Hai Duong - Winter star

Tree of wealth

Hai Duong has long been famous as the "vegetable granary" of the North and the whole country, with three crops produced each year, of which winter crops have the largest area, output and economic value compared to spring and summer-autumn crops with key crop production areas, concentrated in onions, garlic, carrots and various vegetables.

The carrot capital of Duc Chinh commune (Cam Giang) these days is filled with lush green from the fields to the vast alluvial land. Blessed by nature with fertile land and thanks to the experience and farming techniques of the people, Duc Chinh carrots have high productivity, beautiful appearance, long roots, and are rich in nutrients. This winter crop, Duc Chinh commune planted over 360 hectares of carrots, mainly according to VietGAP standards and organic direction, with an estimated output of 14,000 tons. With a field price of over 5,000 VND/kg, the total revenue of the commune is estimated at over 70 billion VND. People of Duc Chinh commune also go to many other places in the province and the provinces of Bac Ninh and Thai Binh to rent land to grow carrots with an area of ​​over 1,000 hectares, with an estimated output of over 40,000 tons, and a revenue of over 200 billion VND/year.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuat, Director of Duc Chinh Commune Agricultural Service Cooperative, said that 90% of the commune's carrot area is grown for export to Korea, Japan, Middle Eastern countries and partly to Europe. Last winter crop, Duc Chinh commune had 400 households growing carrots, earning over 500 million VND/household, many of whom earned billions of VND. Thanks to carrots, Duc Chinh commune's appearance has changed day by day, with spacious and beautiful roads, and multi-storey houses and villas springing up side by side.

When mentioning the winter crop, we cannot forget onions and garlic because this is a crop with high economic value, not less than carrots. The onion and garlic growing areas are mainly concentrated in Kinh Mon town and Nam Sach district. This year, some early onion areas in Nam Sach district have sold the whole field for 13-16 million VND/sao to traders, earning a profit of 8-10 million VND/sao. Mr. Nguyen Huy Dat, in Dong Thon village, Quoc Tuan commune (Nam Sach) said: "This crop, my onions are even and more beautiful than every year. Traders ordered to buy the entire area, but I only sold 1.6 acres for 13 million VND/sao, 5 million VND/sao higher than last year, earning 214.5 million VND, earning 145 million VND. I will use the remaining 1 acre to grow onion seeds for the next crop".

Other vegetable crops such as cabbage, kohlrabi, and cauliflower grown in Gia Loc, Tu Ky, Kim Thanh, and Thanh Mien districts also have high yields, favorable consumption markets, and more stable prices than in previous years.

In recent years, Hai Duong has focused on developing high-tech agriculture. The whole province currently has about 50 hectares of greenhouses and net houses growing melons, cucumbers, grapes, etc. As one of the two typical agricultural production models of Hai Duong, this winter crop, Tan Minh Duc Cooperative in Pham Tran Commune (Gia Loc) planted 29 hectares of melons and cucumbers in greenhouses and net houses. Of which, 20 hectares of melons are being harvested at a price of 26-35 million VND/sao, earning a profit of 15 million VND/sao, earning a profit of more than 8 billion VND for the whole crop.

Hai Duong has built a large consumption channel with 16 large production facilities, product consumption linkages and thousands of small facilities and individuals collecting and processing agricultural products. This is an important force contributing to Hai Duong maintaining stable winter crop production.

There is still much potential.

Ms. Luong Thi Kiem, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hai Duong, said that Hai Duong identifies agriculture as the mainstay of the economy and one of the four main pillars in the province's socio-economic development in the period of 2020-2025, with a vision to 2030. To sustainably develop winter crops, Hai Duong continues to maintain and expand key crop production areas, concentrate on large-scale commodities, with stable consumption markets and high economic value. Clearly orient the target market such as serving exports or the domestic market to organize production. Focus on safe production according to VietGAP, GlobalGAP standards and import market standards to meet domestic consumption and facilitate exports.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hai Duong, key crops such as onions, garlic, carrots, and potatoes have the potential to expand and have a large consumer market. Every year, Vietnam still has to import onions from China because domestic production is not enough to meet demand. Some winter crops such as onions, garlic, and potatoes grown on land with two rice crops have the effect of improving the soil and giving high rice yields. Therefore, in the coming time, Hai Duong will continue to support an additional VND4 million/ha of winter crops for businesses, cooperatives, and individual households participating in acreage development and choosing to grow winter crops with high economic value.

To bring higher value to the winter crop, Mr. Nguyen Nhu Cuong, Director of the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) suggested that in addition to understanding the market, Hai Duong and other provinces need to organize cooperation with distribution and processing units, adjust the seed structure to ensure the amount of green vegetables supplied to the domestic market according to each stage and people's needs. For export products such as carrots and cabbage, it is necessary to proactively evaluate, review, and remove market obstacles, and comply with food safety and hygiene regulations as required by exporters.