The people of Dien Hoa commune are preparing chrysanthemums for Tet
Dien Hoa Chrysanthemums are sold not only in markets in Ngu Dien but also in Quang Tri, providing the growers with stable income.
Mr. Nguyen Van Dam, from hamlet 7 Dien Hoa, a pioneer chrysanthemum grower said: "In the past, no one ever thought of growing chrysanthemums as it is hard to grow anything in this Ngu Dien area, nothing could grow on the sandy and deserted soil. Here, we can only grow rice in one season; in the other season, the land was left deserted. Thanks to the program of flower growing of the District’s Agriculture and Rural Development Office, I have managed to invest in planting chrysanthemums.”
With 1000 square meters of chrysanthemums and 200 chrysanthemum pots for Tet, each year Mr. Dam earns more than VND 70 million. He has expanded the area, not only to grow flowers for Tet but also flowers for the year round, the full moon days, and the first days of lunar months.
Since chrysanthemums became the main plant, economic life of Dien Hoa people has changed.
Mr. Cao Huu Chu, living in hamlet 1, said: “In the past, the hamlet’s field was where farmers cultivated rice and vegetables, but their incomes were small. From 2010, households have switched to growing chrysanthemums, and it has shown economic efficiency. The flower price this year is quite good, in the sunny days, my family earn VND 200-300 thousand per day. Thanks to growing chrysanthemums, people’s life here has become better off. With 1000 square meters planting different flowers, my family can earn about VND 8-10 million / month.”
According to Mr. Nguyen Dang Vinh, Vice Chairman of Dien Hoa Commune, in 2010, with the financial support from the People's Committee of Phong Dien District, the Agriculture-Forestry-Fishery Support station of the district implemented the flower cultivation model in Dien Hoa commune with the scale of 20 households, 200 square meters for each household. Chrysanthemum morifolium is the variety cultivated in Dien Hoa.
This is a new plant, so at the beginning of the project, there were some difficulties, particularly in care and pest control of flowers. At present, the whole commune has two hectares of land for planting flowers, and 40 households taking parts in the project. It has shown that the flower cultivation model is suitable for the soil in Dien Hoa.
Vice Chairman of People's Committee of Dien Hoa Commune Nguyen Dang Vinh stated: “We plan to zone the land for flower growing in two hamlets 1 and 7, and invest in the electricity grid for the area and the irrigation system to help farmers improve production efficiency. The Farmers Association has established a flower growing club to share experiences, catch up with scientific and technological advances, and expand the market.”
In the future, the commune will plan a flower growing area of five hectares. The development of flower growing area not only contributes to an increase in people's income but also makes good use of land, regenerating the environment in the unproductive and deserted areas.
Story and photo: Phan Thuy - Van Xuan