Organic-oriented production of lychees

Organic-oriented lychee cultivation on three hectares in Thanh Thuy and Thanh Khe communes

The People’s Committee of Thanh Ha district is realizing the scientific topic “Producing Thanh Ha thieu lychees in an organic direction to improve the value of the province’s staple product” in three years from 2022 to 2024.

Though Thanh Ha farmers have cultivated lychees following VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards, the process still tends to impulse lychees to increase productivity. Hence, people’s abuse of fertilizers and plan protection products is inevitable, more or less affecting the environment and human health.

The topic management board was determined to research and cultivate lychees in an organic direction to improve the value and quality of Thanh Ha thieu lychees.

The district People’s Committee coordinated with the Fruit and Vegetable Research Institute under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to carry out the topic with a total budget of about 2 billion VND.

The topic is being implemented on three hectares in Thanh Thuy and Thanh Khe communes. These two localities were surveyed and satisfied suitable conditions for organic-oriented lychee production.

Lychees in all of the selected regions are cultivated in accordance with VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards. Fertilizers for lychee care are mainly completely-decomposed chicken compost, dry soybeans, biological products, etc. to minimize the use of chemicals. Those participating in the model must keep a diary detailing the organic-oriented lychee production process, especially the fertilizers used.

Thus, Thanh Ha people have cared about the quality of lychees more than quantity.

For all of that, the topic management board is determined to build and multiply the organic lychee cultivation model.

Vice Chairman of the district People’s Committee Ngo Ba Dinh, head of the topic, said in the current context, transition from chemical agriculture to organic agriculture (green agriculture) is an inevitable trend in the face of consumers’ demand for clean food.

The topic will not only enlarge the organic-oriented farming area of Thanh Ha thieu lychees but also contribute to heightening the brand name of the province's products in domestic and foreign markets.

Ngo Ba Dinh further analyzed that if products are clean, people will not worry about sale. Thanh Ha thieu lychees have been purchased by many exporters, some of them had strict requirements on residues of plant protection products. If lychees do not have chemical drug residues, they will be sold quickly.

However, when realizing the topic, the management board took into account the problem that production and sale must follow a closed process.

It is important for organic-oriented lychee growers to apply the right process and be persistent. The district authorities will also make connections to underwrite products for the model participants.

This year, the topic management board has zoned organic-oriented lychee cultivation regions, mobilized households to voluntarily implement the model, and supported famers with land improvement.

The topic promises much new potential for lychees in 2023.

MINH NGUYET