Growing vegetables in island districts

In Phu Quy, there are lush green vegetable gardens with simple farmers who work hard from dawn to dusk to stabilize their lives and provide the island district's residents with fresh and quality vegetables and fruits.

More than 56 nautical miles from the mainland, Phu Quy is an island district of Binh Thuan province, with only sunshine and wind all year round. The harsh weather makes growing vegetables on the island very difficult. More than 13 years ago, the vegetables in the daily meals of the people here had to depend on the source of vegetables transported from the mainland. However, now, people in the island district can not only grow vegetables, but also clean vegetables to serve their family meals, at the same time bringing in a significant source of income. After a tour, we stopped at Ngu Phung commune, because this is the area with the most vegetables grown in the island district. It was late afternoon, but in the gardens, farmers were still diligently weeding and watering the lush green vegetables.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Nghia (Phu An village, Ngu Phung commune) has more than 1 sao of land. On this area, he is growing onions, coriander, cinnamon, lettuce, cucumber, bitter melon, squash, etc. He said that in the past, due to old farming practices, the previous crop's products were kept as seeds for the next crop, so the yield was not high. Since 2010, the Center for Information and Application of Science and Technology Advances in Binh Thuan has implemented the project "Application of technical advances, construction and development of vegetable production models on sandy soil to contribute to solving the vegetable shortage of Phu Quy island district", so up to now, people on the island have applied science and technology to growing green vegetables, at the same time creating vegetables to meet the consumption needs of the people.

“The islanders really like the vegetables and fruits grown here, so vegetable growers like us have limited the use of pesticides. We sell all the vegetables and fruits we harvest. In general, growing vegetables has given my family a stable life and my children a good education,” said Mr. Nghia.

It is worth mentioning that while the island district is "hot" in terms of land trading, there are still many households determined to keep their land, working hard on gardening and growing vegetables to increase their family income. Ms. Nguyen Thi Le (Phu An village, Ngu Phung commune) is also one of the households that has been growing vegetables for many years here. With only more than 1 sao of land, her family grows water spinach, green mustard, squash, basil, etc. According to Ms. Le, in recent years when land prices in the island district have increased, many people have come to ask to buy but she has refused to sell. "Living here, we only do seafaring or gardening. My family has never gone to sea before. If we sell the land now, how will we make a living in the future?", Ms. Le said.

Mr. Tran Trong Kim, Vice Chairman of Ngu Phung Commune People's Committee, said that vegetable growing in Ngu Phung Commune has existed for a long time but on a small scale, serving the needs of each family and village in the village. In recent years, this profession has developed strongly, creating jobs and main income for people. Green vegetables in Ngu Phung are diverse such as sweet cabbage, lettuce, green onions, Malabar spinach, mint, tomatoes, cucumbers, spices... Currently, there are about 70 households growing vegetables, each family has 300 - 400 m2 of land, some families have up to 1 - 2 sao. “The people on the island are hard-working and diligent. At first, they encountered many difficulties when planting because the soil in the island district is only suitable for certain types of vegetables and fruits, but the most difficult problem is still the problem of irrigation water. After a period of planting, the farmers gradually learned and gained experience and have now grown many types of vegetables and fruits, contributing to increasing the vegetable supply for the people on the island district,” said Mr. Kim.

Coming to Ngu Phung, Phu Quy, every early morning or late afternoon, you will feel the bustling scene of people taking care of vegetables of all kinds, or harvesting to supply green food every day, in time to sell to customers.

Source