In order to help people grow vegetables with a stable income as well as ensure quality products and food safety, Binh Thuan Agricultural Extension Center has implemented the model “Organic vegetable production with VietGAP certification” in Phu Long town (Ham Thuan Bac district).
This is a locality with an area of about 60 hectares of vegetables, concentrated in Phu Cuong, Phu Truong, Phu An neighborhoods. In the past, this was a place specializing in providing many types of vegetables to serve Phan Thiet city and neighboring areas.
The model has a scale of 15 hectares, 47 households participating, implemented from September to December 2024. To implement the model, households were trained to transfer new technical advances in organic vegetable production by using biological fertilizers and pesticides to create safe products for consumers, friendly to humans and the environment. At the same time, they are also equipped with knowledge of production according to VietGAP standards as well as instructions on documents and electronic information recording for traceability.
According to vegetable growers, before planting, they are instructed on soil treatment and organic fertilizer application. The amount of organic fertilizer application is 1,750 kg/ha, including 250 kg of organic microbial fertilizer and 1,500 kg of organic microbial fertilizer. During the vegetable care process, farmers limit the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, increase the use of organic and microbial fertilizers, and only use biological pesticides to prevent pests and diseases. Farmers water vegetables regularly 3 times/day and comply with the 7-10 day quarantine period before harvesting the product.
Thanks to compliance with the VietGAP production process, vegetables grow and develop well, with few pests and diseases. This helps farmers reduce the number of times pesticides are sprayed, and the quality of vegetables is improved. The average height of leafy vegetables is 18 – 26cm, the average height of spices is 40 – 50cm, the average yield of all kinds of vegetables is 15 – 20 tons/ha/crop.
Recently, the Binh Thuan Agricultural Extension Center organized a workshop to evaluate and accept the model. Accordingly, households participating in the model all comply with the VietGAP vegetable production process, focusing on fertilizing with organic microbial fertilizers.
Mr. Ngo Thai Son, Deputy Director in charge of the Binh Thuan Agricultural Extension Center, said that the average yield of leafy vegetables and spices in the model increased by 12-15% and the average profit increased by 40% compared to those outside the model. In particular, vegetable samples (bok choy, green onions) were analyzed and did not detect heavy metal residues, E.coli, Salmonella microorganisms, as well as pesticide residues of organic chlorine, organic phosphorus, chrysanthemum, and carbamate radicals. This shows that in cultivation, vegetable growers have used safe irrigation water sources, used organic fertilizers, biological pesticides, and ensured quarantine time before harvest. Thereby creating safe products, good product design and quality, maintaining greenness and freshness for a long time, and gaining the trust of consumers.
“Currently, the Phu Long Safe Vegetable Production Group has been granted VietGAP certification by the FAO certification organization for fresh fruit and vegetable products. The VietGAP vegetable products of the Production Group are integrated with an electronic information retrieval system (QR code stickers). Thanks to that, in the short term, the VietGAP vegetable products of the Production Group have been distributed daily to schools and Coopmart supermarkets. In the long term, Phu Long vegetable village will aim to expand the entire area of more than 50 hectares of organically produced vegetables, protecting health, protecting the environment and gradually becoming a green destination, agricultural tourism …”, Mr. Son shared.
According to the Binh Thuan Agricultural Extension Center, thanks to the addition of organic fertilizers, combined with lime as base fertilizer, the pH of the vegetable growing soil has increased from 4.0 to 5.5, as well as increasing minerals and effective microorganisms to help improve the soil very well. In addition, the model has also helped people reduce 2-4 times of spraying pesticides compared to outside the model due to fewer pests and diseases on vegetables.
