(HBO) – Good earnings from the cultivation of chilli plants have helped people in An Lac commune (Lac Thuy district) find the answer to the question of what plant is best for them.
Bumper chilli harvests brought joy to Pham
Hung’s family and the chilli growers in An Lac’s An Phu village.
Quach Cong Ninh, Chairman of the An Lac
People's Committee, said that following good earnings of the first crop, local
farmers expanded the area under the plant from 3 to 5 hectares. Chilli plants
grow healthily, offering stable output, so everyone is very optimistic.
We accompanied Vu Ngoc Thuong, a local
agricultural official, in a visit to a model garden of growing chillies for
export in An Phu hamlet. Chilli
plants in the 1,140 m2 garden of
farmer Pham Hung were laden with fruits, ready to be picked. Hung grew the
hybrid chilli No. 7 (a hybrid chilli type of Chian), which yields finger-sized fruit
and matches the soil of An Lac. Hung said: "In the first crop, we cultivated 720
m2, but only half of the area bore fruit, as we lacked technical knowledge.
This crop, we doubled the plantation scale. Now we have experience and
knowledge, and our chillies have grown two or three times faster compared to
last year.”
"When we master the technique, it is
not difficult to cultivate the plant," said Hung. "The most important
thing for us is there is a company that provide us with seeds, technical
support and buy our chillies. If market prices increase, the company will raise
their purchase prices, but when market prices are low, it keeps the price at at
least 5,000 VND per kg. At that price, growing chilli plants is already much
more profitable than planting corn and cassava.”
From the beginning of the year, Mr. Hung's
family has had two bumper harvests, and sold the fruit at between 5,000 to
6,000 VND per kg. With an average one harvest every six months, each chilli plan
can yield over 2 kg of fruit.
Apart from Hung’s family, An Phu also has
9 households growing chilli. "Employees of Chili Vietnam Ltd. (which
signed contracts with local chili growers) regularly check and provide
technical support to farmers. If diseases occur, farmers will report to the
company for prompt measures. In addition to An Phu, some other hamlets in the
commune also have potential to follow the model," said Vu Ngoc Thuong.
"Chilli plants are suitable to local
soils, thus output and earnings are guaranteed. In the 2018-20 winter crop, An
Lac will expand the total area under the plant to 10 hectares. In addition to
citrus farming, we have concluded that chilli trees would help people secure a
stable source of income at home," stressed Quach Cong Ninh, chairman of
the An Lac People's Committee.
Dao Village’s honey – a product certified with a 3-star OCOP (One Commune One Product) rating by Thong Nhat Agricultural Cooperative in Dao Village (Hoa Binh City) – is highly regarded by consumers for its quality, richness, and variety in packaging. The distinctively sweet taste of Dao Village’s honey leaves a lasting impression on anyone who has tried it.
In alignment with Project No. 07-DA/TU, issued by the Hoa Binh provincial Party Committee on November 1, 2021, Lac Thuy district has actively promoted investment and supported the sustainable development of its industrial and handicraft sectors during the 2021–2025 period. Alongside this, the district has remained committed to preserving and revitalising traditional craft villages.
Located in the northern part of Lac Thuy district, with a temperate climate and fertile soil, Phu Thanh commune has great potential and advantages in growing tea. The long-standing experience, combined with strict adherence to organic farming practices in the tea gardens, ensures that the dried tea products from Phu Thanh and Lac Thuy as a whole are sold out immediately upon production, providing a stable and prosperous life for the local people.
Amid efforts to streamline the administrative apparatus, Hoa Binh province has intensified measures to address challenges in land clearance, resettlement support, and infrastructure investment, aiming to speed up the progress of key projects.
Hoa Binh province has posted an unprecedented economic growth rate of 12.76% in the first quarter of 2025, marking its highest quarterly performance to date and positioning it as the second fastest-growing locality in the country, trailing only Bac Giang province.
Under current regulations, products in the One Commune – One Product (OCOP) programme that are rated three stars or higher must undergo re-evaluation every three months. However, in reality, some of these products fail to consistently meet the required standards, raising concerns about the sustainability of their OCOP certification. This underscores the urgent need for producers to enhance product quality and gradually develop their OCOP products into strong, marketable brands.
