Four years ago, Le Tan Tien’s family in Huyen Hoi commune, Cang Long district, converted 0.4ha of low-yield rice land into a seedless lime orchard with 270 trees. Previously, rice farming on this land earned him only around 1,900 USD per hectare at the highest annually due to unstable yields and fluctuating prices.
Now, the lime orchard produces 2.5-3 tonnes of fruit every two weeks, generating a steady profit of over 1,180 USD per month after deducting costs. Encouraged by this success, the family has expanded the lime orchard by an additional 0.4ha.
The director of Thanh Chi Cooperative, Phan Duc Tai is the pioneer in introducing seedless limes to the area in 2018. In 2022, he established the Thanh Chi Seedless Lime Cooperative with 10 members and 7ha of lime trees.
The cooperative has since expanded the lime area to 142ha across various localities in the province, and is now partnering with businesses to export seedless limes to the Netherlands.
Seedless lime is considered a climate change-adaptive plant, as they save water through drip irrigation. The tree is easy to grow, adapt well, and require less care, thus saving labour costs and increasing production efficiency.
Currently, the Tra Vinh Cooperative Alliance is working with local authorities to expand the planting area, encouraging farmers to join cooperatives in order to access support policies for land conversion, production linkage, and product sales./.
