Starting from nothing, veteran Nguyen Tien Cuong in Ninh Thuong commune (Ninh Hoa town) has overcome difficulties to become an "Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer". What is admirable is that throughout this journey, he has demonstrated keen insight, a willingness to think outside the box and take action in restructuring crop patterns, and a compassionate heart, always caring for and supporting those in need…
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| Mr. and Mrs. Cuong harvest guavas to make ends meet in the short term. |
Dare to think, dare to act.
At the end of September, we visited the farm of Mr. Nguyen Tien Cuong (born in 1960) in Hamlet 3, Ninh Thuong Commune. It was a lush green garden stretching as far as the eye could see, with dozens of hectares of mangoes, guavas, coconuts, jackfruit, etc., meticulously planned and equipped with a modern irrigation system. This farm is not only for economic development but also a place where Mr. Cuong and his family enjoy a peaceful rural life. Taking us on a tour of the farm, he recounted his journey of farming and wealth creation in Ninh Thuong. “I was born and raised in Nha Trang, and in 1976, my family moved to the Ninh Trang - Ninh Thuong area to start a new economic zone. Back then, this land was still very wild and undeveloped…”, Mr. Cuong began his story.
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| Mr. Cuong's mango orchard is cultivated organically. |
Three years later, at the age of 19, answering the call of his country, Mr. Cuong enlisted in the army and went to the Cambodian battlefield. He and his comrades endured arduous fighting, and many of them sacrificed their lives in Cambodia. In February 1983, due to injuries, he was discharged and returned to his hometown. Back in the Ninh Trang new economic zone, this disabled veteran (category 4/4) devised a unique way to "start a business." Realizing that the area required too much manpower for land reclamation and cultivation, he rented a tractor to both plow for hire and clear land for his family. Thanks to this, after only a few years, he saved enough money to buy a tractor, and he also reclaimed 15 hectares of land to grow cassava and corn. In 1996, when the Ninh Hoa Sugar Factory was established, he converted all his land to sugarcane cultivation. But instead of selling the raw sugarcane, he boldly kept the fields and negotiated with the sugar factory to supply sugarcane seedlings. Back then, the sugarcane cultivation movement was booming, and the sugarcane growing area in Ninh Hoa was expanding, creating a huge demand for sugarcane seedlings. Therefore, the sugar factory agreed to sign a contract to purchase sugarcane seedlings from Mr. Cuong at a much higher price than for raw sugarcane. Through several seasons of selling seedlings, he accumulated enough money to buy more land, becoming one of the few farmers with the largest sugarcane acreage and production in the region. During the golden age of sugarcane cultivation (2010-2013), Mr. Cuong's family owned 50 hectares of land, producing no less than 2,000 tons of sugarcane per crop. Sugarcane brought his family billions of dong in income each year and provided employment for 20-30 local workers.
When sugarcane farming began to decline in productivity, in 2018, Mr. Cuong sold some of his sugarcane land to switch to mulberry cultivation and silkworm farming, opening a new direction in crop and livestock transformation in Ninh Thuong commune. “I visited many places and learned online about mulberry cultivation and silkworm farming, then I persuaded 20 households in the commune to convert their unproductive sugarcane land to mulberry cultivation and silkworm farming, establishing the Ninh Thuong Commune Mulberry and Silkworm Cooperative. With the support of engineers from the Central Mulberry and Silkworm Research Center (Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences), I built a farm, even installing air conditioning to raise silkworm larvae for sale to people, and then bought back the silk to export to other places…,” Mr. Cuong recalled. Initially, mulberry cultivation and silkworm farming yielded very good economic results, but by 2020, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the garment and textile industries stalled, causing silk prices to fall. Mulberry cultivation and silkworm farming became unprofitable, and the Ninh Thuong Commune Mulberry and Silkworm Cooperative gradually disbanded.
In 2020, Mr. Cuong decided to invest in developing a fruit farm, planting over 3,500 Australian mango trees on 13 hectares, and intercropping with an additional 2,000 guava trees to generate short-term income while waiting for the harvest to mature. The farm was systematically invested in, with wells drilled for clean water and a sprinkler irrigation system installed to water the crops. Furthermore, when the solar power system movement began, with his keen business sense, he promptly invested over 2 billion VND in a solar power system to support production and sell electricity to the government.
Towards sustainable organic farming.
Now, the mango trees are over three years old and have just started bearing fruit, while the guava orchard is also laden with fruit. According to Mrs. Vy Thuy (Mr. Cuong's wife), the guava orchard alone provides a steady income of 200 million VND per year. A rather unusual feature of this farm is that both the trees and the grass are equally lush. Viewed from above, the entire farm looks like a vibrant green painting. When asked, Mr. Cuong explained that the farm doesn't use herbicides; instead, they let the grass grow naturally, creating a vegetation cover that helps maintain a cool temperature for the soil. Beneath the grass, there's a system of insects that help loosen the soil. When the grass gets too tall, they use a mowing machine to reduce its height, and the dead grass adds humus to the soil. “Market demands are increasingly stringent. Agricultural products must not only be visually appealing but also safe, environmentally friendly, and good for consumers' health. Therefore, I am determined to apply organic farming because sustainable organic agricultural production is an inevitable trend,” Mr. Cuong explained.
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| A corner of Mr. Cuong's orchard. Photo: Phuong Thuy |
If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together. Embracing this philosophy, and with the support of the local community, he encouraged families in the area to boldly switch to fruit tree cultivation, jointly establishing the Ninh Thuong Agricultural Service and Fruit Tree Cooperative. The cooperative's 10 members now own 75 hectares of fruit trees. As the head of the cooperative, he has recently been tirelessly searching for partners to purchase the farmers' produce. “Recently, I went to Lam Dong to meet with the leaders of Hikari Joint Stock Company to discuss cooperation in producing agricultural raw materials for them. Thanks to that, the company's delegation visited the cooperative's production area. Initially, the two sides reached some cooperation agreements to purchase organic fruit. Currently, I am encouraging and guiding members of the cooperative to follow the organic farming model. After Hikari Joint Stock Company, on October 7th, a business from Ho Chi Minh City will visit to learn about the production activities of Ninh Thuong Agricultural Service and Fruit Cooperative to discuss cooperation in purchasing products. We have to discuss and choose to find the best partner for long-term cooperation,” Mr. Cuong happily shared.
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| Mr. Cuong and his son stand next to their newly completed house. |
When mentioning Mr. Cuong, the leaders of Ninh Thuong commune as well as the people in the commune always express their affection. This is because he not only enriched his own family but also provided financial assistance, seedlings, and agricultural supplies for sugarcane cultivation to dozens of poor households. Now, having switched to fruit farming, he also shares his knowledge with farmers in the area to help them develop together. “For my family, the land of Ninh Thuong has become our 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 become more prosperous, contributing to changing our homeland…,” Mr. Cuong said.
Mr. Truong Cong Tinh - Vice Chairman of the Ninh Hoa Town Farmers' Association: In recent years, the movement of skilled farmers in production and business in the town has developed strongly. Through this, many exemplary farmers have emerged who have built effective economic models, risen to wealth, and created a significant ripple effect, such as Mr. Nguyen Tien Cuong. Mr. Cuong has continuously studied and equipped himself with knowledge and skills to apply to practical production, thereby boldly switching crops, applying scientific and technological advancements to improve productivity and quality; and being quick to adapt production to the market, linking and cooperating to find stable outlets for agricultural products.
Mr. Nguyen Tien Cuong has been awarded the title of "Excellent Farmer in Production and Business" at the provincial level for many consecutive years. Most recently, he was awarded the title of "Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer 2023" by the Vietnam Farmers' Association (the award ceremony will be held on October 13th). He received a commendation from the Provincial People's Committee for being an excellent farmer in production and business in 2016 and a commendation for being an outstanding farmer in production and business of the province for the period 2017-2020; Ninh Hoa town awarded him a certificate of merit for his achievements as an excellent farmer in production and business in 2017 and 2018; and the Organizing Committee of the Provincial Science and Technology Innovation Competition awarded him a certificate of merit in 2019.
XUAN THANH - CONG DINH
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