Tien Yen: Agriculture goes into clean and linked production

Due to the characteristics of most households in Tien Yen living on agricultural production, for many years, the agricultural economic sector has received attention and investment from the locality. Recently, Tien Yen has seen the emergence of linked agricultural production models, creating products that meet the standards of deliciousness, cleanliness, safety, and nutrition, thereby increasing value.

Through many years of persistent implementation, Tien Yen has now shaped the main agricultural economic model, which is "2 animals, one tree" with chickens, shrimp and native plants. The chicken flock in Tien Yen in 2024 will reach over 1.3 million, higher than in recent years. Right on this Lunar New Year occasion, Tien Yen has about 120,000 commercial chickens available to supply the market.

Tien Yen chickens are raised on hillsides.

It is worth mentioning that Tien Yen chickens are increasingly raised to meet quality standards, chickens are raised in large spaces, and are fed with available agricultural products. Some households apply mixed feed rations to reduce the formation of visceral fat in chickens. Since June 2024, 4 households have been selected to pilot the chicken farming model using feed rations containing herbal ingredients, opening up a new direction for raising Tien Yen chickens. At the end of this year, Tien Yen also launched ready-to-eat processed chicken products such as salt and pepper chicken, soy sauce chicken, and herbal chicken, which have been well received by consumers.

Moving towards the goal of increasing value, along with chickens, Tien Yen currently has linked production models, applying good agricultural practice standards, such as organic cinnamon, organic vegetables, and Atlantic potatoes. At this time, Tien Yen has over 1,000 hectares of cinnamon, of which 200 hectares are cinnamon, of which are planted, cared for, and harvested according to organic standards. During this entire production cycle, forest growers do not use fertilizers or chemicals, which increases the quality of cinnamon bark, and the ratio of essential oils and beneficial micronutrients in cinnamon trees is high.

Mr. San A Phat (Khe Lac village, Dai Duc commune) said: The enterprise that cooperates with people to grow organic cinnamon is Son Ha Spices Company Limited (headquartered in Yen Bai province). If people's cinnamon products meet the standards, this enterprise will buy them at a high market price, and also give an additional bonus of 2,500 VND/kg. In 2024, just counting the bonus value, my family has reached more than 70 million VND.

Organic cinnamon is a very potential native plant, an advantage of Tien Yen agriculture. In the development orientation of this locality, the cinnamon growing area in general, and the organic cinnamon growing area in particular, will be increased, aiming to reach the target of 30-50% of the cinnamon growing area being organic cinnamon.

In 2024, for the first time, consumers were "crazy" about Tien Yen's sweet mustard greens. The reason is that this vegetable has been improved in the way it is grown and cared for in a completely organic and clean way, from seeds to pesticides, fertilizers, irrigation water... Currently, Dien Xa Agricultural Cooperative is the focal unit linking with households to cultivate 5 hectares of organic vegetables, taking responsibility for consuming all products, and at the same time piloting a model of making pickles from organic sweet mustard greens, creating a product that can be eaten right from organic mustard greens that is very unique and nutritious.

Tien Yen farmers receive Atlantic potato varieties from the Institute of Agricultural Biology for planting. — Tien Yen farmers receive Atlantic potato varieties from the Institute of Agricultural Biology for cultivation.

As for Atlantic potatoes, up to now, after nearly 3 years of production, Tien Yen's land has reached an area of about 30 hectares of Atlantic potatoes. The attraction of this model for Tien Yen farmers is the "5-house" connection, in which there is great support from the Institute of Agricultural Biology in the supply of seeds and cultivation techniques, and Orion Vina Food Company Limited ensures product consumption. From Atlantic potatoes, Tien Yen not only reduces the situation of abandoned fields in the winter crop that occurred in previous years, but instead, farmers increase the value per hectare of production with a total income of 200 million VND/ha of potatoes (cultivating 3 months of the winter crop).

According to Ms. Do Thi Duyen, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tien Yen district, by 2025, Tien Yen agriculture will continue to invest in expanding production models with linkages and deep processing. In which, chicken, shrimp and native forest trees will continue to play the role of key agricultural products, bringing the main value to the local agricultural sector.

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