300 million VND/ha - engineer Duong gets rich from cucumbers

His chain-linked cucumber growing model is creating jobs for about 50 local workers, opening up a new direction for many farmers in Long Thuong commune...

Mr. Phung Manh Duong's cucumber field is produced according to the ViepGAP process. Photo: Nguyen Mai

Graduated from Biotechnology (Vietnam National Academy of Agriculture), Mr. Duong worked at the Maize Research Institute (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, now the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), the Plant Protection Station of Phuc Tho district and then VinEco Company (Vingroup Corporation). From 2022, he decided to return to his hometown, renting land in Long Thuong commune (near Sen Phuong commune) to develop an agricultural production model in the direction of linkage.

“Phuc Tho has strengths in agriculture, people have good farming skills, land and transportation are convenient. However, production is still fragmented, lacking sustainable linkage chains, I want to take advantage of local advantages to develop long-term production,” Mr. Duong shared.

Mr. Phung Manh Duong - a pioneer in implementing the linkage chain in cucumber growing in Phuc Tho. Photo: Nguyen Mai

Initially, Mr. Duong rented 4 hectares of land in the old Long Xuyen commune (now merged with Thuong Coc commune to form Long Thuong commune) at a price of 1 million VND/sao/year. Thanks to the support of the local government combined with the fact that the people here mainly work in carpentry and are not closely attached to the fields, land accumulation was favorable. Initial production encountered many difficulties due to lack of experience, but from the following crops, the model gradually got into gear, bringing clear results.

Currently, Mr. Duong cultivates an area of ​​10 hectares, focusing on growing Japanese cucumbers. Each year, he produces two main melon crops in spring and winter, intercropping corn or rice to improve the soil in the summer. All products are linked to GOC Food Processing Export Joint Stock Company (Lang Giang district, Bac Giang province) for processing and export, a part is consumed domestically, with revenue per hectare of melon/crop reaching about 300 million VND.

The entire melon output is contracted with businesses for processing and export. Photo: Nguyen Mai

Notably, the model creates regular jobs for about 50 local workers, mainly women aged 55 to 65, with an average income of 5 million VND/person/month.

Working for Mr. Duong since the first days of building the melon growing model, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nam (Bao Ve 1 village, Long Thuong commune) shared: “My family has a carpentry profession, all family members focus on the profession, so I rent 3 sao of rice fields for Mr. Duong to grow melons. I am old so I don't work, I go grow melons for Mr. Duong, I get 200,000 VND per day, which is suitable for my health and hobby”. Similarly, Ms. Nguyen Thi Chuyen also rented 6 sao of rice fields for Mr. Duong to grow melons. Ms. Chuyen said that although she is 66 years old, she still works about 25 hours a month, mainly tilling the land, planting, weeding, harvesting, and having extra income, so she is very excited.

Mr. Duong's melon growing area is creating jobs for about 50 local female workers. Photo: Nguyen Mai

Mr. Duong is currently promoting the establishment of a cooperative specializing in the production and consumption of clean vegetables and fruits to develop a more sustainable linkage model. “I hope the government will support land accumulation, invest in irrigation infrastructure, and internal transportation to expand concentrated production areas,” Mr. Duong said.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/300-trieu-dong-ha-ky-su-duong-lam-giau-tu-dua-chuot-699461.html