The sweet fruits of perseverance.

QTO - For the 2025-2026 winter-spring crop season, members of the Trieu Phong Clean Agricultural Products Cooperative (Trieu Co commune) are delighted because their rice crop is bountiful and fetches good prices. The result of 9 years (18 seasons) of consistently following natural farming practices is a bumper harvest, fertile land, and a healthy living environment. Without empty slogans, the cooperative members persevere in facing challenges, determined to pursue natural farming methods to create safe, high-quality products, contributing to environmental protection and building sustainable agriculture.

Challenges on the old field

The joy of this winter-spring rice crop makes the members of the Trieu Phong Clean Agricultural Products and Natural Farming Cooperative remember and cherish the time when they overcame difficulties and challenges together to change their mindset and start a new farming method.

In October 2017, the Trieu Phong Clean Agricultural Products and Natural Farming Cooperative was established after a year of local people piloting natural rice farming supported by the KOICA (South Korea) Project. Mr. Nguyen Huu Dat, Director of the Cooperative, said: “From 2 hectares with 15 households participating in the pilot natural rice farming project in 2016, the local authorities and the project wanted to expand the production area to 17 hectares. Therefore, the cooperative was established to both guide and manage members' production according to the set procedures and to ensure market access for the products. Although we received active support from the project and local authorities at that time, we also faced many difficulties and challenges.”

The "Trieu Phong Clean Rice" product is well-known to many consumers - Photo: ML

One of the biggest challenges was that people had to adopt a completely different production process than before (not using inorganic fertilizers or pesticides, but only applying well-rotted manure, weeding manually, and controlling pests and diseases with microbial preparations fermented from ginger, garlic, chili, sugar, etc.). “In the first year of the transition, the fields hadn't adapted, pests and diseases were rampant, and rice yields dropped by almost half, to only 1.3-1.5 quintals/acre (while conventionally cultivated rice yields 2.5-3 quintals/acre). Some members were discouraged and wanted to give up,” Mr. Dat recalled.

During this period, due to a lack of consumer awareness, the cooperative's rice lacked a stable market. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Tan, former Party Secretary of An Hung village, Trieu Tai commune—one of the pioneering households participating in natural rice cultivation—stated that for the first three years, the cooperative's Board of Directors (consisting of one director, two deputy directors, and the head of the supervisory board) worked without pay. Furthermore, to reassure the farmers, in some seasons they even had to borrow money to purchase rice from members immediately after harvest, even before finding a market for the product.

Mr. Tan shared: “Seeing the Cooperative's Board of Directors so enthusiastic, dedicated, and committed to the people, the Party branch directed officials of associations, organizations, and Party members in the village to set an example in participating in and maintaining the production methods that the Cooperative had set out. At times when things were very difficult, I and some members of the Cooperative milled rice and sent it to our children studying and living in the South for their use, and also introduced it to friends and colleagues to find a market for the product.”

Taking the "Trieu Phong Clean Rice" brand to the next level.

After a period of steadfast commitment to clean production, starting from a model that initially faced much skepticism, the cooperative has gradually overcome difficulties and obstacles. In 2024, the organic rice farming model expanded to 61 hectares with 152 participating members (after the commune merger, it decreased to 41 hectares with 101 members). Notably, with the support of the KOICA Project and the efforts of the Board of Directors, the cooperative has built the "Trieu Phong Clean Rice" brand, gradually establishing its reputation in the market.

To demonstrate the cleanliness of its products, the cooperative has participated in domestic and international organic agricultural product standard assessments. Its products have won first prize at the Seoul (South Korea) exhibition of environmentally friendly, naturally grown agricultural products, received Vietnam organic product certification, and achieved a 4-star OCOP rating… Along with efforts to create clean products, the cooperative has recently intensified its promotional and trade activities to expand its market.

Currently, "Trieu Phong Clean Rice" is available in many provinces and cities through partnerships with businesses, supermarkets, and nationwide retail distribution systems. A major consumer of the cooperative's products is the Vita Market chain of clean food stores in Da Nang City, purchasing 100 tons of rice per year. In addition to supplying organic rice to the market, Vita Market also uses "Trieu Phong Clean Rice" as a raw material to produce Baby Rice – a reputable nutritional product for children.

Rice harvesting at Trieu Phong Clean Agricultural Products Cooperative, using natural farming methods - Photo: ML

Currently, regular rice is being purchased at prices ranging from 6,200-7,000 VND/kg, while rice from the cooperative fetches 10,000-12,000 VND/kg. The cooperative's initial goal was to produce rice with an economic value 25%-30% higher than the market price. However, with the 2025-2026 winter-spring crop achieving a yield of 2.8-3 quintals/sao (equal to the yield of regular rice), the cooperative members' profits have increased by 1.5-2 times.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhan, from An Hung village, Trieu Co commune, said that her family is very happy because planting 3.2 acres of ST25 rice has yielded double the productivity, output, and selling price compared to regular rice. Not only is it economically profitable, but more importantly, it has environmental value. “Now, when I go down to the fields to weed and fertilize, I sometimes step on small fish and crabs… which shows that the field environment is very safe. We are happy to have created safe food for our family and society; we can work in the fields every day without worrying about pesticides and chemical fertilizers affecting our health like before,” Ms. Nhan shared.

After many cycles of natural farming, the soil has been improved and its nutrients restored, resulting in healthy rice plants with high yields and fewer pests and diseases, even without using any chemical fertilizers or pesticides. In 2024, Trieu Phong Clean Agricultural Products Cooperative, using natural farming methods, was honored as one of 63 outstanding cooperatives nationwide by the Vietnam Farmers' Association.

Over the years, the cooperative and many outstanding individuals within the unit have been commended and rewarded by various levels and sectors for their excellent achievements in production, business, and building a clean and sustainable agricultural model.

According to Mr. Nguyen Huu Ngoc, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the People's Council of Trieu Co commune, the Trieu Phong Clean Agricultural Products and Natural Farming Cooperative is a model collective in studying and following President Ho Chi Minh's teachings in the locality. This is concrete evidence of perseverance and solidarity for the community. Not only has it achieved economic efficiency, but the cooperative has also made a social and environmental impact by contributing to changing the awareness and production practices of farmers towards safe, environmentally friendly practices, minimizing soil and water pollution; creating stable jobs, and increasing income for local people. The local Party committee and government acknowledge the cooperative's contributions and encourage the replication of this production model. In 2026, the commune will support the cooperative in consolidating land plots and improving fields to expand the area of ​​natural rice cultivation by an additional 10-12 hectares.

Mai Lam

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/kinh-te/202605/qua-ngot-tu-su-kien-dinh-4175ca0/