Currently, Truong Cong Tao, the Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer of 2024, owns approximately 130 hectares of agricultural land, including rice paddies. He uses over 80 hectares to grow glutinous rice, and rents out the rest because he can't manage it all himself.
The billionaire glutinous rice farmer of Thu Thua used to be a hired rice harvester.
At this time of year, along both sides of Provincial Road 817 in Thu Duc, the glutinous rice crops have already been harvested by the local farmers. As for the unharvested crops, the grains have turned golden yellow, emitting a fragrant aroma.
Long An sticky rice has long been famous for its fragrant aroma, chewiness, and delicious taste. According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Thu Thua district, farmers in the district mainly sow two sticky rice varieties: OM84 and IR 4625.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Long An province, the area planted with glutinous rice accounts for 30-32% of the total rice cultivation area (approximately 65,000 hectares) annually. In recent years, Long An's glutinous rice specialty has mainly been exported to the Chinese market.
Truong Cong Tao, the Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer of 2024, received us quite warmly. This was partly his nature, and partly due to the overwhelming appeal of the title – Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer of 2024 – which came so unexpectedly.
Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer of 2024, Truong Cong Tao, from Long Thuan commune, Thu Thua district (Long An province), visits a rice field, including an area planted with glutinous rice. Photo: T.D.
The conversation had barely begun when Mr. Tạo picked us up in his car and took us to see the 50-hectare rice paddy he bought over 30 years ago. In reality, on this paddy paddy, Mr. Tạo only grows glutinous rice on 30 hectares; the rest he cultivates yellow apricot blossoms, a crop that has attracted many farmers in Thủ Đức in recent years due to its high profitability.
Mr. Tạo revealed that he achieved his current career and became the Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer of 2024 from humble beginnings, especially starting as a hired rice harvester.
Mr. Tạo recounted that his presence here was due to a chance encounter when his family moved to the Đồng Tháp Mười region as part of a new economic zone . Upon arriving, his family was granted a 2.5-hectare plot of land by the government.
Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer of 2024, Truong Cong Tao, inspects glutinous rice grains in the field. Photo: T.D.
Every morning at 2 AM, Mr. Tạo would diligently paddle his boat into the fields in the biting cold to prepare the land. He would arrive at the fields at 5 AM, then jump into the water to pull out reeds, weeds, and mangrove roots. And so, Mr. Tạo's work of reclaiming land in the Đồng Tháp Mười region continued day after day, month after month.
To reclaim barren land, Mr. Tạo had to work as a hired rice harvester in distant fields to earn a few bushels of rice to help support his family.
Once, Mr. Tạo went to harvest rice for hire in Mộc Hóa district and was paid 38 bushels of rice. After the harvest, he brought it back and stored it in a granary. Waiting until the price of rice rose, he sold the 38 bushels of rice and used the money to buy 3 taels of gold. Seeing that people who had gone to the new economic zones were selling their land, he used the 3 taels of gold to buy 3 plots of land. Later, he went to harvest rice for hire again and bought 2 more plots of land…
Thanks to the glutinous rice from Thu Duc, Mr. Truong Cong Tao became an Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer of 2024. Photo: T.D.
Later, when the State allowed the conversion from land allocation decisions to land use certificates, Mr. Tạo used his land use certificate to borrow money from the State to buy more land.
“My method of repaying state loans was to farm, sell rice, and use the profits to pay them back. That way, I bought land using leverage from the state. The last plot of land I bought using this method was the 50th plot,” revealed Truong Cong Tao, Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer of 2024.
Later, Mr. Tạo acquired more land through profits from production and business. Now, his total rice paddy land area is approximately 130 hectares, scattered across the districts of Thủ Thừa, Tân Thạnh, Đức Huệ, and Thạnh Hóa. Each rice crop he cultivates ranges from 5 hectares to several tens of hectares.
However, as the cultivated land area expanded, the effort Mr. Tạo had to put into improving the soil also increased. Without any farming tools, Mr. Tạo mainly used his bare hands to turn the acidic soil into fertile rice.
Golden Harvest Season on Vietnamese Farmer's Land - Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer of 2024 - Truong Cong Tao. Photo: T.D.
"As long as it's not poverty, no matter how hard the work is, I can do it," Tạo affirmed.
Until the government allowed the import of agricultural machinery, "second-hand" machines appeared in Vietnam, marking the beginning of the mechanization of farming, Mr. Tao finally escaped the arduous task of "replacing oxen to plow the fields." To continue his land reclamation efforts, Mr. Tao rented plows and tractors for tilling and weeding.
“I no longer weed by hand; instead, I hire a machine to weed and sow rice seeds. At the same time, the government opened canals to drain the acidic soil, and the land has become increasingly fertile, resulting in higher rice yields… my farming business has also flourished,” said Truong Cong Tao, Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer of 2024, with a bright smile.
Truong Cong Tao, the 2024 Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer, enjoys a "heavenly" experience growing sticky rice. All stages of his sticky rice cultivation are mechanized, including laser leveling, cluster seeding, rice transplanting, drones for spraying fertilizer and pesticides, combine harvesters for harvesting, and trucks for transporting the rice.
Clip: Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer 2024 Truong Cong Tao, from Long Thuan commune, Thu Thua district (Long An province), shares the difficulties he faced in rice cultivation, including growing the specialty glutinous rice of Thu Thua, before achieving success. Clip: T.D
Outstanding Vietnamese farmers of 2024 use their "secret" to growing sticky rice and getting rich.
We walked from one rice pad to another of Mr. Tạo's rice paddies to see the ripening rice stalks drooping. The rice ears were perfectly uniform. According to Mr. Tạo, this was possible because, right from the start, before sowing the seeds, the field surface had to be leveled using laser technology.
“In recent years, the price of glutinous rice has been quite good. This summer-autumn crop, the price of glutinous rice is 8,000 VND/kg, with a high yield of 7-8 tons/ha, so glutinous rice farmers are making a lot of money,” Mr. Tạo shared.
Truong Cong Tao, an outstanding Vietnamese farmer in 2024, revealed that he earns over 10 billion VND in profit annually from growing sticky rice. What helps Mr. Tao achieve such a huge profit?
Mr. Tạo revealed that he has long been growing sticky rice in a way that minimizes input costs to maximize profits. Accordingly, for the first 40 days after sowing the seeds, Mr. Tạo spent almost no money on pesticides to prevent brown planthoppers and leaf-rolling caterpillars.
According to Mr. Tạo, to protect his rice fields from brown planthoppers, after applying the first dose of fertilizer, and three days later the rice plants absorb the fertilizer, he drains the water from the field, leaving the surface dry.
“When the planthoppers are attracted to the light, they only lay eggs and develop their young a few days later. When they land in rice fields with water, the planthoppers will thrive because they have a suitable living environment. But if they land in dry fields, the planthoppers will leave. Applying fertilizer for the second and third time, and continuing this process, will greatly reduce brown planthopper damage to rice fields,” Mr. Tạo asserted.
The road project was partly implemented with the support of Truong Cong Tao, an outstanding Vietnamese farmer of 2024. Photo: T.D.
Regarding controlling rice leaf rollers, farmers should spread fertilizer in multiple applications across the fields. Instead of applying fertilizer three times in one cycle, they should apply it four to five times. According to Mr. Tạo, rice plants that receive just enough fertilizer will turn a lemon-yellow color, and when the rice is lemon-yellow, leaf rollers cannot attack.
"If we implement these methods, we will limit investment capital, and farmers will increase their profits from rice cultivation. I am currently using this rice cultivation method and it is proving successful," shared Truong Cong Tao, Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer of 2024.
Besides growing glutinous rice for commercial purposes, Mr. Tạo also produces glutinous rice seeds, operates a drying facility, sells rice, and sells agricultural supplies. These businesses generate over 10 billion VND in revenue annually, with a profit of 5-6 billion VND.
Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer of 2024, Truong Cong Tao: Enjoys doing social work.
When we met, Truong Cong Tao, the Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer of 2024, proudly showed off that he had just sent 10 million VND to the Vietnam Fatherland Front to support people in the North affected by the natural disaster caused by Typhoon Yagi.
Mr. Tạo was also the first to implement the "lighting up rural roads" idea by assisting the Long Thuận commune government in installing lighting systems on several roads in the area. At the same time, he participated in the "lighting up rural roads" movement in several neighboring communes. Recently, Mr. Tạo donated 100 million VND to build the Kênh Bảy Bridge and the Tân Long Bridge.
In addition, Mr. Tạo contributes nearly 30 million VND per year to various local funds. He also supports poor, near-poor, and disadvantaged households in the locality with over 50 million VND per year… He provides regular employment for 40 workers with an income of 25 million VND per person per month.
Chairman of the Long Thuan Commune Farmers' Association, Nguyen Huu Truc, assessed that Mr. Tao is a person who knows how to seize opportunities and has excellent economic capabilities. Every year, he enthusiastically supports local movements ranging from infrastructure development and new rural development to social welfare…
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