When farmers are honored

Starting from nothing, veteran Nguyen Tien Cuong in Ninh Thuong commune (Ninh Hoa town) overcame difficulties to become an "Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer". What is admirable is that on that journey, he demonstrated his acumen, daring to think and act in transforming crop structure and had a compassionate heart, always caring and supporting those in difficulty...

Mr. Cuong and his wife harvest guava for short-term profit.

Dare to think, dare to do

At the end of September, we visited the farm of Mr. Nguyen Tien Cuong (born in 1960) in village 3, Ninh Thuong commune. It is a lush green garden with dozens of hectares of mango, guava, coconut, jackfruit... that Mr. Cuong has planned systematically and invested in a modern irrigation system. This farm is not only for economic development but also a place where Mr. Cuong and his relatives "enjoy the countryside". Taking us on a tour of the farm, he told us about his farming career and getting rich on Ninh Thuong land. "I was born and raised in Nha Trang, until 1976, my family went to work in the new economic zone in Ninh Trang - Ninh Thuong. At that time, this land was still very wild...", Mr. Cuong began the story of his life.

Mr. Cuong's mango garden is grown organically.

3 years later, at the age of 19, following the call of the Fatherland, Mr. Cuong joined the army and went to the battlefield in Cambodia. Mr. Cuong and his comrades went through difficult days of fighting, many of whom died on friendly land. In February 1983, due to his injuries, he was discharged and returned to his hometown. Returning to the new economic zone of Ninh Trang, the 4/4-class disabled veteran came up with a unique way to "start a business". Realizing that this area still required too much manpower to reclaim land, he rented a tractor to both plow for hire and to clear land for his family. Thanks to that, after only a few years, he saved up to buy a tractor, not to mention he also reclaimed 15 hectares of upland land to grow cassava, corn, etc. In 1996, when Ninh Hoa Sugar Factory was established, he converted all the land to grow sugarcane. But instead of selling raw sugarcane, he boldly kept the field, then negotiated with the sugar factory about providing sugarcane seeds. At that time, the sugarcane growing movement was on the rise, the sugarcane area in Ninh Hoa raw material area was expanding, the demand for sugarcane seeds was very large. Therefore, the sugar factory agreed to sign a contract to buy sugarcane seeds from Mr. Cuong at a much higher price than raw sugarcane. Through many seed sales, he saved up to buy more land, becoming one of the few farmers with the largest sugarcane area and output in the region. During the period 2010 - 2013, the golden age of sugarcane, Mr. Cuong's family had 50 hectares of sugarcane land with an output of no less than 2,000 tons of sugarcane per crop year. Sugarcane brought his family billions of dong in income each year, creating jobs for 20 - 30 local workers.

When sugarcane began to lose its effectiveness, in 2018, Mr. Cuong sold some of his sugarcane land to switch to growing mulberry and raising silkworms, opening a new direction in converting crops and livestock in Ninh Thuong. “I went to many places and learned online about growing mulberry and raising silkworms, then mobilized 20 households in the commune to convert ineffective sugarcane land to growing mulberry and raising silkworms, establishing the Ninh Thuong Commune Mulberry and Silk Cooperative. With the support of engineers from the Central Mulberry Research Center (Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences), I built a farm, installed air conditioners to breed silkworms to sell to people, then bought back silk to export to other places…”, Mr. Cuong recalled. In the early days, growing mulberry and raising silkworms brought about quite good economic efficiency, but by 2020, due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, garment and weaving were stagnant, so the cost of silk decreased, growing mulberry and raising silkworms was no longer effective, so the Ninh Thuong Commune Mulberry and Silk Cooperative gradually disbanded.

In 2020, Mr. Cuong decided to invest in developing a fruit farm, with more than 3,500 Australian mango trees on an area of 13 hectares, and at the same time intercropping 2,000 guava trees to get short-term benefits for long-term. The farm was invested in a systematic way, drilling wells to get clean water and installing a misting irrigation system to water the plants... Not only that, when the movement to build a solar power system just started, with his acumen, he promptly invested in a solar power system worth more than 2 billion VND to serve production and sell electricity to the State.

Towards sustainable organic farming

Now, the mango trees are over 3 years old, just bearing fruit, the guava garden is also full of fruit. According to Ms. Vy Thuy (Mr. Cuong's wife), the guava garden alone has a steady income of 200 million VND/year. A rather strange thing about this farm is that the trees and grass are equally lush. Looking from above, the whole farm looks like a picture of pure green. When asked, Mr. Cuong said that the farm does not use herbicides but lets the grass grow naturally, creating a vegetation that helps maintain a cool temperature for the soil. Under the grass there is also a system of insects that help loosen the soil. When the grass is too tall, use a mower to lower the height, the dead grass will add humus to the soil. “Market requirements are increasingly strict. Agricultural products must not only be beautiful in appearance, but also safe, environmentally friendly, and good for consumers’ health. Therefore, I am determined to apply organic farming because organic and sustainable agricultural production is an inevitable trend,” Mr. Cuong explained.

A corner of Mr. Cuong's fruit garden. Photo: Phuong Thuy

If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together. Imbued with that philosophy, with the support of the locality, he has encouraged families in the area to boldly switch to growing fruit trees, and together established the Ninh Thuong Agricultural Service and Fruit Tree Cooperative. The 10 members of the cooperative have up to 75 hectares of fruit trees. With the responsibility of the head of the cooperative, recently, he has been traveling everywhere to find partners to purchase products for farmers. “Recently, I went to Lam Dong to meet with the leaders of Hikari Joint Stock Company to discuss cooperation in the production of agricultural materials for this company. Thanks to that, the company's working group visited the cooperative's production area. Initially, the two sides reached a number of cooperation agreements to consume organic fruits. Currently, I am mobilizing and guiding members of the cooperative to follow the organic farming model. After Hikari Joint Stock Company, on October 7, a business from Ho Chi Minh City will visit and learn about the production activities of Ninh Thuong Agricultural Service and Fruit Cooperative to discuss cooperation in consuming products. We have to discuss and choose to find the best partner for long-term cooperation," Mr. Cuong excitedly shared.

Mr. Cuong and his son next to the new house under construction.

When mentioning Mr. Cuong, the leaders of Ninh Thuong commune as well as the people in the commune always express their affection. Because he not only enriched his family but also helped dozens of poor households with funds, seedlings, and agricultural materials when growing sugarcane. Now, when switching to a fruit farm, he also shares his knowledge with farmers in the area to develop together. “For my family, Ninh Thuong land has become flesh and blood. Everything I have today is thanks to this land. Therefore, I not only want to enrich myself but also want many people in Ninh Thuong to be better off to contribute to changing my hometown…”, Mr. Cuong said.

Mr. TRUONG CONG TINH - Vice Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Ninh Hoa town: In recent years, the movement of good farmers in production and business in the town has developed strongly. Thereby, many examples of farmers have emerged in building effective economic models, striving to get rich and creating great influence, typically Mr. Nguyen Tien Cuong. Mr. Cuong has constantly studied, equipped himself with knowledge and skills to apply in production practices, thereby boldly converting crops, applying scientific and technical advances to improve productivity and quality; being quick in production associated with the market, linking and cooperating to find stable output for agricultural products.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Cuong has been awarded the title of "Excellent Farmer and Businessman" at the provincial level for many consecutive years. Most recently, he was awarded the title of "Excellent Vietnamese Farmer 2023" by the Vietnam Farmers' Association (the award ceremony will be held on October 13). He was awarded a certificate of merit by the Provincial People's Committee for being an excellent farmer and businessman in 2016 and a certificate of merit by the Provincial People's Committee for being an outstanding farmer and businessman in the period 2017 - 2020; Ninh Hoa town awarded a certificate of merit for his achievements as an excellent farmer and businessman in 2017 and 2018; the Organizing Committee of the Provincial Science and Technology Innovation Competition awarded a certificate of merit in 2019.

XUAN THANH - CONG DINH

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