Vegetables are planted on rice production areas, bringing high economic value. (Photo: baotintuc.vn)
According to farmer Le Thanh Hung in Son Thuan village, My Thuan commune, since November 2015, his family started planting chilli in areas earlier used for rice production. Three months later, his family harvested chilli fruits for the first time. Since then, the chilli can be harvested every three days, bringing an income of nearly VND300 million so far. Apart from chilli, he plants cucumber, momordica charantia and watermelon.
Talking about replacing rice production with vegetable production, Le Thi Kieu Oanh, an officer of the commune, said that 161 hectares of rice production land in the commune had been changed into vegetable land. A majority of the areas have become profitable, some bringing profit of several hundred million VND each season. “In the first half of 2016, nearly 2,400 tons of vegetables of different kinds were harvested,” she said.
Tran Huu Ngoc, Vice Chairman of the communal Farmers’ Association, said rice production depends heavily on weather and is often affected by salt intrusion. Thanks to local authorities’ encouragement, many farmers have changed to vegetable production and started to get higher income.
The efficiency of vegetable plantation has made the commune decide to establish some concentrated production regions where farmers will be given technical instructions in planting the types of products that appeal to the market, according to Mr. Ngoc. “Farmers, therefore, will have stable income and reduced pressure of dealing with drought and salt intrusion,” he said.
Hon Dat is a district with the largest area of rice production in Kien Giang province, producing over one million tons of rice per year. However, in several consecutive seasons, rice production met difficulties due to drought and salt intrusion, as well as inconvenient consumption. Therefore, the changing to vegetable production is a way proven to be effective for farmers in improving their income./.