Dong Thap province has encouraged the adoption of a lotus – eco-tourism model because it brings higher income for local farmers (Photo: VNA)Dong Thap (VNA) - Nguyen Van Honhas been a farmer all of his life. Now, in his mid 50s, he is working as a tourguide.
Hon is one of the first lotus farmers in theMekong Delta to adopt the lotus–ecotourism model as an alternative to growingan unsustainable third rice crop every year (called the autumn-winter crop).
The owner of 4ha of lotus in My Hoa commune in DongThap province’s Thap Muoi district, Hon began offering tourism services in 2013when locals set up the Dong Sen (lotus farm) ecotourism zone.
His business began to take off about two tothree years ago, and during peak season from June to August, he welcomes around50-100 tourists a day.
Visitors to his farm can pick lotus flowers andenjoy lotus specialties like salted roasted lotus seeds, rice cooked withlotus, sweet lotus dessert, and fresh lotus seeds.
“When I was growing only rice and lotus, myincome was quite good, but when I started the tourism business, it definitelyimproved,” he said. “Last year, visitors from HCM City, Dong Nai province andeven the central and northern regions came here.”
Over a period of four years, his businessexpanded by four-fold.
The Dong Sen ecotourism zone has now expanded to11ha, with tourism services the main source of income for local farmers takingpart in the model, according to local authorities.
In the first half of 2017, the zone welcomedmore than 36,000 local and international visitors and grossed more than 2.1billion VND (92,000 USD).
Though the province has encouraged more farmersto join the ecotourism model, not everyone has the skills needed to offer goodservices or the finances to invest in infrastructure.
Tran Van Kich, who has a 4.5ha area of lotusflowers only a 20-minute riverboat ride away from Hon’s farm, has decided tobreed fish on his lotus farm to increase income.
But unlike the lotus–ecotourism model in whichthe lotus output is bought by tourists, farmers like Kich who rely on sellinglotus seeds are worried about the price fluctuations of lotus.
“I’m not sure if I can sell lotus flowers atgood prices this year,” he said.
As he only sells fresh lotus seeds, he has torely on prices offered by traders who visit his farm to buy lotus seeds andflowers directly from him.
Sometimes traders are willing to pay 12,000 VNDper kilogramme, but later change their minds to 10,000 VND or even 8,000 VNDafter the lotus is picked, saying the plants are not “beautiful”, according toKich.
Farmers have to sell the lotus plants soon afterthey picked, he said, because they could lose freshness if they are storedovernight.
“Unstable prices discourage farmers,” he said.“Besides, it’s not easy to find lotus pickers since many of them have moved toother places to work in factories or at construction sites.”
Tran Van Kich in Dong Thap Muoi district in Dong Thap province feeds fish bred on his lotus farm. Though the lotus – fish farm model brings two sources of income, the price fluctuation of lotus remains a concern for farmers (Photo: VNA)When asked why he still grows lotus even thoughmany neighbours have stopped, he said: “My first thought was that I am doingthis for the environment.”
Lotus leaves can also be a good source oforganic fertiliser, he said.
“After harvesting lotus and preparing for thenext rice crop, I only need to use half of the fertiliser volume compared toother rice fields,” he added.
The income from selling fish also helps himcover the expenses of growing lotus.
Many provinces in the delta such as Long An andAn Giang have followed suit and adopted several flooding-based livelihoodmodels to reduce production of the third rice crop and create jobs during theflooding season. But they have also faced market challenges.
Nguyen Chi Thien, Deputy Director of Long An province’sDepartment of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that many models werebeing adopted, but finding the right markets for farmers remains a problem.
He cited the example of the ro (anabas) fish –rice model.
“When it was first implemented, the fish soldfor 30,000 VND per kilogramme. But when it was widely adopted, fish pricesdropped nearly one-half,” he said.
External factors such as food scams and fishdisease outbreaks have also affected prices, he added.
Dang Kim Khoi from the Institute of Policy andStrategy for Agriculture and Rural Development said the issue of markets couldnot be solved at a local level or for a single model.
He said the Government and the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development (MARD) have classified three groups ofstrategic agricultural products as national key products, provincial keyproducts and local specialties.
“Each group needs to be addressed differently,”he said.
For example, for national key products, thereshould be a nationwide supply-demand assessment to avoid oversupply, whichleads to a fall of prices in domestic and international markets, he added.
“For this to happen, enterprises and farmerscannot do it alone, and the Government must play the role of an enabler andleader with support from other ministries and research institutes,” he said.
Similarly, for provincial key products and localspecialties, local authorities should take the leading role and follow guidancefrom the ministries, he said.
At the moment, MARD is developing a programme onenhancing agribusiness capacity for farmers and enterprises which will bepiloted in Can Tho city and Tay Ninh and Nghe An provinces.
“Through this programme, based on assessingselected key agricultural products, we will identify our weaknesses and fillthe holes. And through this, we’ll be able to see what the Government must doand where the private sector has to give a hand,” he added.-VNA
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