Start a business from growing safe organic vegetables

Faced with the increasing demand for nutritional quality and food safety from customers, Mr. Vu Van Thanh and his wife, Ms. Le Thi Huong, in Hamlet 2, Giao Yen Commune (Giao Thuy), were determined to start a business in their hometown by establishing the TH Giao Yen Organic Vegetable Cooperative, specializing in growing and supplying clean vegetables that meet Organic standards, opening up a new direction for local vegetable production.

Checking the growth and development rate of vegetables in greenhouses at TH Giao Yen Organic Vegetable Cooperative (Giao Thuy).

Mr. Vu Van Thanh, Director of the Cooperative, shared: “After more than 10 years of living and working in Hanoi , my family has encountered many incidents with dirty food, not only common diseases such as stomachache, digestive disorders, hives; ... my wife and I even had to be hospitalized due to food poisoning. To protect myself and my family from the fear of dirty food, I have researched and studied high-tech vegetable production models that meet Japanese Organic standards”. After many years of learning, with the attention, encouragement and facilitation of the Party Committee and local authorities, Mr. Vu Van Thanh, along with 5 other brothers and sisters with the same passion, determined to invest in a model right in their 2,000m2 garden at home, with the desire to bring the best quality safe vegetable products to every home. Up to now, the production area has been expanded to nearly 10,000m2 in Giao Yen commune.

Mr. Vu Van Thanh added: “With the philosophy of “The origin of happiness,” the cooperative not only grows organic vegetable seeds but also wants to sow the belief in a healthy and sustainable life through the cooperative’s organic vegetable products”. With that in mind, he and his colleagues started growing organic vegetables, TH Giao Yen organic vegetables using safe and modern methods such as building greenhouses, using organic fertilizers imported from the Netherlands and Japan, and safe farming measures to protect crops. Immediately after its establishment, the cooperative immediately started investing in facilities, building greenhouses with an area of ^​​180m2 /house, with a total investment of more than 2.6 billion VND. According to the design, each greenhouse is covered with a nylon roof that can withstand harsh weather conditions; the remaining part of the greenhouse is designed to prevent all harmful insects, so the vegetable products are completely free from pests and mold from the soil. All greenhouses are equipped with a closed automatic irrigation system. TH Giao Yen Organic Vegetable Cooperative is proud to be one of the leading units in Nam Dinh province applying the model of growing vegetables in greenhouses according to modern Japanese technology, combined with traditional farming experience, creating standard organic products, not only delicious but also good for health. All irrigation water is filtered through the advanced Htech filter system, completely removing impurities and toxic chemicals, while adding alkaline ions to the water, good for vegetables and health.

Ms. Le Thi Huong, production manager, said: “Vegetables are carefully tended to every bed every day, ensuring adequate and proper watering, without using chemicals that are harmful to the soil or the surrounding environment. In particular, the cooperative only uses organic fertilizers imported from Japan, the Netherlands and Belgium. These organic fertilizers are not only rich in nutrients but also safe, helping plants grow naturally and retain their pure flavor. Cooperative members research and select suitable vegetable varieties that are valuable to health and have a short growing time to create land turnover. Accordingly, on average, each batch of Hong Kong mustard greens, sweet mustard greens, yellow mustard greens, spinach, apricot greens, spinach, amaranth, Malabar spinach, Chinese cabbage, and chrysanthemum greens will be harvested after only 20-25 days. Currently, the production process from soil preparation, sowing, care and harvesting follows the “6 no” criteria: No use of pesticides and herbicides; Do not grow on soil and water contaminated with agricultural chemicals; do not use growth stimulants; do not use chemical fertilizers; do not use genetically modified seeds; do not use preservatives". In addition, workers are also guided through the harvesting and packaging process, ensuring that the products reaching consumers are not affected. The quality of the products from production to harvest is randomly sampled by the contracting party, checked for safety indicators before being imported and supplied to customers in Hanoi, clean agricultural product supermarkets and local customers.

Currently, the Cooperative has built a solid product consumption system in Hanoi with 5 international restaurants and hotels, a series of international schools and 400 regular customers. Moreover, through TH Giao Yen's organic safe vegetable products, local people's awareness of protecting the agricultural environment and clean food, safe for consumers' health has been significantly raised. Many people have come to visit and learn about organic fertilizers, the process of taking care of plants without using pesticides of Mr. Thanh's family; at the same time, experience the clean organic vegetable products of the Cooperative. Mr. Thanh said: “Everyone is very impressed with the quality and freshness of the cooperative's organic vegetables; they are much better than the traditionally grown vegetables on the market today. Every time we see the freshly harvested green bunches of vegetables being welcomed by everyone, we are very proud of the fruits of our labor and believe that we have chosen the right path. In the near future, the cooperative plans to coordinate with the authorities to develop a project to build a 2-3ha organic safe vegetable growing area to meet market demand. We will develop an experiential eco-tourism model for students to contribute to raising awareness from an early age about the issue of a safe environment and clean food."

With a sharp mind and methodical production cooperation, in the coming time, TH Giao Yen Organic Vegetable Cooperative will continue to maintain and expand the model, transfer technology to a large number of people inside and outside the area; in the immediate future, provide clean vegetable products for their own families and society; propagate people to change traditional cultivation methods due to the overuse of chemicals and pesticides, which directly affect the health of users and producers, towards a clean, safe agriculture that protects public health.

Article and photos: Duc Toan

Source: https://baonamdinh.vn/kinh-te/202504/khoi-nghieptu-trong-rau-an-toan-huu-co-8fe00c8/