At this time, Dong Nai farmers in general and Long Khanh city in particular are in the harvest. This year’s pepper price increases compared to every year, so the gardeners benefit and forecast the demand for pepper in the world in the coming time is still quite high, so the price of pepper can continue to increase.
In the short term, pepper farmers benefit due to increasing pepper prices, but in general, pepper growing is still unstable. Because, output, pepper area decreased, the price drop in the past years also made the growers still have a lot of anxiety.
Benefit from the increase in pepper prices
Long Khanh is currently in addition to fertile basalt red soil to grow fruit trees, which also occupies a large area, there are also gravel and barren laterite areas that people grow pepper to increase income.
The rocky hill in Tan Thuy Quarter, Bau Sen Ward has nearly 70 hectares of pepper planting, farmers are focusing on harvesting. The price is high, so local farmers are benefiting.
Mr. Dau Tac Chuong (living in Bau Sen ward) has more than 3 hectares of planting coffee soup more than 12 years old. His family’s pepper garden has grown well because this land is very suitable for pepper. Unlike many people who have cut off pepper during the time of pepper falling, Mr. Phi’s family still clung to the pepper. At the same time, his family applied scientific and technical advances in farming so pepper still developed well. It is expected that this season, his family harvested over 5 tons, the price of pepper is now over 180 thousand VND/kg, after deducting expenses, he will bring his family to hundreds of millions of dong.
Similarly, Mr. Lem’s garden has more than 1 hectare of pepper intercropping with coffee trees in the harvest, higher yield than the previous year. Mr. Bat said, last year, although it was affected by the hot weather, his family still maintained to take care of the pepper. With the current high price of pepper, his family is very excited. After this harvest, his family continued to invest in taking care of pepper more carefully to bring more productivity and efficiency.
Chairman of the Farmers’ Union of Bau Sen ward Pham Thi Cam Nhung said that Bau Sen is a rocky land, but the soil is very suitable for pepper, so the locality encourages people to replicate the area of pepper. At the same time, the locality is interested in building forms of clubs and cooperative groups associated with farmers to support and transfer techniques to farmers. The long -term goal is to focus on concentrated production, linking with businesses to have more sustainable outputs for people.
Still precarious
Currently, in Long Khanh city, there are nearly 600 hectares of pepper lake grown mainly in wards and communes: Bao Quang, Bau Tram, Hang Gon, Bau Sen, Phu Binh, Bao Vinh … In recent years, units in the area have organized training courses on farming techniques and pest control, applying scientific and technical advances, instructions for new seedlings, saving irrigation systems … With high pepper prices, not only bring high income for farmers, but also create motivation for them to invest and take better pepper garden, bring economic efficiency, stabilize their lives.
However, the planting of pepper is also very precarious, because the price fluctuates with high amplitude. According to pepper growers, the dry season in 2024 was too drought, erratic weather caused pepper to lose crops, many areas of productivity decreased from 20-40% compared to the previous year. Many gardeners and spend 2 different beans, but phase 2 percentage of seeds is high, high labor, gardeners accept to pick only one batch, so it affects productivity.
In addition, pepper output in recent years has decreased because people have converted a part of the production area to other crops. The output decreases while the demand increases to help the price of pepper rise again, farmers have better income, even when the harvest is taking place. But this may be only in the short term, what farmers want is the stable and sustainable development of the market so that they can be assured to invest in this fastidious crop.
According to Le Tuan Hai, who has about 1 hectare of pepper planting in Bao Quang commune, this year the price of pepper increases, helping growers have better income, but in the long term, the State needs to orient to develop sustainable pepper growing areas. Including solutions to support farmers to link production and production in the direction of organic to improve the quality of local pepper products.
