Sweet Fruit Club - When humans are the center of the agricultural ecosystem

In the morning, stepping out into the garden, the dew still lingers on the custard apple leaves, the sun just touches the growing durians. The chirping of sparrows somewhere seems to greet a new day. I, an ordinary farmer in Tay Ninh, suddenly think, perhaps I am not just planting trees, but nurturing an ecosystem. Every drop of water, pollen, bee, leaf,… has a reason to exist. And it is the human, the farmer, who is the central link to bring all of this into harmony.

Representative of the Ministry Office, Head of the Southern Representative Office, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (left cover) presented the book sent by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (now Vice Chairman of the National Assembly) Le Minh Hoan to Bau Don Durian Club (Photo courtesy)

From Root to Branch - From Farmer to Clubhouse

In the old days, everyone knew how to plant their own crops. Each family had their own secret recipe, their own variety of tree, their own way of watering. But now, with the establishment of the association, I see farmers as the roots of trees intertwined, creating a more solid forest.

In Bau Don Durian Club, we learn how to talk to the soil, listen to the rainy season, the sunny season, so that the fruit ripens evenly, without harsh taste. And in Tay Ninh Soursop Club, people share each step of caring for the tree, how to identify pests and diseases, and even how to tell the story of the soursop so that customers can understand and love it more.

We are no longer afraid of being left behind, because in the club, everyone is a leaf contributing to the common tree. Every meeting, every training session, every tour is an opportunity for farmers to be “watered” with more knowledge and confidence.

When farmers are placed at the center of the ecosystem

A garden can only truly live when the grower understands that he is not alone. Just as plants cannot live in an ecosystem without bees, butterflies, rainwater and the sun, farmers cannot thrive without businesses, scientists , banks and governments.

The clubhouse becomes a meeting place for these “currents”: Businesses bring markets and technology; scientists bring back knowledge and solutions; credit institutions pave the way for green loans; and the government, instead of just managing, becomes the one who sows the belief that farmers can master the future.

Everyone contributes, like the rain that soaks the soil, like the wind that pollinates. And at the center of that cycle is the farmer, the one who keeps the earth breathing.

A discussion at Tay Ninh Soursop Club (Illustration photo)

Fishing ports, guildhalls, fields - all are “symbiotic ecosystems”

Farmers today do more than just plow or harvest. They are learning to co-manage their ecosystems. At the port, fishermen work with the government to keep the sea clean; in the garden, farmers work with businesses to keep the soil healthy.

We are trained to know how to take care of plants properly, but more deeply, we learn to live with nature, not against it. Because we understand that if we only exploit without regenerating, the soil will dry up, the water will become salty, and we ourselves will wither.

The Assembly Hall - the cradle of knowledge and humanity

At each meeting, people sit in a circle like a few trees surrounding the shade, talking about the harvest, about business, about the worries of their children going to school far away. Some people share organic farming methods, others discuss cooperation in eco-tourism, selling agricultural products online.

From those simple conversations, knowledge spread like an underground stream, silently but persistently. Many of us now know how to build a brand, know how to trace origins, know how to form cooperatives. But above all, we learned to be proud of our own work, believing that planting trees also contributes to making the country more prosperous.

When farmers are no longer marginalized

In the new agricultural ecosystem, farmers are no longer “supported objects”, but creators. We do not need anyone’s sympathy, we just need to be listened to, trusted and given the opportunity to contribute.

Each custard apple, each durian, is not only a product of Tay Ninh land, but also a crystallization of knowledge, trust and cooperation.

Just as in nature, no rain is meaningless, no leaf is redundant, in society, no farmer is small, if placed in the right position in the developing ecosystem./.

Le Minh Hoan

Gift to Tay Ninh farmers

Source: https://baolongan.vn/hoi-quan-trai-ngot-khi-con-nguoi-la-trung-tam-cua-he-sinh-thai-nong-nghiep-a205720.html