Farming changes, farmers innovate

According to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan, climate change, market fluctuations, and changes in consumer trends pose urgent demands for change. The most important change needs to start with each farmer.

On the farmers' side, they realized that "farming is now very difficult and has changed a lot", partly because the land, crops, and dikes have changed, and crops on the land are no longer distinguished between "hill land for crops, field land for rice" or "each season has its own food" like before...

Therefore, with the attention and support of the State, many farmers have proactively innovated, escaping from the old, fragmented, manual way of thinking and feeling about production... to the agricultural economic mindset, aiming to develop "ecological agriculture, modern countryside, civilized farmers".

Part 1: Escaping the "muddy-handed" farmer mindset

With the support and attention of the State, many farmers have proactively innovated in production.

The day we arrived, Mr. Truong Hoang Phuong (Nhon Phu commune, Mang Thit district) was tending to a garden growing ido and purple longan for tourism . He said: “Farming is now very easy, it is not necessary to “get your hands and feet dirty”. In the near future, I will wear clothes… and pack them up to go to the garden to take pictures with tourists”.

Like Mr. Phuong, nowadays, in addition to producing agricultural products for sale in raw form, many farmers have started to process, provide services, and do agricultural tourism... to improve economic efficiency, increase the value of agricultural products and get rich from farming.

Farming… easy

He has rice fields for rent and is the owner of a brick kiln, but "following the State's policy and because he had long realized that dust and smoke affected his health", in 2015, Mr. Phuong quit his job at the brick kiln and called in a bulldozer to fill in the entire garden.

Having “traveled back and forth to learn for more than a year”, he decided to plant 15 hectares of ido longan and purple longan. At the same time, he intercropped kumquat with other crops in the longan garden. “When I brought the longan and kumquat home to plant, some people asked: Are you crazy to bring such strange and sour plants to plant?” - Mr. Phuong said. However, he was very successful in planting, at times selling thousands of kilos of kumquat per day; the price sometimes reached 17,000-20,000 VND/kg.

When the longan trees grew big, Mr. Phuong cut down all the kumquats and stopped growing vegetables to focus on the longan trees. Some people asked, “Why not plant a few rows here and there?” but he said: each type of tree requires different care, and growing many types is very hard work.

Seeing us marveling at the beautiful, round bunches of longan, Mr. Phuong said: “When entering the third harvest, each tree yields hundreds of kilos”. Sharing “the secret to taking care of the rows of longan trees evenly and leisurely”, Mr. Phuong happily said: “People say farming is “selling your face to the ground and your back to the sky”, but I think differently. If you calculate and do it methodically, it will be… light”. Accordingly, it is necessary to learn about the characteristics, choose crops suitable for the soil, investment capacity and must persevere in pursuing.

Mr. Phuong said: If farming is done methodically and with calculation, it will be… easy.

Before planting purple longan, Mr. Phuong learned: "Someone planted 2 hectares and the first harvest earned more than a hundred million VND. Coming to Mr. Tam Lip's garden (Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc - in Chanh An commune, Mang Thit district), he saw that the longan was bearing fruit, each tree yielded more than 1 ton, priced at 30,000-40,000 VND/kg". Those who have planted it also shared: this type of tree likes gravel and rocky soil because it is a wild tree in the forest; it tolerates the soil well and has few pests and diseases, and it's okay if you don't water it on busy days...

Accordingly, to reduce time and labor, Mr. Phuong invested in water lines, a complete irrigation system... and built a road for large vehicles to transport to the garden, without having to carry it long distances. He also calculated to invest in a smart irrigation system, a fertilizer spraying system to further reduce labor. Currently, the longan garden generates an income of about 1.3 billion VND/year, creating regular seasonal jobs for 20 workers.

Farmer Truong Hoang Phuong: Farming is different now than it used to be. In the past, there were no closed dykes, so water could flow freely. Home gardens could grow this or that plant and leave it there to eat, but now each plant must be cared for to avoid pests and diseases. Therefore, no matter what plant you plant, you must be good at care techniques and calculate economic efficiency.

Farmer Nguyen Viet Bang: In the past, when the water rose, alluvium was obtained; seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides were spread and harvest was ready. Now, the dikes are closed and are also affected by erratic weather, climate change... This requires farmers to innovate. If they want to produce effectively, they must concentrate, improve fertilization techniques, and link together in production and consumption.

Agricultural economic thinking

Building a model of garden economic development associated with eco-tourism, Mr. Phuong said he has “cleaned the garden”, built a rest house, raised fish in the pond… Visitors to the garden can freely pick fruit, “check-in”, see the whole garden from above and enjoy country dishes. He said that exploiting tourism aims to increase economic efficiency, adding more destinations for tourists to Vinh Long.

In addition to enriching himself, Mr. Phuong also actively shares business experiences, supports crops; contributes and mobilizes to build rural roads... In 2022, he was honored to be 1/64 farmers nationwide to be recognized as an Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer.

Also farming with an economic mindset, many Vinh Long farmers have become millionaires, billionaires and are actively spreading effective ways of doing business to the community...

From 2 hectares of rice fields, with a spirit of hard work and determination to get rich from agriculture, Mr. Nguyen Viet Bang (Dong Thanh commune, Binh Minh town) now has about 100 hectares of land. Of which, 40 hectares are used to grow golden star apple, red-fleshed jackfruit and longan.

Mr. Bang works hard and is determined to get rich from agriculture.

Mr. Bang shared: “Since I started living on my own, it has been very difficult! I work day and night, finish my own fields and go to work for hire, come back at night to set up a hanging frame for the fields, and go out to release ducks in the morning. Once I bought a machine, I went from one field to another, and when I stopped working in the fields, I went home to dry the rice until late at night... If I saved up, I would buy more land.”

Currently, the garden economic model and agricultural materials business have brought Mr. Bang a profit of more than 2 billion VND/year, creating regular and seasonal jobs for 20 workers.

To proactively provide water for irrigation in the dry season, he dredged garden ditches to store fresh water. At the same time, he built a pond to soak fertilizers for watering plants, helping to limit the amount of fertilizer evaporation; using sprinkler irrigation technology helps reduce the cost of plant care and increase profits. He also regularly shares experiences in the production and use of fertilizers and pesticides, helping farmers farm effectively.

In the construction of the new rural area, he donated 1,500m2 of land to build schools and 700m2 of land to build rural roads; supported funds to support poor households, students in difficult circumstances, and repair bridges and roads...

Mr. Bang confided: “My father once advised me to go to work and earn a salary so that I would not have to work hard in farming. However, after working for a while, I was determined to become a farmer and become rich.”

Honored to go to Hanoi to attend the ceremony to honor outstanding Vietnamese farmers in 2023, Mr. Bang said that he will continue to strive with farming and concluded: "We must always calculate and flexibly rotate production on the garden and rice fields that we cultivate, so as to bring about the highest economic efficiency and profit. Even if we have a lot of land, we must not let it go to waste."

According to Mr. Bui Van Chieu - Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial Farmers' Association, with many policies and investment policies for agriculture, farmers and rural areas; along with the spirit of initiative and eagerness to learn, the thinking and awareness of farmers have changed dramatically from traditional, natural, small-scale production, with little concern for quality and brand... to agricultural economic thinking.

Accordingly, farmers are now very proactive in production from seed selection, application of techniques, technology, modern machinery and equipment (soil preparation machines, seeders, combine harvesters, spraying pesticides by remote-controlled aircraft, etc.), linking in production, consumption, etc. Thereby, helping to improve productivity, increase the value of agricultural products and increase profits.

Innovative farmers will truly change their lives.

According to Professor Vo Tong Xuan, the innovative farmers that our country needs in this era are farmers who, although their land area is fragmented, know how to voluntarily agree to stand together in new-style agricultural cooperatives to form a large field, ready to link with large investors to build industrial zones for processing vegetables and fruits, or industrial zones for processing seafood to supply the domestic and international markets.

Farmers who innovate will truly change their lives, with higher and more stable incomes. Businesses will also have higher and more stable incomes, so they will be able to better fulfill their obligation to contribute to the local GDP. The premise of this success is that farmers must be self-conscious in innovation. Now is the time for farmers to save themselves before asking the State to save them.

>> Part 2: Intellectualizing agriculture

Article and photos: FRESH SPRING - TUYET HIEN

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