Thach Thanh (Thanh Hoa) - The story from the Organic Garlic and Onion Cultivation Group

Ms. Hien - Cam Bo village

Cam Bo village has a long tradition of growing onions and garlic, passed down by their forefathers. However, the cultivation of garlic and onion of people has been increasingly dependent on chemical fertilizers, and chemical plant protection products, which have been polluting not only their fields but also their health. Farmers have a habit of relying on nitrogen fertilizers for bigger yields. When pests or diseases are sighted, they rusted to an agricultural material outlet to ask for the chemical means and then just sprayed until the pest/disease is gone without much attention to the safety protocol of those products. Each crop of onions and garlic was sprayed around 5 times per crop. This corrupted the water/soil so much that people would feel itching and burning on their feet if they don’t wear boots on the field.

Moreover, the selling price of onions and garlic is unstable, there are years when it is harvested but cannot be sold. Thus, many times are farmers discouraged from doing all the work. As a result, traditional cultivation is gradually diminishing.

After participating in the Bread for the World funded project, people's mindsets and farming habits are gradually changing. At the beginning of the project, the group members hesitated to communicate and really hold back when it came to expressing their minds in the training. They, the participants who were mainly women, have always thought that they were just insignificant farmers who just work with mud and soil. Then, they slowly became more open and active through training courses starting in April 2021. Through these training courses and the guidance of the project officer, local people learned how to work in group and group management. This made everyone in the group more united. Members meet regularly to share experiences and develop periodic plans for group development. They no longer hesitate to exchange with each other in meetings. They also share how to make compost and native microorganism-based products (for farming) with neighboring households so that they can be more aware of environmental protection and health issues related to agricultural production.

Farmers can now make microbiological fertilizers, organic fertilizers, herb-based plant protection mixtures, and native microorganism products from their homes to completely replace chemical ones. Therefore, their production is not toxic to the environment, does not harm the health of producers, and ensures the quality of the products for consumers.   Local people are reassured about health issues when it comes to agricultural production because they no longer have to be exposed to harmful substances.

Thanks to the project, people confidently promoted their traditional specialties. Garlic and onion produced by the farmer group of Cam Bo village have been introduced to many customers and thus have initially gained quite a reputation.

That initial positive result created a foundation for local farmers to continue their journey in sustainable agriculture. They understood that in order to for the model to be successful, they must put in more effort. Despite that, everyone is happy because they can bring about positive values not only to themselves but also to the whole community.   Therefore, we, the locals, will do our best to develop this model and spread organic cultivation moto to other villagers as well as farmers in other localities.

Sharing of Ms. Truong Thi Hien Hien, A member of Cam Bo organic garlic and onion cultivation group

---