Contribute to increasing the value of sweet potatoes

Once a university lecturer, with a stable job and a bright future, Mr. Viet chose a challenging path when he left the lecture platform to start a sweet potato startup journey in 2018. It was not an easy decision, but it opened up a success story - inspiring innovation in agriculture and the value of "new-style farming".

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Viet introduces many products made from sweet potatoes at an exhibition event.

Sweet potatoes are the main agricultural product in Vinh Long, but for many years, the main output has been fresh potatoes with low economic value, easily falling into the situation of "good harvest, low price". Seeing the great potential of this nutritious agricultural product, Mr. Viet decided to find a way to increase the value of sweet potatoes by developing deeply processed products. From here, his entrepreneurial path began with countless difficulties but also full of aspirations. "Many times on business trips to Binh Tan, known as the "sweet potato kingdom" of Vinh Long province, I kept worrying about the image of farmers working hard but the price of agricultural products fluctuated erratically, sometimes the price of potatoes plummeted, causing farmers to suffer. From then on, I started researching more processed products from sweet potatoes," said Mr. Viet.

With a solid mindset and knowledge, Mr. Viet has carefully researched the process of processing and preserving agricultural products, experimenting with many different formulas to create quality products that suit consumer tastes. The first products launched such as sweet potato chips, sweet potato cookies... not only retain the natural flavor but also have beautiful packaging, ensure food hygiene and safety, and are distributed to many agents nationwide. The novelty and quality have helped Mr. Viet's products quickly win the hearts of the market. Online sales channels, local supermarkets, and exhibitions in and outside the province have all recorded positive signals.

Not stopping at personal success, Mr. Viet also actively supports local farmers in consuming sweet potatoes. Thanks to the production and consumption linkage model, he not only ensures a stable source of raw materials for the business but also helps farmers increase their income. This is also the sustainable development philosophy that he pursues: "Starting a business is not only to enrich yourself, but also to contribute to enriching your homeland".

Currently, Mr. Viet has established a company and has 6 products certified as OCOP products. Among them are typical products such as sweet potato chips, sweet potato cookies, cereal cakes, dried grapefruit peel... Besides the cake products, Mr. Viet also experiments with dried sweet potato lines with many unique flavors such as honey, chili onion, seaweed, BBQ... The goal is not only to stop at the domestic market, but also to expand internationally, to promote and enhance the value of Vinh Long sweet potatoes.

Mr. Viet’s story is a vivid demonstration of the spirit of innovative entrepreneurship in agriculture, a field that is considered traditional and unattractive to young people. However, with courage, bravery and a desire to contribute, he has proven that with just an idea, determination and a little bit of daring, even the seemingly familiar sweet potato can become “purple gold” if exploited in the right direction.

Article and photos: NGUYEN TRINH

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/gop-phan-nang-cao-gia-tri-khoai-lang-a186368.html