Phu Vinh Commune taps agricultural strengths to drive development

Phu Vinh is a mountainous commune, while being among the leading localities in Dong Nai City in building new-style rural areas. Agriculture is the locality's key economic sector, which it is leveraging to pursue sustainable and modern development.

Luong Van Loc, a farmer in Phu Vinh Commune, introduces his organically grown pepper garden, which generates high income.

At the same time, the locality is seeking to capitalize on its potential and advantages to develop ecotourism and resort tourism linked with agriculture, creating new momentum for economic growth.

Building a strong force of skilled farmers

In recent years, Phu Vinh Commune has accelerated crop restructuring, focusing on high-value fruit and industrial crops across large production areas. The commune currently has more than 1,100 hectares of durian, over 1,200 hectares of bananas, more than 774 hectares of jackfruit, nearly 296 hectares of pomelo, and over 243 hectares of coffee. Alongside agricultural production, the commune has also developed a growing contingent of successful and skilled farmers.

The nearly three-hectare garden of Luong Van Loc, an ethnic Hoa farmer in Phu Vinh, includes more than one hectare of pepper trees that are about 10 years old, as well as 1.6 hectares of mangosteen intercropped with green-skin pomelo. In addition to profitable perennial crops, Loc makes use of his garden land to grow grass for goats, while also raising fish and growing water spinach to generate additional income to cover daily expenses. He combines livestock farming with crop production, maintaining a breeding herd of about 10 female goats along with several dozen meat goats. Goat prices have remained high for nearly two years, providing his family with good returns from livestock farming. He also uses leaves from his pepper garden as feed, helping keep production costs down.

"I make use of manure from livestock farming to fertilize my crops. This both reduces production costs and enables me to produce safe products for the market," Loc said. "We have kept our traditional crops because I have experience cultivating them. They also provide good economic returns and relatively stable markets," he added.

Durian is one of the most economically valuable crops in Phu Vinh. Many farmers have become prosperous by cultivating the fruit. Hoang Duc Dung, who grows more than 10 hectares of durian in Phu Vinh, said the Dona variety continued to command high prices during the latest harvest, generating good profits for farmers. "The locality has developed a specialized durian-growing area that delivers high economic efficiency. Farmers like us are also paying close attention to applying scientific and technical advances to production so that we can produce high-quality, safe durian that meets export-market standards," Dung said.

Pursuing sustainable development

Agriculture remains Phu Vinh's key strength. The locality has therefore prioritized investment in irrigation infrastructure and supported farmers in expanding areas equipped with automated irrigation and fertilization systems. To date, more than 5,100 hectares of agricultural land have access to proactive irrigation and drainage, accounting for nearly 80% of the commune's total agricultural land.

The locality is also working to establish production-to-market linkages for its key crops. So far, value chains have been developed for cocoa, coffee, durian, and tissue-culture bananas.

Tran A Sang, director of Tran Minh Agricultural Products Company Limited, said coffee is a traditional crop in Phu Vinh. "Therefore, our company has invested in purchasing and processing facilities directly in the production area. We also place great emphasis on building a local coffee brand," Sang said. The company's A Tang roasted and ground coffee has been recognized under the One Commune One Product (OCOP) Program, helping promote the locality's key agricultural products in the market.

Vu Manh Duong, Vice Chairman of the Phu Vinh Commune People's Committee, said Phu Vinh is an agricultural commune that is focusing on breakthrough areas to drive economic development. "These include agricultural production, with a focus on building product brands, developing market linkages, and expanding sustainable, organic, and high-tech farming models," Duong said. The locality has also identified key crops with development advantages in the area, supporting the establishment of value chains linked to efforts to attract businesses to invest, cooperate, and purchase agricultural products from farmers, thereby promoting sustainable development.

At the same time, Phu Vinh regards tourism as a new economic sector and plans to mobilize resources to tap its potential and advantages. The commune is focusing on developing destinations such as Ba Giot Waterfall, Bat Cave, and Phu Tan 2 Hydropower Plant, while combining them with scenic fruit orchards and diversified fruit-growing areas to develop community-based tourism and garden tourism.

By Binh Nguyen – Translated by Mai Nga, Minho