Early winter vegetables in Hai Duong are a big hit.

Farmers "hit the jackpot"

Viewed through a drone flying high above, the winter vegetable growing area in Hung Dao commune (Tu Ky) appears lush green. Some fields of early kohlrabi have begun to yield harvests with high selling prices, making farmers happy.

Joining us on a visit to the kohlrabi growing area in O Me village, Mr. Pham Van Tinh, Chairman of the Commune Farmers' Association, said that Hung Dao is considered the "winter vegetable granary" in Tu Ky district with about 308 hectares. After storm No. 3, the entire commune suffered damage to 140 hectares of early winter vegetables. Immediately after the storm, the people here immediately started to restore production because they clearly understood the great value of early winter vegetables.

From September 15 to October 10, farmers in Hung Dao commune mobilized all their manpower and machinery to go to other provinces to buy vegetable seeds to cover the entire area. They chose kohlrabi as the main crop in this early crop, expanding the area to 70%.

The weather is favorable, with few pests and diseases, so this vegetable grows well and has a very beautiful appearance. Most of the kohlrabi fields have been booked by traders 10-15 days before harvest time. Up to now, the whole commune has about 15 hectares of kohlrabi ready for early harvest.

"It can be said that people have "hit the jackpot" with this crop of vegetables. Each sao of kohlrabi is planted with 3,000 roots, traders pay from 3,000 to 4,000 VND/root. After only 45 days of planting, farmers pocket 7-8 million VND/sao, about 1 million VND/sao higher than last year," Mr. Tinh excitedly informed.

Mr. Tran Quang Binh's family in O Me village planted 4 hectares of early kohlrabi and happily said: "My family has now harvested about half of the area. Each hectare is sure to bring in 70 million VND in profit. Experience shows that early winter vegetables always sell for a high price, so my family grows a lot every year."

Also in Tu Ky district, farmers in Tai Son and Ngoc Ky communes also "hit the jackpot" by focusing on growing early winter vegetables. After storm No. 3, many areas of leafy vegetables (sweet cabbage, Chinese cabbage...) were sold by farmers in these localities at the field price of 10,000 - 15,000 VND/bunch. Currently, the selling price of leafy vegetables has decreased by half but still earns a profit of 4-5 million VND/sao.

Through many winter vegetable growing areas in Gia Loc district in Doan Thuong, Hoang Dieu, Gia Luong, and Le Loi communes, we saw that many areas of early cabbage had been harvested. Farmers in these communes said that this year's early winter cabbage was the most expensive in many years. Traders bought "vo" at the field for 10-12 million VND/sao, and farmers earned a profit of 7-9 million VND/sao.

Do not let the land rest

Across the fields of communes in area C of Kim Thanh district, farmers are also harvesting early winter crops with the joy of a good harvest and good prices.

Mr. Nguyen Dang Bac, Director of Dong Cam Commune Agricultural Service Cooperative, said that many areas of watermelon recovered after the storm have been sold by farmers for 8,000 - 12,000 VND/kg, 2,000 - 6,000 VND/kg higher than the same period last year.

After the storm, the market for green vegetables was scarce. Some leafy vegetables such as mustard greens (cai can) in Dong Cam commune were sold to traders for 7 million VND/sao, about 2-3 million VND/sao higher than last year. The current vegetable prices have decreased but farmers still make a profit.

"The weather is very favorable. As soon as vegetables are harvested, we encourage farmers to rotate to planting kohlrabi, cauliflower, and cabbage in time to sell them during the upcoming Tet holiday. The goal of the whole commune is to plant more than 400 hectares," said Mr. Bac.

In the vegetable growing area in Pham Kha commune (Thanh Mien), farmers have just pocketed 16-17 million VND/sao of green onions, 4-6 million VND/sao of sweet cabbage, Chinese cabbage, Chinese cabbage, lettuce... The impact of storm No. 3 has caused the price of early winter vegetables to increase. After the storm, there was a time when farmers here sold more than 30 million VND/sao of green onions.

With a good early winter vegetable season, farmer Pham Kha is excited and eager to turn around the land and plant new crops. Planting some types of vegetables is quick and low-cost because farmers only need to resurface the beds and sow seeds.

Director of the Agricultural Service Cooperative of Pham Kha Commune Vu Viet Khang informed: "People here work almost continuously, without letting the land rest. We also increase rat extermination. Every 2 days, the cooperative pumps water to serve production. When there is heavy rain, drainage is carried out immediately. From 2018 to now, electricity prices have increased many times, but we still collect service fees at the old level so that farmers can benefit."

Chairman of Hung Dao Commune People's Committee Pham Van Tien said that he has assigned the Agricultural Service Cooperative to coordinate with the Commune Farmers' Association to regularly grasp market information to guide farmers in planting vegetables to ensure balance, limit the occurrence of "supply exceeding demand" and "good harvest, low price". Actively cooperate with businesses purchasing vegetables in and outside the province to support people in consuming vegetables.

According to the provincial Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, the current weather is very suitable for growing winter vegetables. After the storm, most pests were destroyed, and crops have fewer pests than the same period last year. The demand for green vegetables in the market at the end of the year is high, so farmers need to take advantage to develop production.