Invite each other to grow "deaf" papaya, unexpectedly pick up money

After many years of growing long-term industrial crops with low economic value, more than 2 years ago, Mr. Ta Van Quyet (village 12, Cu K'nia commune, Cu Jut district, Dak Nong province) switched to growing fruit trees.

On an area of about 1.8 hectares of longan, Mr. Quyet planted thousands of male papaya trees. After 2 years of intercropping, this "playful" tree helps Mr. Quyet earn tens of millions of dong per month.

Rủ nhau trồng thứ đu đủ điếc, không ngờ nhặt tiền đã tay - 1 — Mr. Quyet intercrops male papaya with fruit trees (Photo: Dang Duong).

"Once when I went to an acquaintance's house, I was introduced to four male papaya trees that could be harvested year-round. At first, I was curious because male papaya trees were often cut down, but when I learned that this type of tree was specialized in harvesting flowers, I understood its economic value," Mr. Quyet recounted.

According to Mr. Quyet, there are some households that have planted male papaya trees and have an income of hundreds of millions of dong each year. Therefore, Mr. Quyet bought seedlings, learned how to plant, care for, and sell the products.

Rủ nhau trồng thứ đu đủ điếc, không ngờ nhặt tiền đã tay - 2 — Each harvest, Mr. Quyet picks about 250-300 kg of fresh flowers (Photo: Dang Duong).

After nearly 2 years of planting, Mr. Quyet now has 600 male papaya trees for harvest. Hundreds of other papaya trees are also growing well, expected to flower by the end of 2023.

According to Mr. Quyet, growing male papaya trees does not require much care or fertilizer. With the current area, Mr. Quyet only applies one bag of NPK fertilizer, but can harvest all year round.

"I cut flowers every 15 days. Each time I cut about 250-300 kg of fresh flowers. With the garden price of about 20,000 VND/kg, I can earn more than ten million VND per harvest from the papaya garden," Mr. Quyet revealed.

Rủ nhau trồng thứ đu đủ điếc, không ngờ nhặt tiền đã tay - 3 — Many households in Cu K'nia commune grow male papaya and have a stable income (Photo: Dang Duong).

Not far from Mr. Quyet's garden, Mr. Phung Trong Diem also has about 1 hectare of male papaya intercropped in the orchard.

Mr. Diem said that during the planting and harvesting process, people realized that this is truly a "playful, profitable" plant. Although it has only been planted for less than 2 years, for some local households, this is the right direction to escape poverty.

Besides buying seedlings, Mr. Diem and Mr. Quyet are learning the techniques of grafting seedlings and growing seedlings to save costs as well as support other households.

Rủ nhau trồng thứ đu đủ điếc, không ngờ nhặt tiền đã tay - 4 — Male papaya flowers are purchased fresh in the garden, with prices ranging from 20,000-25,000 VND/kg (Photo: Dang Duong).

"There are always two types of seeds in a papaya. Normally, people only take the black seeds and grow papaya for the fruit. To grow male papaya, white seeds must be used. We have now been able to grow our own male papaya varieties," Mr. Diem shared his experience.

It is known that male papaya flowers are a medicinal plant that is popular with many people. Papaya flowers are currently purchased by traders in the garden at a price of 20,000-25,000 VND/kg, thereby helping many households, especially ethnic minority households in Cu K'nia commune, to have a stable source of income.

Rủ nhau trồng thứ đu đủ điếc, không ngờ nhặt tiền đã tay - 5 — Male papaya flowers are medicinal herbs used in food and beverage processing (Photo: Dang Duong).

Mr. Le Xuan Cuong, Chairman of the People's Committee of Cu K'nia Commune, said that currently, male papaya is a medicinal plant that produces food and beverage products that are popular in the market. However, the connection and consumption of this plant and some other plants are not clear.

"We do not encourage expansion of the area. In the coming time, we will delimit the area to create a stable and sustainable raw material area for people, thereby helping them produce effectively," said Mr. Le Xuan Cuong.

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