Export targets

Mr. Nguyen Van Tam, Tan Hung village, Giai Xuan commune, Phong Dien district, is well known by villagers because of his diligence and willingness to learn new things. He always applies scientific and technological advances in his production process. Thanks to his research and his ability in understanding the market demands, he has gained achievements from the model of red flesh dragon fruit cultivation. With 5,000 square metres of the garden, he has earned over VND400 million per year by selling fruit and seedlings. He not only makes himself rich but also helps other farmers to lift themselves out of poverty and have stable lives.

Before having red flesh dragon fruit as his crop, Mr.Tam planted star apples and earned more than VND50 million  per year. After that, the price of this fruit dereased; therefore,  Mr. Tam decided to change 2,000 square metres of star apple garden  into red flesh dragon fruit after having explored market demand. Mr Tam said, "By that time, star apples have been planted and harvested for three years. Knowing my decision, my relatives advised me not to do so since they were worried that the market for the new fruit would be uncertain.”  However, he harvested  dragon fruit for the first time after over one year taking care of it. The first harvest was 100 kilograms, sold at VND15,000 – 20,000; and he could get the fruit once a month.

Recognizing  high economic efficiency, he transferred the other 3,000 square metres of star apple garden into red flesh dragon ones. Mr. Tam said, "Red flesh dragon trees are in the same family with cacti, and they prefer the sunlight. Their roots are shallow so the soil should be soft and spongy. In addition, farmers must regularly prune the longer branches and create canopies of the trees in the process of caring ". Through his experiences, Mr. Tam thought red flesh dragon trees are suitable for many types of soil and able to adapt to climate changes. Nevertheless, to get high productivity and quality, the farmers have to master the technique, especially for seeds, fertilizers, water and care.

Many people like red flesh dragon fruit because of their outside appearance with red thick hard skins. So, the price for this kind of fruit is very high, especially if exported. Mr Tam said, "While other dragon fruits are sold at VND5,000 – 7,000/kg, my red flesh dragon fruit is VND30,000 – 60,000/kg. For many years, I have contracts with lots of fruit collectors  in Can Tho and Vinh Long and  I do not have to worry about selling the produce " In 2016, Mr. Tam sold more than 10 tons red flesh dragon fruit at the average price of VND40,000/kg. Because the consumption is stable, he is preparing to transfer 13,000 square metres of rice field into red flesh dragon fruit. In 2016, Giai Xuan Red flesh dragon fruit Cooperative Group was established and Mr. Tam serves as the Chairman. Currently, there are 12 members in this group contributing a total area of 4 hectares.

Safe food production

Mr. Nguyen Van Phong is the director of Can Tho Food Production Establishment, which is located  on 91B National Street, Long Hoa Ward, Binh Thuy District with an area of  3,000 square metres.  Currently, Can Tho Food Production Establishment is one of the pioneers applying high-tech in agricultural production. The main products are hydroponic vegetables, cantaloups in greenhouses, wild pigs, and so on. These are clean products with high economic efficiency and favored by the market.

Hydroponic vegetable production models of  Mr. Nguyen Van Phong initially bring high economic efficiency.

There are 350 square metres of cantaloup with about 1,000 creepers. A creeper has 2-3 fruits but to ensure the weight and quality of cantaloup, fruit orchard owners keep only 1 fruit/ creeper. The time from planting to harvest is about 60-70 days. A fruit weighs between 1.2 kilos and 2.2 kilos. Mr Phong said, “Tag archives for growing cantaloups in the greenhouses are padding enrolled in wild pig breeding process. Seeds and irrigation systems with automated drip irrigation technology of Israel are imported from advanced countries such as Thailand and Japan”. In 2016, the total output of the first 2 harvests were more than 1 ton of cantaloup. All were bought by safe vegetable agents in the city. Mr. Phong is also a pioneer in growing varieties imported from abroad, such as tomato, cucumber which aims to select seeds suitable under the Vietnamese climate to expand production.

Mr. Phong also focuses on developing the model of hydroponic vegetable production with high technology. Presently, the establishment grows varieties of foreign vegetables such as lettuce, park choy, sweet cabbage and so on with beautiful colors and high nutritional value. The products are sold at VND60,000/kg at the safe vegetable bases in the city. Monthly, the establishment sells hundreds of kilograms of different kinds of vegetables, but production is still insufficient to meet market demand.

Besides the model of clean vegetables planting, the establishment also invests raising wild pig farm with 100 female ones, selling  around 1,600 breeding ones/year. According to Mr. Phong, wild pig barns are covered with biology padding. The feeding is mainly soybean residue, brewer’s grains, water hyacinth, banana tree, and so on. Besides selling breeding stock, transfering technology to farmers, the establishment also has the contracts of consuming products with VND 80,000 / kg of pig meat. Mr Phong said, "A breeding stock weighing 8-11 kilograms costs VND1m-1.1m. After 5 months giving to the farmers, wild pigs are sold with the weight of 30kg." According to Mr. Phong, the average cost of raising a 30 kilogram wild pig is VND700,000 - 900,000. After deducting all costs, farmers have at least VND500,000. To provide a variety of clean food, Mr. Phong’s establishment is raising 200 chicken breeds to supply the breedings and clean eggs to the market. Mr Phong said, "The establishment has confirmed the brand and the consumers’ favor although it have been founded for more than one year. For a variety of food, the establishment continues researching, applying high-tech to create more fresh food, to meet the needs of consumers in the city and to export ".

Mr. Le Ba Phuoc, Chairman of the City Farmers’ Association, said, “Recently, the City Farmers’ Association has enhanced the direction to Farmers’ Unions to produce safe food; actively supported the development of models of high-tech production, ensured the hygiene and guided the farmers to develop effective sustainable agricultural production”. According to Mr. Le Ba Phuoc, with the demand of safety food, the development of clean agriculture to provide safe products to consumers is very necessary. Clean agricultural production not only helps farmers save production costs, improve product quality, but also brings farmers closer to modern manufacturing, capable of competing on the international market.