VietGAP farming hubs help elevate agricultural products of Hue City

Huong An green onions brand

Mentioning Huong An Ward (Hue City), local people take great pride in the fact that green onions have become a brand, considered the hub of green onions in Hue.

Thanks to the crop restructuring from 2000 to 2005, many low-yield rice areas were gradually converted by local people into green onion cultivation, resulting in high economic efficiency. Gradually, most of the green onions here have been produced under VietGAP orientation.

Mrs. Phan Thi S. (64 years old, Co Buu hamlet) shared that her family used to grow rice and beans, then switched to growing VietGAP green onions for more than 10 years.

“My family has 2 hectares of onion land, guided by the cooperative and many experts on pest prevention, plus the abundant water source here makes onion farming very effective, bringing higher income than rice. If the yield and price are favorable, just one onion bed can generate higher income than one sao (local measurement unit, ~ 500 m²) of rice. One main-season onion bed can yield up to VND 2 million, while one sao of rice only gets about VND 1.5 million. Under VietGAP standards, onions are harvested every 40 - 45 days (3 harvests per season), on average one sao yields over 1 ton/year. Each year my family earns more than a hundred million, life is much better,” Mrs. S. revealed.

Mr. Ho Phuoc Doan, Director of Huong An Agricultural Cooperative, said that in recent years, the cooperative has focused on leadership and direction to promote the application of science and technology in production, emphasizing clean agriculture development, and initially forming a safe green onion production model with 16.5 hectares of VietGAP and more than 170 households participating. The cooperative regularly coordinates with Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry to train farmers in VietGAP onion cultivation techniques. Onion farming has yielded clear economic benefits, with 10-12 tons of onions shipped to the market daily, totaling thousands of tons annually. These onions are supplied to wholesale markets in Hue City and its neighboring areas, including Da Nang, Quang Ngai, and Quang Tri, making Hue City a hub for green onions.

“People have had about 20 years of onion cultivation, so their experience in taking care of this crop is very good, especially since they have been trained under VietGAP orientation. Thanks to onions, many households in the ward have built spacious houses. More than 90% of the houses of onion farmers are solid and multi-storied, 100% of households own motorbikes, and the quality of life of the people has continuously improved,” Mr. Doan said.

The pennywort hub of Hue City

Similar to Huong An green onions, nearly 20 years ago, people in Quang Tho (Quang Dien commune, Hue City) converted from rice farming to pennywort cultivation. In 2012, the VietGAP production procedure for pennywort was officially implemented here. Participating households received training in cultivation and care to enhance productivity and product quality. Since then, Quang Tho pennywort has become well known and the area has increased significantly, now becoming the largest pennywort farming area in Hue City.

With the VietGAP model, pennywort growers monitor and record the production process to ensure the safety of the products when they reach consumers. Farmers spray biological pesticides in the fields according to the four-right principle, including “right pesticide, right dosage, right time, and right method.” Currently, Quang Tho has more than 50 hectares (250 households) of production, which is strictly under VietGAP procedures.

Thanks to pennywort, many households have earned high incomes and prospered. For example, Mr. Nguyen Luong Bao (La Van Thuong hamlet) earns an average of VND 200 - 300 million/year. A few years ago, he built a new house worth about VND 1.5 billion.

“My family grows 1 hectare of VietGAP pennywort and hires all the labor for weeding, fertilizing, care, harvesting, creating more jobs for local workers. Pennywort cultivation is not difficult, easy to care for, has few pests, and brings high income, with economic efficiency many times higher than rice,” Mr. Bao said.

Nowadays, Quang Tho pennywort products are not only highly consumed in Hue City but are also popular nationwide.

To ensure a stable output for pennywort, the local government assigned the Quang Tho 2 Agricultural Cooperative as the focal point for purchasing, guaranteeing product consumption, and serving as a connector between farmers and consumption channels. In addition to purchasing fresh pennywort for traders, with funding supported by Hue City, Quang Tho 2 Cooperative has built a processing factory for pennywort products with modern machinery and technology.

In 2020, the Hue City People's Committee recognized the “Quang Tho pennywort tea” product as a 4-star OCOP product. The city also certified the matcha pennywort powder as an outstanding rural industrial product. These products have been granted collective trademarks and certified by the Intellectual Property Office, with licensing for production provided by the Ministry of Health’s Food Safety Department.

Mr. Hoang Trong An, Deputy Director of Quang Tho 2 Agricultural Cooperative, added that the cooperative will encourage farmers to expand VietGAP pennywort cultivation and purchase and produce more items and products to bring to domestic and international markets in the coming time.

* $1 = VND 26.446 - Source: Vietcombank.