From the wilderness to revenue of more than 700 million VND

Four years ago, Dong Ghe and Lien Nhat, Lien Nhat village, Thach Ha commune (Ha Tinh city, Ha Tinh province) were still just a deep, low-lying swamp area, "left alone with time", many rice growing areas had to be abandoned, unable to be cultivated.

In 2021, Mr. Nguyen Huu Quyen (born in 1983), Director of Lien Nhat Thach Ha Agricultural Production and General Services Cooperative (abbreviated as Lien Nhat Cooperative) quit his job at a construction company and returned to his hometown to do farming. His starting capital for farming was 600 million VND borrowed from the bank. Through the policy support of the City government and Thach Ha commune, Mr. Quyen and 8 colleagues gathered 20 hectares of land from 40 households with a land rental price of 700,000 VND/sao/year (500m2) to build a model of growing rice, raising tilapia, green-legged shrimp, black apple snails in an organic direction and doing ecotourism business.

After 4 years of taking care of each rice field, pond bank, and vegetable bed, up to now, the fish - rice, shrimp - rice, snail - rice fields are developing very effectively, with an estimated annual revenue of over 700 million VND.

According to Mr. Quyen, despite limited capital, the production of rolling mats, using short-term to support long-term, has helped the cooperative expand the area of ​​high-quality rice cultivation using advanced tray seeding and transplanting machines to 14 hectares; aquaculture area of ​​more than 4 hectares and eco-tourism business on an area of ​​more than 5 hectares. The effective operation of the model has also attracted more than 20 members to join the cooperative, at the same time creating jobs for nearly 20 local workers, including very young workers with professional qualifications.

Graduated from university with a degree in agriculture, majoring in biotechnology, Mr. Vo Ta Quynh (born in 1993), residing in Thach Ha commune, also left the city to return to his hometown to start a business. After his family joined Lien Nhat Cooperative, Mr. Quynh packed his bags and returned to his hometown from Hanoi, determined to follow his passion for agriculture. Mr. Quynh is currently a key member, responsible for managing and operating the Cooperative.

“Working at the cooperative, I have a stable job, do not have to travel far away, and can stay close to my parents and hometown. With an income of over 15 million VND/month from both production and business, for me, this is a fairly high income in Ha Tinh, helping me ensure my life,” said Mr. Quynh.

At Lien Nhat Cooperative, in addition to Mr. Quynh, there are many young people who have returned here to build an agricultural economy on their homeland. For example, Mr. Truong Ba Duy (born in 1991), who used to work as a taxi driver, has now returned to join the Cooperative, investing in a factory to produce sesame rice paper and spring roll rice paper with a capacity of 1,000 rice paper/hour.

"When the facility comes into operation, it will not only provide products for the cooperative's business activities but also supply restaurants and wholesale markets in Ha Tinh province," Mr. Duy confidently expects.

Riding on the momentum, Mr. Nguyen Huu Quyen continued to develop a plan to reclaim nearly 1 hectare of abandoned rice fields to grow lotus, providing raw materials for facilities processing products from lotus shoots, lotus hearts, and lotus leaves in Ha Tinh city.

“Our biggest achievement is changing the mindset of clean, environmentally friendly agricultural production for farmers in the region. Now 100% of the cooperative's rice area produces high-quality rice varieties such as Lai Thom, Huong Com, ST25, without using pesticides to create a clean environment for aquaculture,” Mr. Quyen emphasized.

Closed Ecological Service

After growing rice, raising fish, and raising shrimp in an organic manner effectively, with the policy support of the People's Committee of Ha Tinh City, Mr. Quyen called on more than 20 members to join the cooperative to develop a production model combined with eco-tourism services.

Next to the trellises of squash and gourds laden with fruit right at the entrance of the cooperative, Mr. Quyen said that this “item” is managed by Mr. Vo Ta Tam’s family - a member of the cooperative. The harvest of squash and gourds from Mr. Tam’s family is purchased and consumed by the cooperative. This is also the general operating method at the cooperative.

What makes Mr. Quyen most proud and happy is that the cooperative has created jobs for local children with good income.

“Now, many people in Lien Nhat village work at the cooperative. In addition to regular labor, students also come here to work during summer vacation to earn extra income to prepare for the new school year,” Mr. Quyen said excitedly.

Currently, the cooperative has built 15 huts and sheds to serve food and beverage services with local specialties such as fish, shrimp, rice, and organic vegetables. The scale of reception and service is about 300 guests/day on average.

The Director of Lien Nhat Cooperative added that in the near future, the unit will continue to construct areas for experience, camping, fishing, and folk playgrounds for children, outdoor music stages, etc. to serve customer needs.

According to the assessment of local authorities and experts, the “3 in 1” cooperative model in Lien Nhat village has operated in line with the green and modern agricultural development orientation of Ha Tinh city in particular and Ha Tinh province in general. The products produced by the cooperative are always in a state of “out of stock”.

“Previously, Dong Ghe and Lien Nhat were low-lying swampy areas, only producing one rice crop or left fallow. To develop the agricultural economy in a new direction, the City People's Committee invested in a system of water and waste separation ditches, encouraged people to accumulate land, and established cooperatives.

The City leaders have also worked with the Cooperative to develop a plan and orientation for the structure of crops and livestock. As a result, after more than 4 years of implementation, there are now many green economic models similar to Lien Nhat Cooperative that have brought high economic efficiency," said Mr. Tran Quang Hung, Head of the Economic Department (Ha Tinh City People's Committee).

According to Mr. Hung, the policies of the central government, the province, especially the land accumulation policy of the City have helped people change the traditional way of doing agriculture, instead they have to do combined agriculture, provide services associated with brand building to improve economic efficiency per unit area.

Mr. Nguyen Song Han, Chairman of the People's Committee of Thach Ha Commune, shared: "The most worrying issue in agricultural production is the output issue. However, at Lien Nhat Cooperative, the production of plants and animals is suitable for consumer needs and ensures safety criteria, so supply is always not enough to meet demand. In the long term, we believe that the model of this cooperative will develop sustainably and increasingly bring high value to its members."