In 1998-1999, local
residents in not only Son Thuy but also other communes in Kim Boi district lived
in hardship all year round. Their livelihoods and incomes mostly relied on
agricultural production, therefore, no one thought they could get rich. They
also studied and tried growing many kinds of plants such as watermelon and
litchis and raising a lot of animals like pigs and chickens. However, their
incomes even were not enough to feed them.
In 1993, after finishing his military services, Luc returned to his homeland and worked as a farmer. His concern at that time was to find out a working method to stabilise his life. He did many jobs from fish raising, vegetable planting to afforestation, and he also failed many times.
When visiting a relative
in Hung Yen province and seeing that local people had a stable and well-off
life thanks to longan planting, he decided to invest in growing Huong Chi
longan. He bravely bid
Bui Van Luc checks Son Thuy longan quality
He then worked and learned from experience of longan farmers in Hung Yen province as well as books and newspapers to have his own experience in caring the trees, pruning and grafting, fertilizing, and preventing diseases. Therefore, the productivity and yield of his longan trees increased year after year. After one decade, longan is proved to be suitable for local weather and soil and bring the biggest economic efficiency in Son Thuy.
Luc now owns
In 2016, the National Office of Intellectual Property under the Ministry of Science and Technology granted a collective label certificate to Son Thuy longan, opening a new opportunity for the product to gain a firm foothold in the market.
Son Thuy longan, whose
seed is small, is juicy and its taste is sweet and different from other
varieties in the locality. Together with
Longan is helping local
people change their life. At present, 54 percent of local households are growing
longans. The commune has
Thanks to longan growing, many local households escaped poverty and some others earned more than 100 million VND a year. Many of them now have new-model cars, and can build big houses. Their children can also pursue their learning without worries. Son Thuy currently forms a production region for commercial products that is a dream of many other localities./.
Hoa Binh Province currently has over 870 hectares of tea plantations, with six districts having concentrated tea production areas that boast advantages in soil, climate, history, and distinctive tea varieties: Yen Thuy, Lac Thuy, Da Bac, Mai Chau, Tan Lac, and Luong Son.