Yen Chau farmers have high income from native crop varieties

Over the generations, the famous mango (round mango or egg mango), grown only in Yen Chau (Son La), has been preserved for its delicious, sweet, and fragrant quality to this day. In the past, people only planted a few trees to get fruit for their family and to provide shade for their house, but now the Thai people also know how to produce goods. The ancient mango variety is widely grown.

The family of Mr. Quàng Văn Sượu, in Mêt Sai village, Sập Vặt commune, Yên Châu district (Sơn La) is currently the one who grows the most mangoes in the village. The day we visited, his family members were busy harvesting mangoes. Some went up the hill to pick the fruit and bring it home, some sorted the fruit, some packed the goods... very busy.

Everything went very smoothly. Each beautiful basket of mangoes was carefully packed by the Thai women and then loaded onto a truck to be transported to Hanoi for delivery to supermarkets. Mr. Sue went back and forth around the house like a shuttle. He managed everything very smoothly. Especially the inspection stage, he examined the goods very carefully. Any mango that was deformed or had signs of worms, he asked the workers to remove.

"We have now switched to producing goods from fresh mangoes, so we have to do everything more precisely and professionally. We won't let customers complain about anything," Mr. Sue could not hide his joy when talking about this year's mango harvest.

Farmers in Yen Chau district harvest mangoes. Photo: Van Ngoc

According to Mr. Suoi, in the past, the elders in the family only planted a few dozen trees to eat. When the season came, people picked them to bring to the district market to sell. Harvesting mangoes at that time only helped the family earn some money. But since 2017, he joined the Xuan Tien Agricultural Cooperative (Sap Vat Commune, Yen Chau District), and he planted 500 round mango trees, covering the hill behind his house. At that time, he only knew how to plant, but he was still worried because he did not know who to sell the mangoes to. In this land, many crops had been converted, but the results were difficult to sell.

After 5 years of care, the mango garden has begun to yield fruit. A joy has come to mango growers as well as his family, before the mango season, the Japanese organization Jica has connected mango growers with the supermarket system in Hanoi. The entire mango output of the cooperative is purchased by those units at a price of 30,000 VND/kg.

Never before have people sold mangoes at such a high price as this year. Mr. Sue's family is very happy. Mr. Sue calculated that each mango tree yields 70 to 80kg, and with the current selling price, one tree can earn 2 million VND. This year's mango garden brings in billions of dong for the family, not a small amount.

Many farming households in Yen Chau district have stable income from native mango varieties. Photo: Van Ngoc

For generations, the Thai people here have lived a very hard life. Only families who are willing to work hard can have a little extra money to pay for their children's education. Now, thanks to boldly planting native mango trees on a large scale, many families earn millions, even billions.

They were very happy, in their life as farmers they never thought they could earn hundreds of millions from growing mangoes. Only when meeting the family of Mr. Ha Vien Lam, Deputy Director of Xuan Tien Agricultural Cooperative, could one feel the complete joy of the farmers.

Mr. Lam is a Thai ethnic, born and raised in Yen Chau, so he has also experienced many hardships. In 2017, he boldly mobilized 25 households in the commune to participate in establishing a cooperative. At that time, the People's Committee of Yen Chau district mobilized people to plant ancient mango varieties on a large scale. Dozens of members of the cooperative have invested in seeds, fertilizers, and taken care of 30 hectares of mangoes. This year, all members have welcomed the second mango harvest and reaped sweet fruits. Mr. Lam is the one who directly grows and sells mangoes, so he appreciates even more what the people have done and are doing.

"Last year's mango harvest, the authorities from the province to the district and we had to run around everywhere to sell mangoes. At that time, the price of mangoes was also low, so the income was not much. This year, thanks to the Jica organization's connection, Sap Vat mangoes are available in many supermarkets in Hanoi. They purchased the entire mango output at a price of 30,000 VND/kg. This is the first year mango growers have enjoyed the joy of this sweet mango crop."

Yen Chau round mango has a unique delicious flavor that cannot be found anywhere else. Photo: Van Ngoc

The reason why supermarkets in Hanoi choose to consume the entire mango output of the cooperative is also thanks to the members here persistently taking care of the trees in an organic way. Every year, people increase the use of organic fertilizers, use biological drugs and money to remove pesticides from the garden.

According to Mr. Lam, the biggest problem for mango growers here is water for the mango trees. The cooperative has also drilled many wells to ensure water for the trees. In addition, the cooperative also goes to each household to train and guide on techniques for clean mango cultivation.

"Thanks to that, the quality of the mangoes is guaranteed. "Now, whatever I do, I have to think about the consumers first. If my products are clean and delicious, they will buy from me for a long time," Mr. Lam added.

According to Mr. Lam, the mango tree has just entered its second year of harvest. After each crop, the yield will gradually increase. By the 10th year, it is estimated that each mango tree will yield several hundred kilograms of fruit, which is normal. At that time, the Thai people earning billions from growing mangoes will no longer be a far-fetched plan.

Yen Chau round mangoes sell for high prices and are well received by the market. Photo: Van Ngoc

Yen Chau focuses on developing sustainable fruit trees

Mr. Lu Van Cuong, Chairman of Yen Chau District People's Committee informed: Yen Chau has a large area of ​​fruit trees, over 11,500 hectares with many typical fruits of the region. Of which, over 3,280 hectares of mango, yielding about 15,000 tons of fruit/year, with famous round mangoes having a characteristic aroma, rich sweetness, granted a Certificate of registration of geographical indications and brand recognition system by the Department of Intellectual Property; delicious green-skinned elephant mangoes, fresh for a long time.

Yen Chau district promotes Yen Chau mango brand. Photo: Van Ngoc

Along with the local round mango variety, Yen Chau is also one of the districts with a large area of ​​green-skinned elephant mango in Son La province, mainly concentrated in the communes of Chieng Hac, Tu Nang, Chieng Pan, Sap Vat, Chieng Sang; produced according to VietGAP standards with an area of ​​207.8 hectares; granted and managed 24 mango growing area codes to serve export needs with an area of ​​384.3 hectares, eligible for markets such as Australia, England, China, etc. Thanks to good care and suitability to local soil, the green-skinned elephant mango has large, uniform fruits and is highly appreciated by export purchasing enterprises. The current selling price of green-skinned elephant mango ranges from 3,000 - 10,000 VND/kg.

In Yen Chau district, there are over 3,280 hectares of mangoes, with an output of about 15,000 tons of fruit per year. Photo: Thuan Viet

Mango trees have been associated with the people of Yen Chau for generations. The communes of Chieng Pan, Sap Vat, and Vieng Lan are the localities with the largest mango plantations. In recent years, the authorities of Son La province and Yen Chau district have paid great attention to the development of mango trees.

Many programs to promote and advertise Yen Chau mango products have been implemented. Yen Chau mango has also completed the construction of geographical indications. The tireless efforts of the government as well as the people have been and are reaping sweet fruits. The famous delicious Yen Chau ancient mango variety is gaining a foothold in the market and is well received by consumers.

Van Ngoc - Pure Vietnamese