Old farmer in Tien Phuoc brings agarwood far and wide

(QNO) – After being in trouble with the law, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Truong (born in 1966, Tien Canh commune, Tien Phuoc) broke away from the past to start over with the agarwood profession and became a typical example in the journey of reintegrating into the community.

Mr. Truong is successful in the field of agarwood planting and trading. Photo: N.Q. — Mr. Truong is successful in the field of agarwood planting and trading. Photo: NVCC

Mr. Truong said that in 1997, he illegally mined gold in Tien Hiep commune and bought 5kg of cyanide to store at the camp to pan for alluvial gold. He was later arrested by Tien Phuoc district police and sentenced to 24 months in prison in Hue city.

“When I was in prison, my wife was raising 5 children by herself, the youngest of whom was only 7 months old. I felt remorseful and missed my wife and children very much. From then on, I was determined to reform myself well so that I could soon reunite with my family,” Mr. Truong shared.

In prison, Mr. Truong reformed well and received the care and help of prison officers, so he was released 5 months early. In 2000, he returned to his family and reintegrated into the community.

To have money to cover family expenses, Mr. Truong and his wife went to buy cinnamon bark to make a profit. “At that time, my wife and I only had 150 thousand VND as capital. I used that money to rent a motorbike as a means of transportation and to buy cinnamon to weigh and sell to incense making establishments in the commune,” Mr. Truong recalled.

Thanks to the favorable business, Mr. Truong was able to buy a new motorbike, pay off the bank loan, build a spacious house... During his time trading cinnamon bark, he saw that the locality had potential for Aquilaria trees but they had not been exploited much. Thinking is doing, he decided to use the accumulated capital to develop a Aquilaria tree nursery with an area of over ^2,000m2 .

Every year, Mr. Truong supplies the domestic and Lao markets with more than 100,000 Aquilaria tree seedlings. In addition, he also buys many large Aquilaria trees from local people and exploits natural agarwood. From here, he researched and learned how to cultivate agarwood using biological methods. After 2-3 failed attempts at creating agarwood, he finally succeeded.

In 2005, he traveled to Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Yen Bai , Binh Phuoc, Kien Giang provinces... to learn about agarwood processing methods to meet consumer markets. In 2012, he established Hoang Truong Agarwood Company Limited, specializing in the production and trading of agarwood pieces, agarwood essential oils, agarwood pellets, agarwood handicrafts, agarwood incense...

Also during this time, Mr. Truong cooperated with the Chinese and Laotian Group to establish Van Danh Company to implement biological agarwood planting technology on an area of 8,000 hectares in Laos.

Mr. Truong's company creates jobs for many workers with relatively stable income. Photo: NVCC

To make the work easier, he returned to his country and recruited 50-60 workers to take care of and create agarwood with wages ranging from 250-300 thousand VND/person. Revenue from this field brings him more than 2 billion VND per year.

By 2019, due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, agarwood business encountered difficulties in consumption, and the number of employees was also cut to only 6-7 people.

In 2023, Mr. Truong transferred the management of production and business to his son and established the Hoang Truong Agricultural Production and Trade Cooperative in Tien Phuoc. The Cooperative specializes in developing Aquilaria trees, linking with local households to provide seedlings, fertilizers, and product consumption, and providing guidance on agarwood planting technology.

Mr. Truong (right) was commended by the Ministry of Public Security. Photo: NVCC — Mr. Nguyen Hoang Truong (position 1 from right) was commended by the Ministry of Public Security. Photo: NVCC

With his achievements and contributions to society, Nguyen Hoang Truong has been recognized by all levels from the grassroots to the central level and awarded many certificates of merit such as Excellent Farmer; his cooperative's products have been recognized as the Vietnam Industrial Gold Brand...

Currently, Nguyen Hoang Truong has opened 4 agarwood establishments in Tam Ky City, Da Nang, Da Lat and assigned them to his children to manage. His family is warm and happy, and his children are all successful.

Mr. Le Truong Hien - Chairman of Tien Canh Commune People's Committee commented that after being released from prison and returning to his hometown, Mr. Truong quickly integrated into the community. In the locality, Nguyen Hoang Truong not only enriched his family, but also created jobs for many people with a fairly stable income.

Besides, he also actively participates in and donates to social activities such as building public works, helping the disadvantaged... and is loved by the villagers.

^{[VIDEO] - Mr. Truong confides about his mistakes leading to success with agarwood:}