With just 2 hectares of intercropped tangerine, orange, and coffee trees, Mr. Mai Đình Lạc from Hamlet 16, Nam Dong Commune (Chư Jút District, Đăk Nông Province) earns more than 300 million VND every year.
In 2001, after visiting and learning from several households in Đắk Lắk who successfully intercropped fruit trees with coffee, Mr. Lạc decided to experiment by planting citrus trees among his coffee plants. Seeing the high economic return, he gradually expanded the model to his entire farm.
Currently, on his 2-hectare plot, he grows about 500 orange trees, 1,000 tangerine trees, and 200 coffee plants, harvesting roughly 8 tons of oranges, 11 tons of tangerines, and 2 tons of coffee beans per year. With average prices of 16,000 VND/kg for oranges, 18,000 VND/kg for tangerines, and 40,000 VND/kg for coffee, his family’s total annual revenue reaches about 400 million VND, leaving a profit of nearly 350 million VND after expenses.
Beyond his success in intercropping citrus trees within coffee plantations, Mr. Lạc is also one of the pioneers in inducing off-season fruiting, allowing his trees to bear fruit outside the regular harvest period.
According to the Nam Dong Commune Farmers’ Association, his orchard not only provides his family with high income but has also become a learning site for neighboring households and students from the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry at Tây Nguyên University. Today, several other households in Nam Dong have begun adopting his intercropping techniques and are already seeing promising results.