The price of organic pepper is higher than that of traditional production, stable output, and a safe production environment… making Quang Tri farmers very excited.
In the past few years, some farmers in Vinh Linh and Gio Linh districts have switched to growing organic pepper. Where organic pepper is produced, businesses buy it there. The economic benefits of organic pepper cultivation are higher than that of conventional farming.
Many farmers in Quang Tri have switched to organic pepper cultivation. Photo: Vo Dung.
Mr. Hoang Hong Son in An Co village, Kim Thach commune, Vinh Linh district has been growing pepper for decades. However, he also only switched to organic pepper a few years ago.
By not using chemicals and pesticides, Mr. Son raised dozens of beehives in the pepper garden to get honey. This is something that households growing pepper by traditional methods using pesticides will not be able to apply.
However, Mr. Son also said that organic pepper cultivation is much more difficult than traditional production. Organic pepper takes 3 years to get the first harvest while conventional planting only takes 2 years. Growing organic pepper takes more effort, lower yield. In return, organic pepper is priced, businesses order to buy for export; The root retention time of organic pepper is usually twice as long as that of conventionally grown pepper. Growing traditional pepper is more risky, plants are easy to die…
Currently, Mr. Son has 1.2 hectares of organic pepper, harvesting nearly 1.5 tons of pepper each year. The revenue from fly honey is enough for him to hire workers to weed, return the soil to produce humus and keep the plants moist…
To grow organic pepper, according to the instructions, Mr. Son only fertilizes rotting manure that is composted with biological products. In the first year, each hectare of pepper is fertilized with 30 m3 of rotting manure, the second year is 40m3 and the third year (after harvesting) fertilizes an additional 40m3. On average, every year Mr. Son hires people to spread weeds 3 times, apply lime powder… All grass is planted at the base to keep moisture and create humus for the soil.
All organic pepper products of Mr. Son’s family are purchased by Vinh Linh pepper production and trading cooperative at a price 10% -15 higher than in the market.
Growing organic pepper brings many practical benefits, so in recent years, households in Vinh Linh and Gio Linh districts are following this production direction. Many units have also acted as the focal point to organize production and purchase products for farmers.
According to information from the Sub-Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection of Quang Tri province, the province currently has 2.7 thousand hectares of pepper. Of which, over 92 hectares of pepper trees of 3 units in the area are certified organic with an output of nearly 100 tons/year. All these products are purchased by the production units at a price 10-15% higher than the market. However, there are still some traders buying and selling at higher prices than committed by the production units. Therefore, it is not uncommon for organic pepper to be sold outside.
Quang Tri’s organic pepper has been exported to fastidious markets. Photo: Vo Dung.
Mr. Bui Phuoc Trang, Director of the Sub-Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection of Quang Tri Province, said that organic pepper in Quang Tri has now been exported to a number of demanding markets in Europe and the US. In the domestic market, Quang Tri organic pepper is also very popular with consumers.
With the goal of increasing the area of organic pepper in the area, in 2021, the People’s Council of Quang Tri province has issued a resolution stipulating policies to support the development of a number of crops and livestock, creating key products with advantages competition period 2022-2026. Accordingly, organizations and individuals growing organic pepper will be supported once the cost of certifying products meeting organic standards, the norm is 20 million VND/project (for Vietnamese organic certification). Nam) and 30 million VND/project (for international organic certification); minimum scale of 2 ha/project. In addition, growing organic pepper in association with product consumption will be supported with 50% of the cost of seeds, essential agricultural materials …
