were recognized as products with 3-star OCOP certification at the provincial level. Up to now, many local households have focused on expanding and developing fruit growing areas with high economic value, contributing to hunger eradication, poverty reduction, and income increase.

Thanks to growing guava with OCOP star, Mr. Do Quy Tuan's family, Hoa Binh village, Don Nhan commune (Song Lo) "pocketed" 300 million VND/year.

In recent years, the Party Committee and authorities of Don Nhan commune have regularly promoted and mobilized people to change their crop structure, from low-yield fruit trees to growing fruit trees with high economic value.

At the same time, organize many training courses to transfer scientific and technical advances in cultivation, rice pest control, etc. to the people. Coordinate with the relevant departments to review, inspect, and select qualified fruit growing areas to guide and support people in applying modern farming methods, increasing value, expanding the area of ​​typical fruit trees, ensuring value and production efficiency.

Up to now, the whole commune has 60 hectares of land for growing various fruit trees, such as longan, grapefruit, lychee, etc. Especially guava trees with main varieties such as Taiwanese guava, queen guava, pear guava, etc. grown in 3 villages: Hoa Binh, Trung Hoa, Trung village.

Thanks to its non-selective nature, adaptability to many different climates, and careful care from farmers, guava trees in Don Nhan fields produce high yields of fruit during harvest, favored by consumers for their rich, sweet, crunchy taste. From a “playful” crop, many households in the area have expanded their cultivation areas, learned cultivation techniques, and turned guava trees into “money-making” trees.

Since 2023, the guava growing area here has been granted a provincial-level 3-star OCOP product certificate, gradually affirming itself as a poverty-reducing variety and creating its own brand. Thanks to that, the socio-economic situation in the area has been maintained and developed stably in recent years, with average income per capita reaching 62 million VND/person/year by the end of 2024, and the poverty rate decreasing to 0.62%...

This is the main harvest season, guava is purchased by traders at prices ranging from a few thousand to tens of thousands of VND/kg, depending on the variety and type of fruit. According to people's calculations, each hectare of land can grow up to 950 guava trees, each tree yields about 70 kg of fruit/year, bringing in hundreds of millions of VND/ha/year.

With nearly 20 years of experience growing guava, Mr. Nguyen Viet Giap, Hoa Binh village, revealed that the secret to having a tree with many fruits, large fruits, and high productivity is that when the tree starts to produce small fruits in pairs, the grower needs to prune some of the fruits. Then, they must be covered with plastic bags to avoid insects biting and rotting the fruit. To limit pests and diseases that harm the plants, his family also uses homemade biological products made from garlic water and chili to spray on the plants.

Sharing with us, Mr. Giap said: “Compared to growing common fruit varieties, growing guava is more economically efficient. Especially for guava growing areas that have been granted 3-star OCOP product certification, it not only helps farmers have stable output but also helps consumers feel more secure when buying fruits with clear product origin. Only then will farmers' production and consumption be sustainable.”

The Green Song Lo Crop Cooperative currently has 12 members with 8 hectares of guava growing land certified as a 3-star OCOP product at the provincial level. In recent times, the Board of Directors of the Cooperative has regularly promoted, mobilized and thoroughly instructed members to comply with the correct technical care process, use biological products in cultivation... helping the plants have fewer pests and diseases, beautiful and larger fruit, and ensure food safety and hygiene standards.

Thanks to that, production costs not only decreased by about 10% but were also purchased by traders at a "slightly" higher price than households applying conventional farming methods, contributing to increasing revenue and income for members.

The family of Mr. Do Quy Tuan, Deputy Director of Song Lo Green Crop Cooperative, is currently growing 800 guava trees such as pear guava, Ruby guava, etc. Mr. Tuan said: "Achieving OCOP product certification helps guava growers increase consumption output and feel secure in their profession.

Currently, it is the guava harvest season, so families are rushing to sell the garden to traders at an average price of 4-5 thousand VND/kg; if they sell grade 1 fruit, the average price will be 10-12 thousand VND/kg. With 1 hectare of guava being grown, my family harvests an average of 60 tons of fruit/year, bringing in an income of about 300 million VND/year.

Sharing about the orientation of developing fruit growing areas with high economic value in general and expanding the guava growing area with OCOP product certification in the area in particular, Mr. Nguyen Van Lam, an agricultural officer of Don Nhan commune, said: "Since Don Nhan guava was awarded the OCOP product star, the local government and people are very proud to build a separate brand for the local traditional product, known by many consumers in and outside the province".

To expand the area of ​​fruit trees with OCOP stars, in the long term, local authorities continue to promote propaganda about the purpose, meaning and requirements of the OCOP program.

Guide subjects to complete legal procedures related to re-registration for expiring OCOP products to maintain and affirm the brand. Build and replicate models and chains of highly effective fruit tree production.

Focus on innovating production organization towards developing cooperation and linkage between enterprises, cooperatives and people in production, processing and consumption of products, contributing to building a quality, effective and sustainable OCOP product ecosystem.

Article and photos: Ngoc Lan

Source: http://baovinhphuc.com.vn/Multimedia/Images/Id/129449/Don-Nhan-phat-trien-vung-trong-cay-an-qua-dat-chung-nhan-san-pham-OCOP