More than ten years ago, Ba Vi district in Hanoi was an area of barren hills where weeds hardly grew. However, since the district implemented the policy on restructuring agricultural land under the New Rural Construction Programme, Ba Vi has become well known for growing fruit trees with high productivity in Hanoi. 

Coming to BaVi on the days the district was launching the new rural campaign 2017, we were surprised by lush orchards in the region. We seemed to be lost in a fruit orchard in Southern Vietnam when visiting the more than 12ha farm of fruit trees laden with fruit owned by the family of Chu Trong Nhung and Phung Thi Tho in Cau Lai village, Vat Lai commune. Recalling the early days of establishing the farm, Tho said that when the local authority had the policy on encouraging household economic development, her family bid to lease 12ha of barren hilly land for 50 years. Since then, the couple has spent much time learning effective economic models in the district to apply to their farm.

According to Tho, her farm now has 1,000 Dien pomelo trees, 1,000 longan trees, 600 jackfruit trees, 3,000 pineapple roots and consists of an area of 1,000m2 for raising pigs and 800 chickens. All products are provided to the market in Hanoi and are sold at supermarkets and Vinmarts nationwide. Each year, her farm brings a total revenue of 4. 5 - 5 billion dong. After all expenditures, her family earns over 2 billion dong/ year.

Besides Dien pomelos, Huong chi longans and Taiwanese guavas, locals in the district pay much attention to traditional crops, such as pineapple, bananas and apples which are planted on hills for many years because these fruit trees still bring stable income to farmers.
 

A corner of an orchard in Vat Lai commune, Ba Vi district, Hanoi. Applying new farming methods brings high economic value. Many orchards in Vat Lai meet VietGap standards. Different fruit trees are planted on the same land. Farmers pay much attention to tendering fruit trees. Pineapple fields in Vat Lai. Vat Lai has many orchards. Bui Van Nghiep, 62 years old, harvest longan. Longan in Vat Lai are big and delicious. The happiness of farmer when having a bumper crop.

At present, the district has a total area of 100ha of pineapple, of which Suoi Hai Pineapple Company has about 30ha. Apart from concentrated areas, pineapple is also planted in the communes of Vat Lai and Cam Linh. The variety of pineapple in the region has many advantages, such as big eyes and a sweet and fragrant taste. Therefore, each pineapple is sold for up to 9,000 dong. Each year, the farmers have two crops of pineapple, earning 200 million dong/ha.
 

“"The effective model of growing fruit trees on hilly land of the family of Chu Trong Nhung and Phung Thi Tho has been expanded and applied in many areas in the district". (Ngo Viet Ha, Chairman of the Farmers’ Association of Vat Lai commune)

Two traditional trees of apples and bananas are cultivated in the riverside communes and in Thuan My Agriculture Cooperative. In Thuan My alone, there are 40ha for tieu hong bananas and apples.

Thuan My is known as one of the leading communes in Ba Vi district in restructuring agricultural land. Today, the barren and small plots have been replaced by immense orchards of pink lemons, guavas and longans which help local farmers earn about 26-32 million dong/ person/ year.

Over the years, the policy on restructuring agricultural land and new rural construction has proven its efficiency, giving the farmers a new direction in agricultural production towards the target of building new sustainable rural areas.
 
 

Story: Thuc Hien - Photos: Viet Cuong