The grapefruit garden of Nguyen Van Moi in Ninh Thuan province’s Ninh Phuoc district is open to visitors. — (Photo nhobamoi.com.vn ) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Agricultural production combined with tourismis offering higher profits for farmers in the south-central and southernprovinces.
In recent years, the agro-tourism models have attracted many visitors andbrought economic benefits to farmers and firms, contributing to new-style ruralareas in many localities.
The farming model creates additional output for products and produces environmentally-friendlytourism products promoted to visitors.
The farms have become attractive destinations for visitors who like naturalscenery and peaceful atmosphere in rural areas and who want to learn about theagricultural production process, and enjoy fresh fruit at farmers' gardens.
Nguyen Van Chin, a farmer in the south-central province of Binh Thuan, has1,700 pillars of dragon fruit grown to VietGAP standards in Ham Thuan Nam district'sHam My commune.
“I have begun harvesting off-season dragon fruit and have sold them at highprices,” he said.
However, his family has kept some of the fruit on his trees to welcome visitorsfrom HCM City booked for sightseeing at his garden.
“We want visitors to be able to harvest the fruits and gain hands-on experiencein farming activities,” Chin said.
In the south-central province of Ninh Thuan, the country's largest grapefruitproducer, many farmers have achieved positive results by combining grapefruitfarming and eco-tourism.
Nguyen Van Moi with his own brand Ba Moi Grapefruit, for example, has earned ahigher income by growing grapefruit on 2,000sq.m of cultivated land in Ninh Phuocdistrict’s Phuoc Thuan commune, and has opened his garden for tourists.
Tourists can taste and learn how to take care of fresh grapes and other grapeproducts such as syrup, wine and dried grapes, Moi said.
“How to identify the differences between local grapes and other imported grapesis shared,” he said.
Each farmer household can earn an average income of more than 150 million VND (6,500USD) from growing grapes and tourism activities.
When the 105km coastal route connecting Ninh Thuan and Khanh Hoa provinces iscompleted, Ninh Thuan province’s Ninh Hai district is expected to attract moretourists.
The district has encouraged local farmers to develop grapefruit orchards andother tourism products. There are 190ha of grape cultivation combined witheco-tourism in the district.
Taking advantage of fruit, pepper and cashew orchards, the southern province ofDong Nai has also created favourable conditions for local farmers to expand thecombined model of agriculture and tourism.
Le Van Thang, deputy chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said manyfarmer households in Tan Phu, Dinh Quan and Cam My districts and Long Khanh cityare participating in this model.
Besides serving fresh fruit at the garden, most eco-tourism sites also providefood and drink services for visitors.
Long Khanh city has invested in infrastructure to serve a large number oftourists and organised many seminars to equip farmers with basic knowledgeabout tourism and fruit festivals.
More than 200 households in the city are developing the model. They havewelcomed nearly 100,000 visitors in the last two years. The city’s totalrevenue from eco-tourism was estimated at 60 billion VND (2.5 million USD).
Farmers can earn an average profit of 58 million VND (2,500 USD) per hectare ayear from fruit farming, while they can earn a profit of up to 130 million VND (5,600USD) per hectare a year from growing fruit in combination with tourismactivities.
Many agricultural businesses are also using their farms and processingfactories to serve tourism services.
Green Farm of 3T Plus Trading and Service Co Ltd in the coastal southernprovince of Ba Ria-Vung Tau covers a 7ha area, including green-skin grapefruitgarden, yellow melon cultivation area, wooden houses, stilt houses, ateam-building campsite and restaurant.
The farm welcomes about 400 visitors every week. The average revenue isestimated at 270 million VND (11,650 USD) per month. It also links with otherfarms such as the US farm, Binon Cocoa and Thai Duong Avocado for a closedtour./.
VNA
