Start up with 3 million VND (118 USD)

“When I was young, I was told about the fertile basalt land, which was suitable for agricultural production but it had not been cultivated. After completing the military mission in 1992 when I was 21, I decided to leave my home town to settle down in Duc Trong district, Lam Dong province”, said Ba.

Le Van Ba’s tomato farm in Lam Dong province.

With the little sum of money (3 million VND (118 USD) borrowed from the preferential loan, he carefully studied the soil conditions and decided to pilot growing tomato.

He won right at the first crop, then he spent all of the profits to buy more land to expand the cultivation scale. He also raised chicken and pig and grew luxurious flowers.

The plants and animals grew well in good care of the hardworking farmers. However, he faced a new challenge when his farms of more than 20,000 chickens, 300 pigs and 1 hectare of lily flower were doomed to failure after some years.

Recovering after the loss, Ba started with high-tech agriculture since 2014. He cultivated in green houses, substrates and on rooftop with coconut fiber and water soluble nutrients instead of using soil.

Local people were doubtful about his method and they waited for harvest time. When they saw and touched the fruitful and beautiful bunches with outstanding quality, especially much higher prices than products of the same kind following normal cultivation methods, they trusted him and applied to participate in the production linkage of the Cooperative.

High-tech agricultural production

Since applying high-technologies, An Phu Cooperation can proactively cultivate without dependence on weather nor seasons. Director Le Van Ba stressed the Cooperative can immediately cultivate when the market demands.

The Cooperative is growing 3 main crops including tomato, cucumber and pepper, most of which are imported breeds yielding high economic values.

Thanks to the automatic system connected to smart phone, Ba only needs to compose the demand and press the button to run the system to adjust humidity, temperature and pH levels of the garden.

Based on this platform, he guides the Cooperative members to apply proper caring techniques for the plants, maximize use of agricultural supplies and pesticides and apply the safe watering system.

Traceability stamp is sealed on every product package; thus the Cooperative’s reputation and brand has been increasingly improved.

Another impression of farmer Le Van Ba is his distinct farming methods. He built a development strategy for An Phu Cooperative following the 3-legged stance with “satellite farms”, which are located in 3 localities of Duc Trong, Don Duong and Lam Ha districts, Lam Dong province.

The farms have rapidly developed thanks to practical experience and application of science into production, which have been highly evaluated by the Agricultural Department of Lam Dong province.

From the first 2 member households, the Cooperative has made science transfer and linked with 17 high-tech farming households following VietGAP standards on a scale of over 10 hectares, supplying the market nearly 200 tonnes of fresh agricultural products each month including 30 percent for export. Particularly, Ba’s family has 2 hectares, earning a revenue from 4 to 6 billion VND (157,214 to 235,821 USD) per year per hectare.

As they have gained experience and mastered science and technology, Director of An Phu Cooperative applies the principle “business first, production later” that means the Cooperative proactively does marketing and promotion of their farm products on e-commerce platforms, at trade fairs, exhibitions and via media platforms.

He expected An Phu Cooperative will soon bring the veggie and fruit frying system into operation to complete the closed process from production to consumption, expand the market and increase product values.