Sustainable winter crop

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has just held a conference to review agricultural production in 2023 and deploy tasks for 2024 in the northern provinces and cities in Hai Duong. It is no coincidence that Hai Duong was chosen to host this important event because for many years, the province has always been a bright spot in the country's agricultural development, especially winter crop production.

The delegates from the Central and local governments came to Hai Duong not only to attend the conference to discuss and evaluate the production results but also to see with their own eyes how farmers do the winter crop. The delegation visited two major winter crop production areas of the province: onions and garlic in Kinh Mon and carrots in Cam Giang.

Hai Duong has long been the agricultural granary of the North with its strength in winter crops. In addition to experience, farmers in the province have also actively researched, boldly innovated, and applied technical advances to improve productivity and product quality. Thanks to that, winter agricultural products have built a reputation nationwide, even conquering foreign markets. The province's winter crop production value has reached 223.5 million VND/ha, 2.2 times higher than the average of the whole North. At this conference, Hai Duong Provincial Party Secretary Tran Duc Thang affirmed that winter crop production is the pride of farmers in the East.

Hai Duong farmers cultivate winter crops in a systematic and methodical manner. The province has established specialized winter crop areas with the characteristics of each locality. These include Gia Loc cabbage and kohlrabi; Kinh Mon onions and garlic; Cam Giang and Nam Sach carrots, etc. This is enough to show that Hai Duong exploits the advantages of each place to develop suitable crops. Many winter agricultural products have become OCOP products, building prestige and trust to be present in high-segment markets. Therefore, farmers are more attached to the winter crop.

Besides the bright spots, frankly speaking, the province's winter crop still has "bottlenecks" that need to be resolved soon. Most winter agricultural products are consumed by traders, so many times the selling price is low and dependent. The characteristic of vegetables is seasonal, harvested in a short time, but Hai Duong still does not have a deep processing facility commensurate with its production strengths. On the other hand, the province is aiming for industrialization and modernization, so in the coming time, the land fund for agricultural production in general and the winter crop in particular will decrease. Therefore, it is necessary to calculate for the sustainable development of the winter crop.

In order to minimize risks in the production and consumption of winter agricultural products, the province has built linkage models between farmers and enterprises, but not many. Therefore, it is necessary to have a "referee" as a state management agency to oversee and urge this linkage. The province should have clear incentive mechanisms and policies to attract enterprises to invest in the agricultural processing sector; at the same time, there should be solutions to increase economic value on a production area. From there, build a specialized high-value winter crop area. Localities can consider winter crop production options associated with tourism and experiential activities to exploit economic efficiency from other values ​​instead of focusing only on crop productivity and output. Another issue that needs attention is that the winter-spring crop is getting warmer while the province's winter agricultural products are mainly cold-loving plants. Therefore, it is necessary to have a plan to adapt, avoid confusion and passivity when the weather is not favorable.

The winter crop has always been a highlight in Hai Duong’s agricultural picture. A sustainable winter crop is the fulcrum for the province to develop a balanced and harmonious economy, especially when other economic sectors are facing difficulties. Winter crop development must follow a specific and clear direction so that when mentioning winter crop production, everyone immediately thinks of Hai Duong, even when the province has become an industrial province.