Producing organic pepper according to Organic standards requires strict technical process, different from traditional farming practices.
Check an organic pepper garden of a member of the cooperative.
However, all members of Hoang Nguyen Organic Agriculture, Trade and Services Cooperative (Thuan Ha Commune, Dak Song District, Dak Nong Province) have accepted to abandon the old one in order to produce clean pepper and create a chain. The product has traceability, expanding domestic and foreign consumption markets.
Production diversion
Ms. Tran Thi Thu, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors, was formerly an agricultural extension collaborator. With a passion for agriculture and a spirit of always learning, she and other members formed Hoang Nguyen Cooperative with 35 members.
Contrary to the image of many pepper gardens in Dak Song district in general and Thuan Ha commune in particular, it turns yellow, the pillars are stark, dead trees overflow …, pepper gardens of Hoang Nguyen Cooperative are still green, giving stable productivity. . This is because the cooperative members soon switched from using chemical drugs, inorganic fertilizers to clean production towards organic sustainability – saying no to herbicides, chemical drugs and fertilizer. muscle.
Not only during the care process, but also the harvest and drying must ensure the quality, free from impurities, so most members of the cooperative have built a greenhouse system to make a pepper drying yard with area of 100 – 800 m2.
It is the strict adherence to the process from production to harvesting and processing that pepper of Hoang Nguyen Cooperative has passed a sample test with 804 different substances, all have good results and are certified Organic. Thanks to that, the affiliates purchase products of cooperatives more and more, have more choices so the price is 2-3 times higher than usual.
Realistic effect
Each month, the cooperative holds two meetings with the purpose for members to share, visit the garden as well as check the garden periodically. The requirement is that each member household must use live pillars, apply 100% Trichoderma manure compost to decay; In addition, the members compost fish manure to fertilize. Every year, members have to spread lime powder twice on the garden surface to prevent fungus from invading and limiting pathogens.
Ms. Thu shared: “In the early days, to mobilize and propagate members was not simple, even my relatives did not listen. People are not interested in clean agricultural production. They still follow the strong viewpoint of everyone, so they have to spend nearly 5 years of campaigning, propaganda and their families have done it in advance so that their neighbors can do it together.
Mr. Nguyen Van Huu, a member of the cooperative, confided: “Growing pepper in an organic way has many advantages: The soil for growing pepper is improved, more porous, increasing the ability to retain water and drain water. Increasing types of useful microorganisms, improving the vitality of roots, limiting harmful pathogens in the soil. However, the process of taking care of organic pepper also has stages that make members of cooperatives harder and more expensive such as weeding. On average, the remuneration for cutting grass per hectare is 4-5 times higher than the use of herbicides. However, this cultivation is very environmentally friendly. In particular, pests, fungi, mealybugs rarely attack, so output costs are reduced and selling prices are many times higher.
Not only limited to organic pepper production, Hoang Nguyen Cooperative is currently developing a plan to invest and produce fruit trees of the region's strengths such as avocado, durian, etc. to meet the market demand. The cooperative's goal is to bring consumers the best product, clear origin, create value chains, and bring high economic efficiency.
Source Rural Economy
