Dak Nong youth get rich from "homegrown" crops

Not choosing the path of "leaving home" to seek opportunities in the city, many young people in Dak Nong persistently stick to the land, making a living with coffee - the main crop of their hometown,...

Income of 300 million VND/year from seedling business

Born into a farming family in Bu Dak hamlet, Thuan An commune, Dak Mil district, Ms. H'Nhien was once a young girl with a simple dream of escaping poverty: learning a trade, having a stable job, and helping her parents.

Wanting to learn a trade, Ms. H'Nhien attended a primary vocational class on seedling production at Dak Nong Vocational College (now Dak Nong Community College).

Ms. H'Nhien, in Bu Dak hamlet, Thuan An commune, Dak Mil district, started a business producing and selling coffee seedlings.

During her studies, Ms. H'Nhien was exposed to techniques of propagation, grafting, soil treatment, and seedling care. After 1 year of working, Ms. H'Nhien boldly invested in building a seedling nursery right on her family's land.

With the knowledge she has acquired, plus the constant research and learning from the internet and previous gardeners, Ms. H'Nhien gradually grasped the technical process, producing quality seedlings. Grasping the market demand; especially, during the period when people tend to plant new and renovate old coffee gardens to improve productivity and quality, Ms. H'Nhien gradually expanded the scale of the nursery.

Along with selling seedlings, Ms. H'Nhien also actively shares experiences and guides on planting and caring for coffee trees for local people and young people.

Ms. H'Nhien focuses on cultivating coffee varieties such as eggplant, dwarf green eggplant, mango leaf eggplant... varieties that are favored by farmers thanks to their good adaptability and high productivity. Ms. H'Nhien provides seedlings in the province and actively connects with gardeners, farms, and seedling dealers in neighboring provinces such as Binh Phuoc , Dak Lak...

After many years of working in the profession, her nursery has now expanded in area, providing a stable income of 200 - 300 million VND/year, while at the same time, creating regular jobs for 10 - 15 local workers, with an income of about 5 million VND/person/month.

Ms. H'Nhien said: "At first, I just wanted to go to school to have a job in hand, doing whatever job anyone hired me to do. After finishing school, gaining knowledge, returning to the village, seeing the high demand for coffee seedlings, I boldly researched, did it myself, and became the owner of a nursery. Nursery and selling seedlings brings work and income to myself, my family and the villagers in the village. Coffee growers have better quality and more productive seedlings, so I am very happy with my job."

Journey to mastering a specialty coffee brand

Mr. Tran Van Phu, in Dak Ru commune, Dak R'lap district, chose to make specialty coffee beans with local identity to start a business.

Born into a farming family, his life has been associated with coffee since childhood. However, he did not stop at traditional farming. Mr. Phu was determined to learn and research models of farming, harvesting, and producing high-quality coffee to increase the value of the product.

Mr. Tran Van Phu, in Dak Ru commune, Dak R'lap district, started his business by growing and producing specialty coffee.

Mr. Phu researched and learned how to make specialty coffee using the honey method on his family's 1 hectare coffee area to improve the quality and value of coffee beans and increase income. The coffee products made have been contracted by a company in Ho Chi Minh City to consume the products, making Mr. Phu more confident to expand the model. Along with expanding production, Mr. Phu mobilized, guided, and provided technical support to local youth to join together to produce specialty coffee.

In 2020, Mr. Phu established the Dak Ka Fair Trade Agricultural Cooperative with 39 members, mostly young people. The cooperative was established with the goal of linking and supporting farmers in the production and consumption of high-quality coffee. The cooperative also regularly organizes training programs to improve farmers' knowledge. Members and farmers in the area apply science and technology to production, increasing productivity and product quality.

Dak Ka Fair Trade Agricultural Cooperative, directed by Mr. Tran Van Phu (right), contributes to increasing income for members and creating jobs for many young people and local people.

The cooperative has built 100 hectares of raw material area, linked with 3 cooperatives and 1 other cooperative group in the province, producing over 200 tons of specialty coffee each year. With the production of high-quality coffee, each cooperative member has an income increase of 150 - 200 million VND/year (increased by 1.5 - 2 times compared to the traditional way of making coffee). The cooperative creates jobs for 5 regular workers, 10 seasonal workers, mainly young people and local people.

Mr. Phu confided: "On the journey of starting a business and overcoming difficulties, I feel very happy to make specialty Robusta coffee and spread it to everyone. Thereby, helping coffee growers to increase product value and increase income. The members of the cooperative and I continue to focus on building brands, improving quality, expanding domestic and export markets so that the cooperative can develop more and more.

Agriculture is not an old path but can be a fertile land for young people to start a business as long as they have enough passion, acumen and dedication.

Mr. Tran Viet Anh, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Youth Union, Chairman of the Vietnam Youth Union of Dak Nong province, said that Dak Nong is a province with great advantages in terms of land, climate and potential for developing key crops such as coffee, pepper, avocado, durian, etc. The fact that more and more young people are returning to their hometowns, choosing to start a business and make a living from agriculture, is a positive sign for a young, creative and high-value agriculture.

"Youth unions and associations at all levels in the province have been actively supporting young people to start businesses and establish businesses through technical training courses, connecting consumers, supporting preferential loans from the Social Policy Bank, the Provincial Youth Startup Support Fund, the National Employment Fund of the Central Youth Union, implementing models of youth incubators, youth cooperatives, youth economic development clubs...", Mr. Tran Viet Anh informed.

With the support of all levels of the Youth Union and Association, Dak Nong youth are confident and bold in starting their own businesses and developing their own and their families' economies, contributing to the development of the economy and society, and building their homeland to grow more and more.

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/thanh-nien-dak-nong-lam-giau-tu-cay-trong-nha-lam-duoc-254526.html