Grow organic pepper, overcome hardship

Households in Binh Phuoc still live well thanks to organic pepper cultivation despite erratic weather, pest infestations and precarious prices.

Mr. Phuong Thanh Tran next to his family's freshly green pepper garden. Photo: Tran Trung.

Pepper garden: in full bloom of life

Mr. Phuong Thanh Tran (hamlet 10, Thien Hung commune, Bu Dop district, Binh Phuoc) has grown pepper since 1986, experienced many ups and downs with this crop. Starting with his bare hands, Mr. Tran now owns more than 40 ha of land with 15 ha used for organic-certified pepper cultivation.

Harboring the aspiration to produce clean and safe products, especially since 2017 the price of pepper started to go down while the price of fertilizer increased day by day, not to mention the appearance of fake and poor quality fertilizers, Mr. Tran studied the organic procedure. Knowing that implementing this new model would be difficult but Mr. Tran still remained determined.

“I used chemical fertilizers and pesticides in the past, but now I have discarded them all, even growth stimulants will not be used anymore. The grass in the garden is only handled by generators and left to rot on-site to turn into natural fertilizer, both protect the environment and improve the soil’s moisture as well as fertility," said Mr. Tran.

Since the day he discarded inorganic fertilizer, beneficial organisms such as worms and insects gradually gathered and developed. The fresh and friendly atmosphere emanating from the garden is his driving force to perfect this model.

"Practice makes perfect"

According to Mr. Tran, in order to develop the pepper garden sustainably, four principles must be strictly followed: Grow pepper on live pillars; select disease-free varieties; the ground must attain good drainage ability, ensuring year-round irrigation; apply fertilizers reasonably, proactive in pest and disease prevention.

Accordingly, it’s recommendable to grow pepper especially on acacia trees, which not only provides shade and helps the plants photosynthesize well but also allows the exploitation time to be prolonged, limiting dangerous diseases and reducing the initial investment fee. Moreover, acacia is a legume, so it does not compete with pepper plants for nutrients. Furthermore, acacia leaves can be used as green fertilizer for the pepper plants.

It is clear that taking cuttings from pepper gardens that have shown signs of disease is not a wise decision. In terms of varieties, Mr. Tran recommended Vinh Linh pepper variety as it has good disease resistance.

As for water, due to the liana’s characteristic, pepper plants need a large amount of water all year round, especially commercial pepper entering flower differentiation stage. Growers therefore need to equip automatic irrigation systems to regulate the appropriate amount of water.

And in the case of fertilizers, since chemical fertilizers are not used anymore, it is essential to choose manures with high nutritional content (goats, chickens, and bats) composted with probiotics and organic fertilizers that are now popular on the market.

In addition, vegetation thickness is another factor that will determine the effectiveness of an organic farming model. The grass will shelter beneficial microorganisms, keep moisture, prevent erosion, create porosity for the soil, and help plants absorb fertilizer quickly.

Organic pepper - High price, secured output

Many farmers have lost everything because of the prolonged low price of pepper and the high cost of materials in the past few years. On the other hand, the organic pepper cultivation model of Mr. Tran has always maintained a stable yield, cleared of diseases, ensured quality standards, always had high prices. No matter how much he produces, businesses always come and even compete just to secure an order.

According to Mr. Tran, thanks to the cultivation model in accordance with organic standards, the products are often purchased by partners to export to Japan and Europe. While the pepper’s market price is around VND 80,000/kg, his pepper is purchased by partners for VND 100,000 to 120,000/kg. In the last season alone, his family harvested over 10 tons of pepper, earning more than VND 1 billion.

Mr. Doan Van Thao, Chairman of Bu Dop District People's Committee said that agricultural development, including pepper, is the strength of the district. In addition to preferential policies for key crops according to regulations, the locality is making progress in building links and calling for businesses to invest in organic agriculture, processing and exportation. He thinks that farmers need to change production towards using clean and safe methods, improving product quality to increase competitiveness and acquire sustainable output.