The man who made dragon fruit "fly" far and wide.

Rising from humble beginnings and becoming wealthy thanks to dragon fruit, Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh (An Binh hamlet, Hiep Thanh commune, Chau Thanh district, Long An province) wants to help others become rich with him. Through the collective and individual efforts, the once impoverished countryside is now covered with vast dragon fruit plantations, becoming prosperous.

Nguyen Van Thanh, Director of Van Thanh Cooperative (An Binh hamlet, Hiep Thanh commune, Chau Thanh district), is credited with bringing Chau Thanh dragon fruit to demanding markets around the world.

After leaving the army, Mr. Thanh got married. He and his wife cultivated 3,000 square ^meters of rice land given to them by his parents. "Back then, we were very poor; farming meant eating first and paying later," Mr. Thanh said. At that time, Chau Thanh district had a movement to grow dragon fruit, which was more profitable than growing rice, so he also tried it.

After researching and analyzing the reasons why local farmers were failing at growing dragon fruit , which he concluded were due to technical shortcomings, he focused on solving the problem and succeeded. Utilizing agricultural waste from rice cultivation, he composted it into organic fertilizer for the dragon fruit; irrigation and care techniques were also systematically invested in. Mr. Thanh's dragon fruit achieved high yields and sold at good prices. Thanks to organic farming, input costs were low. From his initial 3,000 ^m² of land, he bought more, and now owns nearly 4 hectares. Seeing Mr. Thanh's success in growing dragon fruit, other farmers also boldly switched from rice to dragon fruit.

Although dragon fruit cultivation is extensive, farmers operate independently without coordination, often leading to price manipulation by traders. In 2012, he mobilized several households to establish the Van Thanh Cooperative. Initially, it was very difficult; some members withdrew their capital due to lack of trust, causing him significant hardship. Undeterred, Mr. Thanh sought to export dragon fruit to Japan to avoid dependence on the Chinese market. Selling dragon fruit in Japan requires a strict, clean production process, which aligns with Mr. Thanh's philosophy of organic farming.

To date, the entire Van Thanh Cooperative has 100 members cultivating 100 hectares of dragon fruit. He signs a contract to purchase dragon fruit directly from farmers, bypassing middlemen. It is estimated that farmers earn a profit of 4,000-5,000 VND per kilogram of dragon fruit. Dragon fruit from the Van Thanh Cooperative is present in many demanding markets such as Japan, South Korea, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States.

Mr. Thanh said that since joining the cooperative, all members have become quite well-off or even wealthy. During the Covid-19 pandemic , while many places destroyed dragon fruit crops, the cooperative's area remained intact. "That's my joy and pride in being able to help myself and others," Mr. Thanh confided.

For his tireless efforts, he was awarded the Third-Class Labor Medal by the President of Vietnam for his outstanding achievements in the movement "Farmers competing in excellent production and business, uniting to help each other get rich and sustainably reduce poverty".

Chau Thanh

Source: https://baolongan.vn/nguoi-dua-trai-thanh-long-bay-xa-a196058.html