The decision to destroy the lychee garden that had been with him all his life was a difficult one for Mr. Huu, because the opposition from everyone in his family and clan was an extremely difficult obstacle .
Right in the heart of the lychee capital, he built a large grapefruit and orange farm and now, his Hoa Qua Son eco-tourism site has yielded truly sweet fruit seasons. Looking back at the journey of building this dreamlike orchard, he must have struggled a lot before he could come to the decision to bring the green-skin grapefruit trees of the South to plant on lychee land ?
- Previously, this hill was a lychee garden that my ancestors had built many years ago, one of the largest lychee gardens in Thanh Hai commune. That said, this lychee garden has been attached to many people, has absorbed sweat, tears and raised us to adulthood.
I myself grew up in this lychee garden, used to carry baskets of lychees to the market to sell, used to be extremely happy when the lychees had a good price that year, and used to feel heartbroken when the lychees I had cared for with great effort were paid such a low price. The lychee area in Luc Ngan developed too quickly and was harvested in a short time, while the market depended mainly on China, so for a long time, the price of lychees dropped, and the income of lychee growers was very unstable. My family was no exception.
Everyone in Luc Ngan loves lychee trees, growing up and aging with them, but life is always moving. I can’t let my family suffer forever, I think it’s time to change direction. Therefore, I decided to change the production structure, switching to growing citrus trees.
Giving up a tree that has been attached to you like flesh and blood, destroying a garden that has been built over many generations, I think it is not an easy decision for you ?
- That's right, I spent a long time struggling with myself, one side was the desire to get rich, the desire to experiment with new crops, and the other side wanted to maintain stability, because no matter what, lychee trees help Luc Ngan farmers have food and clothing.
That is why, when I proposed the idea of destroying the lychee garden to plant grapefruit and oranges, I encountered fierce opposition from the elders and relatives in the family, because you can see how much the Luc Ngan people love and are attached to the lychee tree. In that garden, there are also ancestral lychee trees that have been planted for decades, with very large trunks bearing many traces of time and years.
When I started to destroy the lychee garden around 2006, my ancestors strongly opposed it. At that time, the atmosphere in the family was very tense. I think partly because my ancestors and siblings regretted the lychee garden that had been built for so many years and had been associated with the ups and downs of the whole family, and partly because they were worried about me, they were afraid that I would fail with a crop that was still very new to Luc Ngan land.
I remember, when I destroyed the first lychee trees, the elders gathered around and scolded me: "What did you eat to be so stupid?", I had to spend time convincing them in a slow and steady manner, I wanted them to have complete trust when handing over the land and gardens to their children and grandchildren to cultivate. I thought, the land does not fail the people, if you have the heart and effort, surely whether you grow lychee or grapefruit or any other crop, you will get worthy results.
After doing ideological work with the elders, I spent some more time building the garden. In 2009, I started planting the first green-skinned grapefruit trees of the South in Thanh Hai land.
After passing the "door" of the elders in the village, the next difficulty appeared: I did not know where to get the source of citrus seedlings to ensure quality. I had to ask the experts of the research institute to help me order all the green-skinned grapefruit seedlings from the South. I also went to large farms in Hung Yen and Hoa Binh to see how people grow oranges and grapefruits to learn and gain experience; watched technical training programs on television and "broke out" myself without ever having attended any training course on growing citrus trees.
Choosing a new crop, which is very "hot" in the South to grow on the land , and also determined from the beginning to cultivate in an organic direction . It seems that your decision is very " ahead of its time" ?
- When I first bought the seedlings, I was also eager to think that everything was simple. But when I started doing it, I found that it was more difficult than I thought. Just imagine, because I decided to grow organically, just calculating the amount of manure for about 10 hectares of oranges and grapefruits was up to 300 tons, the fertilizer was piled up like a mountain in the corner of the garden, not to mention the cost of hiring people to take care of it, irrigate it...
But despite the difficulties, I am still determined to follow the organic direction because I believe that it is a sustainable path, both ensuring food safety and protecting the health of the producers. My garden uses completely organic fertilizers and biological products such as buffalo manure, fish soaked in microorganisms, fermented soybeans... to fertilize the plants. To prevent pests, I sprinkle lime powder and spray lime with copper to prevent pests and diseases for the plants.
As a result, as you can see, my family’s orange and grapefruit garden is considered one of the best citrus gardens in Luc Ngan district. Many citrus areas in the North have signs of degeneration and yellow leaf disease, but fortunately my garden is still growing well. I think it’s because I chose to grow organically, so the trees grow naturally, are strong and healthy.
Not to mention, when I first planted the tree, I didn't know how to make the tree bear fruit as I wanted, at the right time. There were many difficulties, but with hard work and research, I also learned the "personality" of each variety of orange and grapefruit present in this 10-hectare farm.
How do you feel when you get to harvest the first sweet fruits ?
- I remember in 2016, my farm officially harvested the first crop with a very large yield, 60-70 tons of green-skinned grapefruit alone. Looking at the grapefruits and oranges hanging on the trees, I knew I was on the right track. That year, Luc Ngan district organized the program: "Sweet fruit season" for the first time, my grapefruit and orange garden also participated in introducing the product, selling at a very high price, up to 50,000 VND/kg. Everyone was surprised that right on lychee land, a fruit from the South with such delicious quality could be grown. This initial success helped my family stabilize the economy and continue to reinvest in production.
In the first crop, the grapefruit garden brought my family 1.2 billion VND, double the income from lychee. That was a huge amount of money. When the grapefruit garden was harvested, I was able to relieve my family of the burden of having dared to destroy the whole lychee garden. This year, my family's fruit garden also yielded about 300 tons of fruit, with a revenue of about 6 billion VND. After deducting expenses, my family still had a profit of about 3 billion VND.
What do your ancestors say now ?
- The elders told me: "I didn't expect him to think so far!" ( laughs ). Honestly, I'm very happy to have achieved today's results, and even happier to have joined other citrus growers in Thanh Hai to establish the Thanh Hai Agricultural Production and Trade Cooperative from 2021 with the goal of developing community ecotourism to maximize the advantages of the main crops of oranges and grapefruits in the area.
Members of Thanh Hai Agricultural Production and Trading Cooperative also mainly grow citrus trees with a total area of about 60 - 70 hectares, with an estimated output of over 500 tons of oranges and grapefruits in 2023.
On the afternoon of November 28, 2023, a turning point event came to the family of Mr. Nguyen Van Huu and Thanh Hai Agricultural Production and Trade Cooperative when Hoa Qua Son Ecotourism Site was officially opened, after the Department of Culture , Sports and Tourism of Bac Giang decided to recognize Hoa Qua Son Ecotourism Site in July 2023. A new journey with the outstanding Vietnamese Farmer of Bac Giang province officially began.
On the personal page of businesswoman Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuc, the image of his pomelo garden has attracted the attention of many people when under the clusters of ripe pomelos, people can organize meetings and parties . What was the opportunity for him to turn his farm into one of the first eco-tourism destinations in Luc Ngan ?
- For many years now, the leaders of Luc Ngan district, Bac Giang province have organized programs to introduce the local sweet fruit season. Luc Ngan has its own seasonal produce, from lychees to apples, custard apples, oranges, grapefruits, etc. When organizing the programs, many groups of visitors were introduced to my farm. People came to see, saw the beautiful garden, delicious grapefruits, so they spread the word, introduced it to each other, and so on, more and more visitors came.
Moreover, the policy of Bac Giang province and Luc Ngan district in recent years has been to promote eco-tourism models associated with agriculture and rural areas. Therefore, my farm was fortunate to receive the attention and support of the district leaders and functional departments of Bac Giang province. In July 2023, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Bac Giang province issued a decision to recognize Hoa Qua Son Eco-tourism Site, with Thanh Hai Agricultural Production and Tourism Trade Cooperative as the unit that owns and manages the tourist site.
The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Bac Giang province also requested us to organize the operation of Hoa Qua Son Ecotourism Site according to the model of ecotourism experiencing agriculture and rural areas, and at the same time requested departments, branches and localities to coordinate in managing and guiding the tourist site to operate effectively and sustainably according to the provisions of law.
As you can see, when coming to Hoa Qua Son, in addition to experiencing accommodation services and visiting my fruit garden, you can also visit Xe Cu Pagoda combined with visiting tourist attractions such as Cam Son Lake, Khuon Than Lake, experiencing the traditional Chu noodle making village, and visiting ethnic minority villages in the area.
In November 2023, we officially held the opening ceremony of Hoa Qua Son Eco-tourism Site, an event in a series of activities to promote the consumption of oranges, grapefruits, typical products and the tourism program "Luc Ngan Autumn - Winter" in 2023. On that day, the leaders of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Bac Giang and the leaders of Luc Ngan district attended in large numbers, making us more confident in our new choice, determined to turn Thanh Hai into a new destination on the map of agricultural tourism and rural tourism.
Visitors to Hoa Qua Son Eco-tourism Site were impressed by the grapefruit garden full of fruit.
Honestly, when I stepped into your garden, my first feeling was peace and warmth , perhaps because the yellow color of the ripe grapefruits made everyone feel warm. And you, when you welcomed the first guests to your house, how did you feel ?
- Needless to say, I am happy and touched. Visitors from all over the world come to visit and praise my hometown for its beautiful scenery, delicious fruits, and friendly and gentle people, so I am very happy. Up until now, I have never thought that one day my farm will become a tourist destination, nor have I had time to prepare the skills to welcome visitors to my place. Therefore, I always try to help visitors experience the most authentic things of my locality, and eat the most delicious dishes to keep them here. I also built more places to rest, eat, and check in for visitors. Fortunately, everyone who comes here feels comfortable and happy, sometimes they even enthusiastically go with the farm workers to the garden to harvest grapefruit. For me, that is a success.
Although it has just been put into tourism exploitation, fortunately Hoa Qua Son Eco-tourism Site has become known to many people. On average, I welcome 200 visitors per day, and on weekends, I welcome nearly 1,000 people. Everyone who comes compliments me on my grapefruit growing skills, which is very fun.
But with a fairly new tourism model, what are your plans to operate it effectively in the future ?
- Our biggest challenge right now is that we don't have enough accommodation for tourists, and the road to the farm is still difficult. Next year, I plan to ask for permission from the relevant authorities and local authorities to build more homestays right in the middle of the lychee garden so that visitors can stay longer and experience more of the life of farmers and the countryside of Thanh Hai.
Just imagine, in the season of fragrant grapefruit flowers or when the fruit is ripe, just open the window and you will smell the strong grapefruit scent, what could be better. I also want to connect so that visitors can experience more gardens in Thanh Hai and Luc Ngan.
Luc Ngan has flowers and fruits all year round, so I think the potential for ecotourism is huge. Importantly, we really hope to receive support in terms of mechanisms and policies in developing tourism infrastructure; creating conditions for us to participate in training courses on guest reception and customer care skills to further improve service quality. I am also planning to expand the scale of the tourist destination, but will do it step by step, slowly but surely to keep visitors longer.
Why did you name your garden Hoa Qua Son, which sounds like the kingdom of Ton Ngo Khong in the movie Journey to the West ?
- Simply because I love trees and gardens. I feel very happy and joyful living in my garden, every day seeing them blossom and bear fruit, welcoming new visitors to visit and experience makes me very happy. In the future, I hope Thanh Hai will have more tourist attractions like this, so that this place is not only a large fruit "barn" but also an attractive destination, captivating visitors throughout the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter.
In 2023, with his efforts, he was voted by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Farmers' Union and honored as the Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer of 2023. Have you still not forgotten this moment of honor ?
- When I was recognized as an Excellent Vietnamese Farmer, I was really touched, because the title of Excellent Vietnamese Farmer is the dream of any farmer. It proves that our efforts and hardships have been duly recognized, and is also the motivation for us to continue to strive and do better than yesterday to deserve this title.
When I became an excellent Vietnamese Farmer, I also had the opportunity to attend exchanges, dialogues, and forums, helping me gain more experience and knowledge in production and business, and make new friends from all over the world.
With my experience, I am very willing to share how to produce and care for citrus trees with farmers so that everyone can achieve success, turning each garden into a place with fragrant flowers and sweet fruits.
Thank you!
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