Ninh Thuan (VNS/VNA) - Farmers in the south central province of Ninh Thuan are growingmore green asparagus as the vegetable is offering higher profits compared toother crops.

Diep Bao Thu, whoshifted from growing grapes to asparagus on his 2,000 sq.m farm in Ninh Hai district’sXuan Hai commune last year, now harvests about 18 - 22 kilo of asparagus shootsa day.

He sell the vegetablefor 50,000 – 90,000 VND (2-4 USD) a kilo and earns a profit of more than 1million VND (44 USD) a day during the harvest.

Vu Van Thuan, who hasgrown asparagus on his 4,000sq.m land plot in Xuan Hai for four years, said thecost for 1,000 sq.m of asparagus was about 15 million VND. The asparagus plantsare harvested for five to seven years, he said.

“Green asparagus can beharvested continuously for three months, and then is stopped for one month tohelp the plant recover,” he said.

Previously Thuan plantedgrape, jujube and spring onion on his 4,000sq.m land plot but the profit wasnot high.

The province’s dry, hotweather and loamy sand are suitable for growing green asparagus, according tolocal farmers.

Ninh Thuan has the leastrainfall compared to other provinces and cities in the country.

Nguyen Dinh Thi, Vice Chairmanof the Xuan Hai Commune People’s Committee, said that green asparagus hadprovided high profits for farmers for a number of years. The profit is five toseven times higher than that of other crops, he said.

The commune has 110households planting a total of 21.5 ha of green asparagus, but supply has notmet demand, he said.

Ninh Thuan authoritieshave encouraged farmers to expand the area under asparagus in drought-prone areas.

Local authorities alsoprovided advanced farming techniques to asparagus farmers in recent years.

In 2016, the province’sFarmers Association started a project to grow green asparagus under VietnameseGood Agricultural Practices (VietGAP) standards in Ninh Phuoc district.

The quality and yieldunder the project was 10-20 percent higher than from traditional farming.

Early this year, theprovince’s Department of Science and Technology transferred the technique ofusing drip irrigation to asparagus farmers.

The technique was firstused by four farmers at the Tuan Tu Agricultural Services Cooperative to plant1.4 ha of green asparagus in An Hai commune.

Hung Ky, director of theTuan Tu Agricultural Services Cooperative, said previously asparagus shootswere often infected with fungus when spray irrigation methods were used.

The use of dripirrigation has helped solve the problem, he said, adding that farmers in otherareas have visited the cooperative to learn about the technique.

The province has morethan 100ha of green asparagus, mostly in Ninh Hai and Ninh Phuoc districts.

The province willdevelop asparagus areas with advanced farming techniques in a zone of 200ha inNinh Phuoc and Bac Ai districts.

The province’s asparagusshoots are sold in the province and to HCM City, Hanoi and Da Lat city andother provinces.

The vegetable was firstplanted in the province’s Ninh Phuoc district eight years ago.-VNS/VNA