Central model with organic crop products – Model Associate Professor Hoi An
Thanh Dong Organic Garden is the origin of organic agriculture and Associate Professor Hoi An system Located 4km east of Hoi An ancient town, Thanh Dong organic vegetable garden in Cam Thanh commune, is the origin of organic agriculture in Central. Established in November 2013 in a new rural development project of Cam Thanh commune. With the support of the Center for Action for Urban Development (ACCD), a project on the first organic farming model in Hoi An is well defined within the framework of a new rural program in Cam commune. Thanh, Hoi An City With the advice of PGS Vietnam, April 2014, in parallel with the organic farming knowledge training organization for Thanh Dong farmers by trainers of PGS Vietnam. Organized by ACCD in conjunction with the Economic Department of Hoi An, a PGS is identified with a specific organizational structure and operating regulations. Hoi An’s provisional PGS coordinating committee was born at this time, showing Hoi An’s determination. The vegetable garden at that time had a total area of 6368 square meters, produced by 8 farmers as a model to experience and spread later. In order to gain a foothold in the current Hoi An vegetable market, farmers here have undergone a long period of cognitive transformation, struggling with themselves to stay with organic agriculture until today. . Thanh Dong Vegetable Garden, after 5 years of operation, has become a place to provide healthy vegetables, a learning spot for students and students at all levels and also a place to visit for tourists who want to learn and explore. organic agriculture. Since its establishment, Associate Professor Hoi An has developed organic agriculture based on the PGS Vietnam standards recognized by IFOAM to provide technical guidance to farmers and serve as a basis for compliance assessment. Land and water sources in the area selected as the model were tested. After being selected, the farmers stopped all production activities on the entire area for 6 months and then planted green beans and black beans as green manure crops. When the beans flower, all of the biomass was buried in the soil for microorganisms to decompose before farmers began planting organic vegetables. It is often said that it is difficult to change a habit. But for farmers over 40 years of conventional agriculture now giving up on organic farming is a huge challenge and it takes a lot of time to struggle with themselves. Just over 1 year, the idea of building an organic production model started, and after 6 months when farmers were trained in organic farming techniques, establishing PGS, the land here was changed by the efforts of farmers and all stakeholders in the fledgling PGS Hoi An system. Previously, in the production season, farmers mainly grew corn, peanuts and in the rainy season, farmers only knew the sky, the main crop was only sweet vegetables, a healthy vegetable that could withstand the rain. But up to now, there are at least more than 30 different types of vegetables in the field including leafy vegetables, fruits and spices that farmers never thought they could grow here especially in the rainy season.
Instead of the field, the person who finishes his work is going home, but now, the most meaningful thing is sharing the responsibilities and experience of production in the field and also during group activities after working hours. fig. The relationship between the members of the farmer group becomes closer and closer, and in particular the sense of responsibility of the members is clearly defined for each product they make when it is released. Not all work is easy and smooth, especially switching from chemical-dependent production to natural organic production. , autonomy of all inputs according to PGS’s regulations in the context of erratic weather. Mr. Pham Meo, the team leader, shared: “When gardening was very difficult, the weather was harsh, with heavy rain and wind. Organic agricultural techniques have not been able to catch up, facilities are inadequate, and capital is still limited. As for the future, I don’t know if gardening will be stable or not. It is a huge change in every farmer participating in PGS here. Remember the early days of joining, the participant who learned about production techniques and Associate Professor and then applied it to production was her husband Huynh Tu. But because her health did not allow it, her wife Huynh Tu replaced her husband to directly participate in production. He has always actively learned and learned about farming standards and methods in organic agricultural production. Plus the other members’ enthusiasm to share and help, the result is that her vegetable field is always diverse and lush. The difficulty is so, but with the efforts of farmers and the full support of the city’s economic department, especially the Coordination Committee of Associate Professor Hoi An, Thanh Dong organic vegetable garden has been a vegetable supplier. clean, safe vegetables for city residents. This place has become a tourist destination for domestic and foreign tourists and is a place that regularly organizes extracurricular activities for children to learn about organic agriculture. Students, and descendants of the group members’ families also regularly participate in growing vegetables and assist the harvesters to sell. A very characteristic feature of the vegetable garden is the flowers. Most alternating vegetable beds are planted with flowers. In addition to being a beauty for the garden, flowers are an ideal place for insects to live and lure pests to eat instead of vegetables. Up to now, the vegetables grown in Thanh Dong garden are all monitored and certified annually by Associate Professor Hoi An, attracting hundreds of customers who are staff, teachers and local people continuously. order organic vegetables here. In addition, restaurants in Hoi An City, Da Nang have come to order vegetables, but due to insufficient vegetable quantity, in this period the farmer group only sold products in the area of Hoi An City. Currently, Associate Professor Hoi An, with the logo and brand name of the system attached to each bunch of vegetables brought to the market, is gradually becoming familiar to the people of Hoi An when choosing really quality products for each meal of the family. family. Thanh Dong organic production group, an important factor in the PGS system that is transforming every day is now a destination for tours, for students of universities and high schools in Hoi An and Da Nang. learn and share knowledge about organic farming. Only 6 months after the establishment of Thanh Dong organic production group, there were 897 visits of visitors, of which 758 were students coming to study, 34 students came to research, 41 visitors came to experience. and 64 tourists, including 22 foreigners. By 2018, the garden has welcomed 134 delegations with more than 700 people visiting and studying. The average income from vegetable production of the group reached 365 million in 2018, excluding income from providing services to welcome tours It can be said that Associate Professor Hoi An has just formed many difficulties, but it has caused many people. production changes in awareness and community relationships are becoming more and more intimate. Although still on a small scale, Associate Professor Hoi An is spreading its influence on the City community. The increasing demand for organic products is demanding production expansion. From the first Thanh Dong vegetable garden with only 8 farmers with an area of 6,000 m2, up to now the area of the expanded group is 11,000 m2. The story of Thanh Dong has helped leaders of Hoi An city confidently expand the area to other communes such as Cam Kim, Cam Chau with the orientation of more diverse products such as bananas, strawberries in addition to vegetable products. Farmers’ income now comes not only from organic vegetables, but also from sightseeing tours. Currently, in addition to an area of 11.968 square meters, there are PGS certificates of Thanh Dong garden group, Cam Thanh commune, and Ms. Dong’s garden, Cam Chau commune, the whole city has an additional 2 hectares which are in transition. With the determination of farmers, specific support policies of the city government, and a potential market of Hoi An, in the near future, Hoi An will become a safe city with clean food and completely environmental friendly.
