Mr. Ba Tuan and his story of starting a grape farming business in Long Khanh island.

Updated: 11/01/2024 13:30:32

DTO - Recently, the Ba Tuan Vineyard tourist attraction, owned by farmer Nguyen Thanh Tuan (born in 1974) in Long Khanh B commune, Hong Nguy district, has left a strong impression on visitors. Here, visitors can immerse themselves in the lush vineyard and enjoy various products made from grapes. With this innovative approach, the model has initially helped Mr. Tuan increase his income per unit of production area and contribute to the development of local tourism ...

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tuan next to his family's 152-vine vineyard.

GROWING GRAPES ON THE ISLANDS

After purchasing a nearly 3-hectare plot of land in Long Binh hamlet, Long Khanh B commune, Hong Ngu district, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tuan began considering cultivating a garden. He took soil samples to relevant authorities for analysis of soil composition and structure to identify suitable crops for the area. Compared to many others, Mr. Tuan's approach was considered "time-consuming and laborious." However, this solution helped him choose suitable crops and reduce risks for his family's future garden. The analysis results showed that the land's soil was suitable for cultivating many types of crops, especially new varieties such as grapes and kiwi. Based on these results, in early 2019, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tuan boldly planted 1,400 grapevines of variety 152 on an area of 19,000 square meters.

Recalling his decision to "go against the crowd" by bringing the 152 grape variety to cultivate in the Long Khánh islet, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tuan shared: "Previously, people thought grapes could only be grown abroad or in provinces like Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan, while this region with its 'two seasons of rain and sunshine' was considered very difficult to cultivate. Initially, when my family and neighbors heard that I had decided to plant the 152 grape variety, they all tried to dissuade me, worried that I would fail. But I thought, if I only planted familiar fruit trees like tangerines, oranges, pomelos, and jackfruit... when harvest season came, the production would be oversupplied and very difficult to sell. Because I was a 'latecomer,' I chose a variety that no one else was growing, and the market demand would be high, making it easier to sell. Based on that thinking and the results of soil sample tests from relevant authorities, I boldly tried my hand at growing the 152 grape variety on the islet land of my homeland."

Thanks to continuously learning grape-growing techniques from friends both domestically and internationally, Mr. Tuan's vineyard has thrived. At the end of 2019, his family harvested their first crop of grapes, yielding over 1 ton of fruit. Selling at approximately 150,000 VND/kg, this brought Mr. Tuan nearly 150 million VND in revenue.

152 bunches of grapes are laden with fruit at the Ba Tuan Vineyard Tourist Attraction.

EXPLOITING VINEYARDS TOWARDS MULTI-VALUE RESULTS

Not content with just growing grapes for sale, and recognizing the local demand for vineyard tours, Mr. Tuan and his family boldly opened their vineyard to visitors for free during the 2020 New Year holiday. Despite only being open for three days, Mr. Tuan's vineyard received over 3,000 visitors.

Seeing the positive feedback from tourists and the dedicated guidance from the local authorities, during the Lunar New Year of 2020, Mr. Tuan invested in additional scenic features and opened his vineyard to welcome tourists from near and far. By the end of the Lunar New Year, Ba Tuan's Vineyard Tourist Attraction had welcomed over 7,000 tourists from various provinces and cities, helping his family increase their revenue by nearly 140 million VND from the new model.

Like many tourist attractions across the country, after the Lunar New Year in 2020, the entire nation entered the COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control phase, forcing Ba Tuan's Vineyard tourist attraction to close. Due to the difficulties in travel and the inability to sell fresh grapes, the ripe grapes fell to the ground in the vineyard, causing Mr. Tuan great distress. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tuan recalled: “When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, difficulties piled up as ripe grapes fell from the vines, making them impossible to sell. Furthermore, due to the storms, some vines with unripe grapes collapsed, causing even greater losses. At that time, lacking processing experience, the family could only feed the fallen grapes to the fish. However, thanks to those difficulties, I boldly tried fermenting grapes into wine, and fortunately, with guidance and suggestions from some friends, after many trials, I successfully produced grape wine. Currently, in addition to growing grapes for fresh sale and selling seedlings, my family also produces grape wine to serve tourists. In the future, I plan to develop dried grape products, offering tourists more experiences with new products.”

Nguyen Thanh Tuan's grape wine has received OCOP 3-star certification.

In addition, Mr. Tuan also invested in greenhouses for his vineyard, helping the vines grow and develop better during unfavorable weather conditions such as the rainy season and storms. This helps reduce some diseases and pest attacks, resulting in cleaner and safer produce. Thanks to the investment in greenhouses and the application of advanced production solutions, the yield and quality of the grapes in Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tuan's vineyard are in no way inferior to similar imported products or those from large farms in Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan , etc.

To further expand production area and plant new grape varieties to serve tourists and for processing, in 2024, Mr. Tuan plans to plant an additional 2,000 grape vines of variety 152 and black finger grapes. Simultaneously, Mr. Tuan also plans to collaborate with other tourist attractions in the district, such as the Long Khanh A traditional weaving village and the Long Thuan rural market model, to create more attractive experiences for visitors to Hong Ngu district.

Mr. Pham Van Tuan, Chairman of the People's Committee of Long Khanh B commune, Hong Ngu district, said that Ba Tuan Grape Vineyard is one of the outstanding agricultural tourism models of Long Khanh B commune. In recent times, to help this tourism model operate systematically and attract tourists, the People's Committee of Long Khanh B commune has closely coordinated with district departments to provide professional guidance in the tourism sector, facilitating the unit's access to support policies as regulated. Simultaneously, the locality has also guided the unit in completing the procedures for registering OCOP products for grape wine and pomelo wine. Currently, these two products have achieved OCOP 3-star certification in 2022. In the future, the locality will connect Ba Tuan Grape Vineyard with other attractions such as Long Khanh A Handicraft Village... to create a more attractive and integrated tourism chain.

MY LY

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