Passion fruit covered with thousands: Good price but not worried about consumption, people race to expand the area

Intercropping in the garden

According to statistics of the Cultivation Sub-Department - Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dak Lak, there are now more than 1,000 hectares of passion fruit in the area. However, the number of passion fruit trees intercropped in coffee, durian and rubber plantations in the early years may be more.

Mrs. Cao Thi Mai's family (living in Chu Kpo commune, Krong Buk district) has nearly 3 hectares of passion fruit grown in coffee fields that are being harvested. According to Ms. Mai, passion fruit in Dak Lak has been widely grown in a large area, bringing high economic efficiency from 3-4 years.

“License has low investment costs and is easy to care for. Each hectare yields 50 tons/year, bringing higher profits than other crops. Currently, passion fruit trees can be said to be the main source of income in the locality, more than coffee trees," said Mai.

This woman added that the family has joined the passion fruit cooperative (cooperative) in the area, so it will comply with the production processes of this unit. “When we join the cooperative, we don't worry about output, so we will continue to expand the area. I think in the coming time passion fruit will bring great economic benefits to people in Dak Lak,” added Ms. Mai.

Mr. Dinh Xuan Huong, Deputy Director of Krong Buk Hi-tech Passion Fruit Cooperative, said that passion fruit trees have been growing locally since 2004. At this time, the area of passion fruit was small, but only in later years. strong investment.

According to Mr. Huong, each year passion fruit produces 2 crops with an output of 50 tons/ha. With the current selling price, passion fruit growers have a high income. This year, the price is from 15,000 to 16,000 VND/kg, so people are rushing to grow passion fruit.

“The passion fruit trees are intercropped in long-term orchards. I estimate the area in Krong Buk is over 1,000ha. Currently, the cooperative is newly established, but the number of members is more than 200 people, with an area of 200 hectares. In the near future, the cooperative will continue to expand the area of passion fruit cultivation because there is still a lot of land, which is very suitable for the cultivation of this plant, "said Mr. Huong.

Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Duc Tien, Head of the Supervisory Board of Van Xuan Agricultural Production, Trade and Service Cooperative said that the unit has more than 200 members with an area of about 50 hectares of passion fruit.

To ensure output, Van Xuan Cooperative is currently affiliated with a product consumption unit, so it does not have to worry about product consumption.

According to Mr. Tien, in the past, Cu Kuin district was famous for pepper, but in recent years pepper has died and lost its value. Therefore, Van Xuan Cooperative encourages members to take advantage of these areas to convert to passion fruit cultivation.

"We also agreed with the product outsourcing unit to expand the area by 70 hectares next year. Despite the expansion, the cooperative still recommends that people follow the technical process of the purchasing unit. provided to ensure that passion fruit is exported," emphasized Mr. Tien.

Take advantage of the vacant land

Dak Lak has great potential and advantages in agriculture, with 650,000 hectares of arable land, especially more than 300,000 hectares of basalt red soil, flat terrain is very convenient for the development of industrial crops, fruit trees, etc. medicine. 

Currently, the locality has been actively implementing the restructuring of crops and restructuring the agricultural industry when the prices of coffee, rubber and pepper have fallen sharply in recent years, including land areas. inefficient coffee and pepper cultivation.

In Dak Lawk, every year people growing passion fruit can harvest 50 tons/ha with an average price of 10,000 VND/kg, so their income is very high. Currently passion fruit brings stable income, higher than other crops.

People are gradually switching to planting trees with higher economic efficiency. In particular, passion fruit brings high economic efficiency, replacing inefficient coffee, rubber and pepper cultivation areas.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Minh, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Cu Kuin district, said that recently, the district People's Committee has issued a plan to deploy agricultural production linkages in the area to help local agricultural products sell well.

In the process of cultivation, the agricultural industry realizes that passion fruit has many advantages. The first is that the passion fruit tree is suitable for the locality, the second is to take advantage of the available conditions of the pepper garden, and the third is the very high economic efficiency of the passion fruit garden.

Before the rapid increase, the People's Committee of Cu Kuin district issued a plan to organize the production and consumption of agricultural products, including passion fruit. The task of the agricultural sector of Cu Kuin district at present is to plan the region and develop the region to form farmer organizations.

"In the coming time, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will advise the District People's Committee to convert some inefficient land in Cu Ewi and Ea Hu communes to other crops, including passion fruit. use areas that are vacant or unsuitable for current crops," Minh said.

According to Mr. Vu Duc Con, Deputy Director of Dak Lak Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, passion fruit trees are new to the locality but have many advantages for rapid development. Specifically, passion fruit is easy to grow, care for, and harvest. Passion fruit does not need much investment and can be grown intercropped or concentrated.

“If the price of passion fruit is high, it will grow quickly. At that time, people will focus on the production of passion fruit in the areas of coffee re-cultivation, inefficient coffee and fruit trees in the early years. In fact, in recent years, passion fruit has grown very quickly. Especially in recent years, there have been buyers and sellers, so the area of passion fruit has grown very strongly.

The point of view of the province wants to improve people's income and make use of land, and local labor. Therefore, we encourage the development of passion fruit trees but at a moderate level to take advantage of the land's strengths, "said Mr. Con.

According to Mr. Con, the locality does not have a preliminary processing and processing plant for passion fruit. However, recently China allowed the import of fresh passion fruit, so it can be said that this is the driving force to promote the development of this agricultural product.

“In order for the agricultural industry to be sustainable, it is also necessary to invest in and build storage warehouses and processing plants. This cannot be done exclusively for passion fruit, but will be combined with other items. In the coming time, the locality will create conditions for passion fruit trees to grow", said Mr. Vu Duc Con, Deputy Director of Dak Lak Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.