Long An (VNA) – The Mekong Delta province of LongAn, which produces about 215,000 tonnes of dragon fruit every year, is aimingto increase its exports of the fruit by using state-of-the-art technology todevelop 2,000ha of new growing land in Chau Thanh district.

The plan, which the provincial agriculture department sayswill be completed by 2020, will expand the province’s dragon fruit-growing areafrom its current 9,200ha. The new cultivation area will produce pesticide-freedragon fruits.  

According to the provincial Department of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, 80 percent of Long An’s dragon fruit is sent to the Chinesemarket. Fifteen percent is consumed domestically, and the rest is sent toJapan, Thailand, the US and Europe.

The price of dragon fruit in the Chinese market is consideredunstable and determined by traders, so farmers would like to sell to a broaderrange of markets.  Therefore, it is necessary to invest in differentproduction methods that will allow the fruit to meet the standards set byimporters like Japan, the US and the EU.

In order to expand the dragon fruit-export market, theprovince has made detailed plans to develop growing areas according toGlobalGAP and VietGAP standards.

Thanks to these strategic directions, Long An dragon fruitshave been accepted by foreign markets such as Japan, the Republic of Korea, NewZealand and Taiwan (China), all of which have strict standards for producesafety. 

In order to implement the plan, the district developed two5ha clean dragon fruit-growing models at the two cooperatives of Long Hoi and TamVu last year. The models grow dragon fruit following VietGAP (Vietnam GoodAgricultural Practices) standards, using organic fertilizers, bio-fertilizers,bio-products and insect traps.

This year, the district has implemented six pilot models witha total area of 145.2 ha. At the pilot sites, staff have guided farmers to useorganic fertilizers, bio-fertilizers, probiotics and advanced technology forgrafting.   

Another pilot area in Long Tri commune applies an advancedirrigation system for dragon fruit trees on acreage of 5,000 sq.m.

Nguyen Van Phi, a farmer who was participating in a pilotdragon fruit project at An Luc Long commune, said that using theVietGAP-standard model was costly but the consumption market was guaranteed.

Phi said all the dragon fruits produced at An Luc Long commune’spilot project were purchased by Hoang Phat Ltd. Co.

Vo Van Van, head of Chau Thanh district’s Agriculture Office,said the local agricultural sector has implemented VietGAP standards on 700haof dragon fruit cultivation area, with the participation of 1,800 families.

"Although the implementation of the project has copedwith difficulties, including a lack of fertilizer storage, pesticides and thefield-cleaning process, I believe that the project is moving in the right direction,"he said.

Le Van Hoang, Director of the provincial Department ofAgriculture and Rural Development, said that in the current market, farmersmust move to clean agriculture and high technology, aiming at stabilizingoutput and improving the value of their products.

However, according to the department, the expansion of theclean dragon fruit-growing model is difficult because it requires a largeamount of money from farmers who want to participate in the project.

For example, the model at Long Tri commune asked farmers tocontribute 70 percent of the total investment, while the Central budget covered30 percent.

The province also has no policy or budget to implement theVietGAP dragon fruit projects.

According to Pham Van Canh, Vice Chairman of the Long An provincialPeople’s Committee, the province will direct the agriculture department andgrass-roots authorities to guide farmers and enterprises to improve productioncapacity and pack dragon fruits according to export standards.

Currently, Chau Thanh district is home to four companies,three enterprises, four cooperatives and 107 gardens involved in dragon fruitproduction.

Most companies buying the fruits for export have contractswith export companies in Binh Thuan province and HCM City.-VNA