Residents in Pu Bin commune step up purple garlic cultivation

Each year, once the busy harvest season ends, farmers in Pu Bin commune of Mai Chau district, Hoa Binh province, start preparations to plant purple garlic. Making use of the cool mountainous climate, local residents have expanded the garlic planting area to raise their income.

Ha Cong Tin, a resident in Na Phat hamlet of Pu Bin commune (Mai Chau district), stores dried garlic to wait for prices to become more stable before selling the produce.

Purple garlic has a special taste and is also a valuable herb curing many illnesses. Additionally, it suits local climate, so residents in Pu Bin commune are farming this cash crop on a larger area.

The cultivation area reached 17ha in late 2017, and it is expected to rise to 20ha this year and to continue to expanding in the coming years. Na Phat and Bin communes have the largest garlic farming area, over 10ha in total.

Ha Cong Tin, who has the largest garlic cultivation area in Na Phat hamlet, said each year, after the harvest season, his family will start to prepare soil for planting garlic. Last year, they farmed 1,500 sq.m. of garlic and expanded the area to 2,000 sq.m. this year. Garlic is easy to be cultivated and not vulnerable to diseases. Farming techniques are simple as the plant needs little water and suits the local climate, so it always grows well. He harvested nearly 400kg of garlic in last year’s crop.

All households in Pu Bin commune have cultivated garlic so far, from 40 sq.m. to 2,000 sq.m. each. Among them, Ha Cong Tin in Na Phat hamlet plant 2,000 sq.m. of garlic while Dinh Cong Thang, a resident in Bin hamlet, farms 1,800 sq.m.

Purple garlic of Mai Chau is favoured by consumers thanks to its special good taste compared to other types of garlic in the market. However, the sale of the local specialty remains unstable.

Kha Van Huong, head of Na Phat hamlet, said they always meet difficulties in selling garlic. Because local residents live in a mountainous region far away from urban areas, they have to bring garlic to markets even before the dawn breaks and go back after the twilight, yet they can sell only several kilogrammes of garlic.

If people fail to sell all garlic they bring along, they can hang the produce above stoves to preserve and wait for higher prices. However, garlic can only be stored for a short period of time as it may sprout or become mouldy. If traders come to buy garlic at gardens, prices may reach up to 50,000 VND (2.14 USD) per kg or drop to 15,000 – 20,000 VND (0.64 – 0.86 USD) per kg, Huong noted.