The Story of San Viet Farm: The Aspiration to Become a Model Farm

Khanh Hoa San Viet Farm not only produces clean, circular agricultural products but also creates ecosystems, spreads culture, and aims to become a model farm in Vietnam.

Circular ecosystems are the foundation of sustainable development.

Somewhere in Vietnam, there's a farm called San Viet Farm, striving to become a model, even knowing the path is fraught with obstacles and challenges. However, the perseverance of this pioneer is leading them in the right direction. The farm was established at the right time, when consumers demand cleaner, more transparent food sources and seek out destinations with more valuable experiences. Furthermore, with support from the State, the government, and the openness in the Land Law, the farm has the foundation to realize its vision.

An aerial view of San Viet Farm. Photo: KS.

Sản Việt Farm, spanning nearly 130 hectares, is the result of Mr. Nguyen Minh Thanh's dedication and hard work. Originally a barren, arid hillside in Suoi Sau village, Nam Ninh Hoa commune (Khanh Hoa province), Mr. Thanh has transformed this land into a circular organic agricultural ecosystem, combining agricultural tourism with the integration of local culture. Established in 2019, the farm started with approximately 8 hectares and has gradually expanded to its current scale.

Mr. Thanh shared: "Organic farming is difficult, but combining organic farming with circular farming on a large scale is even more challenging." However, he has absolute confidence in the path he has chosen: "The reality has proven that over the past six years, the amount of investment has decreased, while the revenue of San Viet Farm has increased and started to become profitable." This confirms the correctness of the economic model built on perseverance and scientific research.

The heart and operating philosophy of San Viet Farm is a closed-loop circular economy model, where all by-products and materials are thoroughly reused, true to the principle of "nothing goes to waste".

Mr. Nguyen Minh Thanh, owner of San Viet Farm, is very passionate about circular organic agriculture, combining agricultural tourism and integrating local culture. Photo: Engineer.

The farm has planned 60 hectares for planting Australian mangoes, Hoa Loc sand mangoes, Four Seasons mangoes, and Taiwanese mangoes. The mango orchards are equipped with a sprinkler irrigation system that delivers water to each tree and are cultivated organically. Grass is left to grow naturally to provide ground cover, protect the soil, reduce erosion, and serve as a valuable supplementary feed source for livestock. In addition, the farm also grows approximately 3,000 Ninh Da Siamese coconut trees and 10 hectares of mixed orchards with a variety of fruit trees from all three regions of Vietnam, along with native mountain vegetables such as wild mustard, deer antler, buttonweed, wild spinach, and sorghum.

The 10-hectare livestock area is well-planned and isolated. It houses various animals such as 3B cattle, native black pigs, native chickens, swallows, bamboo rats, civets, etc. The farm makes maximum use of agricultural by-products. Vegetables, grass, and banana stalks are used as feed for the cattle, pigs, chickens, and crickets. Black soldier flies and calcium worms are raised to process organic waste and feed chickens, fish, and other livestock. Thanks to this nutritious food chain, the farm has saved a significant amount of money on industrial feed. Finally, the manure from the livestock area is carefully composted before being used as fertilizer for crops, completely closing the biological cycle and restoring soil fertility.

Currently, the farm has about 60 hectares planted with Australian mango varieties and Cat Hoa Loc mangoes. Photo: San Viet.

Furthermore, the farm also fulfills its responsibility for ecological conservation. Approximately 30 hectares of regenerated forest are being restored by Mr. Thanh with the aim of preserving groundwater, maintaining biodiversity, and working towards carbon credits in the future. A 2.5-hectare lake located in the center of the farm serves both irrigation purposes and creates a favorable environment for swiftlet farming, with two swiftlet houses generating hundreds of millions of dong in income annually.

The combination of tourism and culture, and addressing the output.

The farm owner devised a groundbreaking strategy, recognizing that a large-scale, circular organic farm would struggle to find a sustainable market for its products if it focused solely on farming. Therefore, he combined agricultural tourism and local culture as a strategic solution, where agricultural tourism leverages the circular organic farming system, and conversely, agricultural tourism seeks sustainable outlets for agricultural products.

This combination not only effectively solves the problem of agricultural product output but also builds trust with consumers. Visitors to San Viet Farm not only tour the farm but also experience hands-on activities such as harvesting fruits and vegetables and fishing. They can enjoy dishes ranging from simple local cuisine to specialties produced on the farm, with 80-90% of the ingredients sourced locally.

Witnessing the hard work and transparent production process, tourists are willing to buy agricultural products at higher prices because they recognize the true value behind each green and clean product from the farm.

Besides experiential tourism, the integration of local culture has added depth and meaning to the farm. "Integrating culture makes San Viet Farm more attractive, and it is also a social responsibility in restoring and spreading culture," Mr. Thanh explained.

San Viet Farm is attracting schools and tourists to visit. Photo: KS.

At San Viet Farm, visitors can immerse themselves in the local culture of the Raglai and Ede people every Saturday, with the sounds of gongs, Xoang dances, and traditional cuisine. To complete the experience and preserve traditional architecture, the farm is building a Raglai ethnic village, which will not only restore the architecture but also provide accommodation for visitors.

Aspiration for exemplary models and community development.

The ultimate ambition of San Viet Farm is to become a model for the province, and further afield, a model for the entire country, encompassing three pillars: agricultural models, agricultural tourism, and community culture. This is an aspiration to contribute to the sustainable agricultural development of the nation.

“San Viet Farm aspires to become a practical reference model, for other units to visit and demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of circular organic agriculture. The farm is open to experimentation to find the best path, thereby creating valuable lessons for future models,” Mr. Thanh expressed, believing that when visitors come to the farm, they will see the lessons and value that justify the cost they pay.

Sản Việt Farm aspires to become a model farm. Photo: Engineer.

In line with its grand vision, San Viet Farm is always committed to supporting the local community. The farm is implementing a stingless bee farming model for ethnic minority households, with a commitment to purchasing the product after providing technical guidance. In addition, the farm is also restoring and developing native crops such as sorghum. San Viet Farm will select and breed high-yielding crop varieties suitable for the local soil to transfer to farmers for planting during the rainy season on the hillsides.

"We will purchase it at double the price of corn to help local people increase their income and stabilize their lives," Mr. Thanh said. The product from the sorghum grains will be used by the farm as an ingredient for making rice wine or combined with the traditional yeast recipe of the ethnic minorities to create a unique-flavored wine. This is how San Viet Farm creates a humane value chain, both preserving traditional culinary culture and ensuring sustainable livelihoods for the local people.

The farm's actual development is the clearest evidence of this vision. Currently, the farm provides employment for 40 workers with stable incomes of 7-8 million VND per person per month. The farm's total agricultural revenue is nearly 7 billion VND, not including revenue from tourism activities.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/cau-chuyen-san-viet-farm-khat-vong-tro-thanh-dien-hinh-mau-d787534.html