(VOV) – Son Binh commune in Khanh Son District, Khanh Hoa province, has identified tree cultivation as a way to increase profitability and farmers’ incomes. Local ethnic people know that finding a suitable crop means an escape from poverty, for them the most important norm in the national criteria for new rural development.

Purple sugarcane area in Khanh Son District rises sharply this year. (Photo: baokhanhhoa.com.vn)

Son Binh commune is breath-taking with its immense fields of orchards of durian, jackfruit, sugar-cane, and coffee. Mau Thi Lan of the Raglai ethnic group in Lien Hoa hamlet invited us to visit her house which is surrounded by luxuriant fruit trees. La said ‘In the past, I grew by following others. What they planted, I did the same. After a consultation with the commune’s agricultural experts, my family decided to grow coffee. It doesn’t take much effort to grow although sometimes its price is down. Basically, coffee growing still brings in relatively high income. Now our output has been ensured.’

Lan has about 500 3-year-old coffee trees which are almost ready for harvest. Her low-yield fruit trees have been replaced by dozens of jackfruits and durians. Lan had this to say ‘Durians and jackfruits are the two specialties of Khanh Son. We are planning to clear the garden to grow some more durians, which are going for a good price.’

Lan says the orchard has helped her family acquire a rice house fully furnished, adding that other villagers are also enjoying a better life.

Son Binh has the largest durian orchards - 200 hectares – in Khanh Son district. Khanh Son durians with their yellow pulp and small pits are the first Khanh Hoa agricultural produce to have received a certified trademark. Every year, Khanh Son durians are harvested about two months after the durian crops of the southern provinces.

Le Anh Sang, Chairman of Son Binh commune’s People’s Committee says local authorities were worried about the new rural development campaign and finally decided that growing trees suitable to the local terrain and in high demand was their best option. He said ‘We are piloting a model to grow coffee in a specialized zone for 10 households. If it’s successful, we’ll expand it. We’ll also set up cooperatives to link the production models for growing purple sugar cane and durians.’

Finding a crop to lift ethnic minority people out of poverty has met with early success in Son Binh, according to Chairman Sang. Sang noted ‘Last year we had 180 poor households in the commune - 34.6% of all households. By the end of the year, that had fallen to 20.4%.’

Thanh Tam