Faced with this reality, the Điện Biên provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment worked with Đồng Giao Food Export Joint Stock Company (DOVECO) to cooperate on developing raw material zones to serve the production and processing of agricultural products in the communes of Tuần Giáo, Pú Nhung, Quài Tở, Chiềng Sinh, and Mường Mùn.

The communes formerly belonging to Tuần Giáo district are assessed as having suitable climatic and soil conditions for developing fruit trees. In fact, the area has already deployed the planting of some fruit trees like pineapple, mango, pomelo, and pear, bringing economic benefits. However, the fruit tree cultivation area is still small-scale and fragmented, market prices are unstable, and there is a lack of stable market linkages.

A typical example is in Pú Nhung commune, despite having a large agricultural land fund to develop pineapple and mango, the planted area is very limited (the whole commune has about nearly 100 ha of pineapple and over 60 ha of mango). In addition, the consumer market is unstable, and there are no preliminary processing facilities, cold storage, or processing plants, so the economic efficiency is not high. The fruit tree cultivation area in Quài Tở commune is not commensurate with its potential, as the entire commune only has about 120 ha of pears and a few small areas of other fruit trees.

To exploit the potential and strengths of the communes in fruit tree development, the Department of Agriculture and Environment coordinated with DOVECO to conduct a field survey of the planting area in Pú Nhung commune and to work on cooperating to develop raw material zones for agricultural production and processing.

Đinh Cao Khuê, Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of DOVECO, assessed: “Through the field survey, the local land and climate conditions are very suitable for growing pineapple. Therefore, if the communes can implement concentrated raw material zones, the company will provide seeds, support with pesticides, and provide technical care for the people. We also commit to establishing a steering department for the raw material development zone in Điện Biên; and will send a specialized department to work specifically with the communes on implementing the raw material zones, especially for pineapple and passionfruit.”

Nguyễn Văn Bách, Chairman of the Pú Nhung commune People’s Committee, said: “At the end of last October, the commune coordinated with DOVECO to launch a pineapple planting model to develop a sustainable raw material zone in the area. Accordingly, the company will initially deploy the planting of 20 ha of pineapple in Rạng Đông, Bon A, and Nậm Mu villages. During the implementation, the company will support with techniques for planting, care, and harvesting, and provide high-quality pineapple varieties, fertilizers, and agricultural materials according to safe production processes. The company also commits to purchasing the entire pineapple harvest from the people in the commune at a stable price. This is an important step to develop a concentrated pineapple growing area, contributing to crop restructuring, increasing income, and creating sustainable livelihoods for the people.”

Evaluating this cooperation, Lê Xuân Cảnh, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, affirmed: “The launch of the pineapple planting model in Pú Nhung commune is just the beginning of the cooperation program to develop sustainable raw material zones in the communes of the former Tuần Giáo district with DOVECO. Based on reviewing the agricultural land fund of each locality and the needs of the people, in the coming time, the remaining communes will continue to coordinate with DOVECO to implement concentrated raw material zones. This will contribute to forming a production-consumption linkage chain for agricultural products in the area, improving economic efficiency, and bringing stable, sustainable income to the people.”