The vegetable growing village of Phuoc Van

For hundreds of years, Phuoc Van Commune in Can Duoc District, Long An Province has been famous for vegetable growing.

For hundreds of years, Phuoc Van Commune in Can Duoc District, Long An Province has been famous for vegetable growing.

According to Kieu Anh Dung, Chairman of Phuoc Hoa Safe Vegetable Cooperative, the cooperative’s vegetable growing area has been expanded thanks to rotational cultivation and shifting the structure of plants - growing vegetables and fruit instead of rice.

A period of growing safe vegetables normally lasts about 35 days, thus each year has 10 crops with a productivity of 20 tonnes/ha. The cooperative now grows eight species of vegetables, such as amaranth, Rau ngot (Sauropus androgynus), water morning glory, Cai xanh (Brassica juncea), Cai ngot (Brassica integrifolia), Chinese cabbages, basella alba and Cai cuc (Chrysanthemum coronarium L).

Since 2010, the authority of Can Duoc District has created a favourable condition for the cooperative’s trademark registration that helps increase the economic value of growing safe vegetables. To promote the model of growing safe vegetables, the cooperative has applied scientific and technological advances to growing vegetables and organized short training courses on safe vegetable production based on VietGap, helping the vegetable growers grasp techniques and knowledge about this subject.

Visiting the field of vegetables owned by Phan Van Dau who is now Deputy Head of the cooperative and a good vegetable grower in Long An province, we saw with our own eyes the safe production process that is managed strictly in terms of hygiene and safety. Dau said that after reducing costs, his family earns about 200-300 million dong each year.

When we visited the headquarters of the cooperative, we saw about ten farmers processing safe vegetables. Dau said that apart from those who directly participate in safe vegetable production, this model also provides stable jobs for many local people and helps them earn more income after harvest time.

At present, the cooperative provides safe vegetables to wholesale markets and supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City and many southern provinces. In the near future, it will focus on expanding markets nationwide.

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