Mr. Hanh is farmer in Dong Tam village, Bau Can commune, Chu Prong district, Gia Lai province. He was the first person introducing green asparagus to the local area. In addition, he commited to committed to cultivating organic green asparagus. As a result, he produced clean products with the goal of sustainable development.
In previous years, like most people, Mr. Hanh’s family mainly depended on coffee cultivation. However, disease outbreaks caused poor coffee harvests and falling prices, making his family’s economy even more difficult. What to plant that would be effective and face little market competition was always on his mind.
Organic green asparagus
By chance, he saw an unfamiliar image of organic green asparagus on television and began to explore and study it. He recognized that the red basalt soil in Gia Lai was very suitable for green asparagus. Therefore, Mr. Hanh decided to bring Vietnam’s green assparagus to Bau Can land.
In 2017, Mr. Hanh went to the North and South to learn cultivation techniques and understand the market. Then, he decided to clear his coffee garden to experiment with planting 1,000 square meters of green asparagus.
With an area of 1,000 square meters, he invested about forty million VND in seedlings, fertilizers, and an irrigation system. After six months of planting, the asparagus gave early harvests, with official harvesting starting from the eighth month.
Remarkably, each harvest season lasts continuously for three months, followed by a one-month rest for the plants to recover. On average, the garden of Vietnamese green asparagus can offer harvest for ten years. Actually, if farmers take good care, it can last up to fifteen years.
Organic green asparagus farm
After harvesting the first batch of green asparagus, he gave samples to relatives and acquaintances locally to get their feedback. Surprisingly, everyone who tasted his asparagus praised its delicious and sweet flavor. Notably, the Vietnam’s asparagus was free from sand or grit, making it very popular.
Although the quality of his green asparagus was verified, finding ways to market it was not easy for him. At that time, he personally approached stores and participated in exhibitions and trade fairs to access the market. After much effort, his Vietnamese asparagus was bought in large quantities by several supermarket chains in Gia Lai.
Seeing the initial success, Mr. Hanh boldly converted 7,000 square meters of old coffee land to grow asparagus. Currently, with nearly one hectares, his asparagus garden harvests about 150 kg daily. The market price averages from 60,000 to 80,000 VND per kg, so he earns over ten million VND per day.
Besides the Gia Lai market, his green asparagus products are now present in many other provinces and cities. Also, Mr. Hanh connected with many Vietnamese enterprises that purchased large and stable quantities. Therefore, he has confidently partnered with local households to expand asparagus production.
Organic-asparagus-facility
He provides technical guidance on planting, care, harvesting, and guarantees to buy their products. To date, ten local households have linked with him to grow asparagus on a total area of five hectares.
Mr. Hanh noted that green asparagus was previously mainly grown in sandy soil and hot climates. Therefore, he faced many difficulties when introducing it to Gia Lai province. The asparagus often suffered from diseases such as rust and fungi. Then, he had to use organic fertilizers to improve soil nutrition.
He was ware of the importance of avoiding chemical fertilizers. Therefore, right from the early stages of planting green asparagus, he oriented cultivation according to Vietgap standards to promote community health. Especially, his asparagus garden is grown and cared for using organic methods.
Specifically, the entire process uses biological products without chemical fertilizers or pesticides. For soil preparation, he only uses rice husks, cow manure combined with microbial enzyme powder and organic fertilizer, then applies them to the planting beds.
Organic green asparagus on trade fairs
During care from seedlings to harvest, fertilizer is applied every 15 to 20 days, along with spraying biological agents to prevent pests and diseases. After three months of harvest, the soil is loosened to add compost and the plants rest for one month to recover.
After many years of organic cultivation, Mr. Hanh found that the yield cannot match conventional methods. However, organic green asparagus offers better quality. Many customers said the asparagus tastes much sweeter and better than those from other places.
Moreover, organic cultivation avoids chemical pesticides, thereby protecting the environment and especially human health. “The most important thing is our sincere commitment to dilever organic green asparagus to consumers,” Mr. Hanh revealed.
He followed Vietgap standards and aimed for organic production from the start. Therefore, his green asparagus has been certified as a provincial OCOP product with a three-star rating.
Vietnamese source: https://nongsanviet.nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/kiem-boi-tien-tu-trong-mang-tay-xanh-huu-co-d304602.html