A corner of Lao Kho village. Photo:Duong Dinh Tuong.

Mong people establish cooperative to grow VietGAP plums, organic orientation

“Here, in one day, you can experience all four seasons: cold mornings, hot noon, cool afternoons, and freezing nights. The harsh climate and rocky soil make it difficult to live, yet it is the birthplace of a famous fruit -Dried Lao plumUnlike any other plum on the market, Lao Kho plum has a sweet, crunchy, mildly fragrant, and juicy taste.

Each plum is the crystallization of the ideal altitude, the hot and dry Lao wind, the cold dew of the first season and above all, the hard-working, honest Mong people who have lived for generations on this steep mountainside" - that is the first part of the introduction printed in the leaflet of Lao Kho Agricultural Cooperative, of which Lo Lao Chua is the Director. Hearing the commune officials talk a lot about this Mong man, I decided to go find him.

His house is on the top of a mountain over 1,100 m high overlooking Lao Kho village, where in winter ice often accumulates on the roof, and he has to cover himself with a cotton blanket all year round. His childhood was like that of many other Mong boys of the 8X generation, three meals a day of men men (steamed corn flour) poured into a basin, each person scooped a ladle of men men and a ladle of water to eat to avoid choking before going to the fields.

When planting rice, rats and birds came down to destroy it. When planting corn, wild pigs and squirrels came to eat it. When the harvest season came, the agricultural products were not enough to pay the high-interest investors, so the debt kept growing every year. It was not until 2004, when Chua and his father were able to plant 200 plum trees, that the family's life gradually improved.

Mr. Lo Lao Chua checks the plum garden. Photo:Duong Dinh Tuong..

After getting married and moving out, in 2012, Chua planted 500 more plum trees, equivalent to 2 more hectares. Thanks to the plum garden, both of his children went to university, becoming the most educated family in the village. Although his individual business was thriving, in 2019 he decided to establish a cooperative. “I heard about collective business to build a brand and link up to purchase, so I established a cooperative with 9 members and have kept it up to now with a total area of ​​12 hectares of plums.

The effect of collective farming is using less pesticides, safer products, and higher economic efficiency. Before, when they were still growing corn, some households in the village had their buffaloes and motorbikes taken away by the investor to pay off their debts. The investor also wanted to take their land, but the village management board did not allow it," said Mr. Chua.

Then he drove me up the plum hill on a motorbike along the “rat run” roads about two spans wide, the only difference being that they were now concreted. Finally, a vast garden appeared across the sky withplumThe purple flowers are heavy on the branches, standing out among the green canopy of leaves.

There's nothing better than eating plums right from the garden. Photo:Duong Dinh Tuong.

We weaved our way under the tree canopy, conveniently picking the biggest, purplest fruit and putting it in our mouths to chew noisily. When newly ripe, Lao Kho plums are hard, have thick powder, and taste quite sour and astringent, making them convenient for transport, but when fully ripe, they are sweet. To take care of plum trees, those who raise cattle and buffaloes have manure ready to compost, or else buy manure to compost and apply as base fertilizer. Mr. Chua explained that pesticides must be sprayed three times a year, including after harvest, when preparing flowers, and when fruiting. All pesticides are isolated for 2 months from the time of harvest and are not used at all.herbicidebut use generator.

“The cooperative currently has 12 hectares of plums that met VietGAP standards in 2021, with 3 households producing organically, including Mr. Trang Lao Ho, Trang Lao Ky and me. The cooperative's plum products have also just been recognized as 3-star OCOP. In 2023, I harvested 18 tons of plums, sold for 180 million VND, minus expenses, making a profit of 120 million VND. In 2024, I harvested 13 tons, sold for 240 million VND, minus expenses, making a profit of 170 million VND.

This year I expect to harvest 18 - 20 tons, the selling price is lower, only about 10,000 VND/kg, equal to the price of normally produced plums because traders who come to buy do not ask if your plum garden has VietGAP, OCOP or not", Mr. Chua worried.

The village is particularly difficult, in the 21 km border of Phieng Khoai commune, Lao Kho occupies more than 7 km. However, the pagoda has a television, refrigerator, motorbike, pickup truck, and a savings book of more than 200 million VND.

Plum picking in Lao Kho village. Photo:Duong Dinh Tuong.

Profit of 100 million VND/year is little

From veteran party member Trang Lao Lu who pioneered plum planting, currently 27 party members in Lao Kho village have also planted plums. Mr. Trang Lao Minh - Head of the village informed that the village has 137 households, 100% of them Mong ethnic group, last year the number of poor households was reduced by 13 so there are only 12 households left. "I also just escaped poverty 3 years ago thanks to growing plums, each year I earn 200 million VND, profit 100 million VND but that is still small because many households like Trang Lao Tra earn 800 million VND, profit 700 million VND; Du Lao Tinh earn 900 million VND, profit 800 million VND; Du Lao Phua earn 900 million VND, profit 800 million VND... or on average like Trang Lao Nha earn 500 million VND, profit 400 million VND", Mr. Minh boasted.

Fromcorn plantingand then got into debt to usury investors to the point of having their cattle seized and then switching to growing plums. There were about 30 households with surplus savings, something that was very strange in this highland village only ten years ago when people sometimes only knew the smell of meat once a month. Currently, 50% of the villagers have washing machines and refrigerators, and nearly 10% have bought cars. Trang Lao Tra and his wife recently drove a new car worth more than 600 million VND, to the admiration of the villagers.

It is natural that while the villagers were busy listening to the flute and watching the dances and singing at the stadium during Tet, they went to the fields to water the plum trees, and only returned when they could no longer count their fingers. It took them 4-5 days to water 800 plum trees, and they did not know when Tet had passed. They were still waiting.manureto fertilize, both to nourish the plants and the soil. The couple's silhouettes can always be seen looming on the hill. That's why their plums are both big and beautiful, traders compete to buy them, the price is 5,000 - 10,000 VND/kg higher than normal plums.

Close-up of Lao dried plum. Photo:Duong Dinh Tuong.

While Tra and his wife are working hard to get rich, LS and his wife only think about how to make money without having to sweat. They were recently caught red-handed by the police while transporting drugs, leaving a plum garden of 300 trees unattended. The "result" that LS and his wife received today is the "cause" that they were warned about by the village management board and the village elders but still rushed into.

The story is that a few years ago, the police dismantled a drug ring, someone had exposed the LS couple, but because there was not enough evidence, they were still at large. Upon hearing the news, the village management board and the village elder came to persuade them: “Since the police are paying attention, you must do something that is not prohibited by law. Don’t leave the plum trees unattended, or they will not bear fruit.” But the LS couple were still blinded by the easy money, so they were caught red-handed by the police last May.

They went to jail, leaving behind a withered plum garden. The village management board and the village elder came to persuade their three children. “If your parents are like that, don’t follow that bad path anymore…”, Lo Lao Chua said in a low voice. When I went down the slope past his house, he kept waving and saying: “Mu che tua”. Go and come back.(To be continued).