Developing indigenous agricultural products, a new direction in Son Luong

In recent years, with the desire to preserve and develop local agricultural products, contributing to creating unique and valuable products on the market, increasing farmers' income and maintaining local cultural identity, My Luong Agricultural, Agricultural Product Processing and Traditional Medicine Application Cooperative in Son Luong commune has focused on developing local agricultural products, bringing high economic efficiency.

Mr. Dinh Anh Binh - Director of the Cooperative said: Born into a purely farming family, right after starting a family, my wife and I decided to start a business by supplying agricultural materials to farmers in the area. During the process of traveling to villages and hamlets to serve the people, I realized that among the people there are many unique and valuable native plant varieties but not many people are interested in them, leading to the risk of extinction. Therefore, my wife and I decided to find ways to preserve, conserve and promote local native agricultural varieties.

Mr. Dinh Anh Binh's model of raising native breeds is highly economically efficient.

Some of the local agricultural products that Mr. Binh and his wife invested in preserving are: Man duck, black pig, lion chicken or also known as bearded chicken, yellow sticky rice...

Man duck is an old breed of domestic duck in Son Luong.

Accordingly, the man goose, also known as the black goose or the moldy goose, is an old breed of domestic goose, raised by the Muong people in Son Luong for many generations. Its outstanding features are dark gray feathers, large, strong legs, firm meat, thick skin, little fat, naturally rich aroma, more delicious than hybrid goose, not crumbly or bland meat. This breed of goose can withstand cold and harsh weather well, has few diseases, grows slowly but has high quality meat, is very popular in family meals and country dishes.

The bearded chicken, also known as the lion chicken, has a frill, beard around the neck and beautiful shiny feathers.

Lion chicken, also known as bearded chicken, is a hybrid between a Chinese hen and a jungle fowl. The recognizable features of this breed of chicken are the fringe and beard around the face and neck like a lion's mane, feathered legs, and not too large in size, only about 2 - 2.2 kg for a normal rooster and 3 kg for a castrated rooster. In particular, the chicken has no fat under the belly, the meat is fragrant, sweet, and the skin is very crispy. The feather color of this breed of chicken is also extremely beautiful, mainly shiny, brilliant yellow and red.

In addition, the Cooperative also raises and preserves wild pigs, also known as armpit pigs. This is a small breed of pig, often raised freely, with a pointed snout, small ears, small legs, long and stiff hair, usually black in color. Wild pig meat is firm, low in fat, lean, delicious and naturally sweet. Along with native breeds, the Cooperative also collects and grows native varieties such as fetal rice, Moc Tuyen, and yellow sticky rice. Of which, yellow sticky rice is a precious rice variety that has been grown locally for a long time, has a very fragrant aroma, larger grains than regular sticky rice, and is sticky and sweet.

However, according to Mr. Binh, native plant varieties have one common characteristic: delicious, sweet but slow to grow, low yield, long time to make profit, so many people are easily discouraged, abandon the variety to switch to high-yield hybrid plant varieties. Therefore, to preserve, care for, and develop native plant varieties, the couple has a very unique way of doing things. First, planning separate planting and breeding areas is easy to manage, care for, and prevent pests, diseases and cross-infection. All crops and livestock are naturally cared for according to folk secrets such as eating medicinal herbs, herbal residues, drinking garlic yeast... to increase resistance and prevent diseases.

Currently, the Cooperative has 8 areas for growing seedlings and raising native breeds and medicinal plants, each area is from more than 1ha - 2ha, concentrated in Son Luong and Thu Cuc communes (Phu Tho province), Yen Bai province (old) now in Lao Cai province and Quang Ninh province. The breeding sites have been expanded into farm scale, maintaining an average of 300-400 pigs; 60-80 sows, about 1,000 chickens and nearly 1,000 geese. The entire process of care and food processing is strictly implemented to ensure food safety. Many products of the Cooperative are certified as 3-star OCOP products such as My Nuong black pork sausage and My Nuong wine, which are favored by many customers in and outside the province, and purchased many times. Monthly revenue from the cooperative's farm reaches 260 - 280 million VND, maintaining jobs and stable income for dozens of members.

Many products of My Luong Agricultural Cooperative, Agricultural Product Processing and Traditional Medicine Application are certified as OCOP products and are widely favored by customers.

It can be seen that the use of native plant and animal varieties helps farmers make better use of natural resources. In addition, the conservation and development of native agricultural products also contributes significantly to environmental protection, maintaining ecological balance and stabilizing livelihoods for the community, especially in remote areas. Hopefully, in the coming time, the model of preserving and developing native agricultural products in Son Luong will be replicated and developed in other localities in the province so that more people know the value of traditional agricultural products.

Vinh Ha

Source: https://baophutho.vn/phat-trien-nong-san-ban-dia-huong-di-moi-o-son-luong-237002.htm