Avocado growing boy earns 8 billion VND/year

"Learn one way, do another"

Hoang is an international student of the engineering program, master's degree in automatic systems and information technology - mechatronics at the Grennoble Institute of Technology (France). Hoang said that many people wonder why "studying one way, doing another"? When studying a major unrelated to agriculture, as well as working in the field of automatic control, why choose a business startup model that leans towards farming?

Hoang smiled and explained: "It seems like everything is unrelated to agriculture, but in fact it is very related. Because my orientation is to start a smart agriculture business, using automation to apply to agriculture to increase productivity and management efficiency."

“Ong Hoang avocado” is harvested at the farm and packed in boxes and shipped to the supplier.

According to Hoang, that was his childhood goal. "Because I come from a farming family, I have been familiar with the fields and gardens since I was young, witnessing the hardships of my parents and relatives when they had to work hard but the results were not high. That always fueled my intention to study well in the future, find a way to help my parents and everyone around me farm proactively and effectively," Hoang said.

After completing his engineering program in France (with a scholarship from the French government), this young man returned to his hometown and started managing and operating a 50-hectare farm (this farm is currently located in Cay Da village, Phu Van commune, Bu Gia Map district, Binh Phuoc province). Of which, 12 hectares have been planted with avocados without requiring too many workers since 2016 until now with the famous product "Ong Hoang avocado".

Technology application

Hoang said that avocados are grown using organic methods. Because no chemicals are used at all, care is quite difficult, requiring very careful care, closely monitoring the growth process of the tree to have the most effective care plans.

According to Hoang, with this avocado variety, after planting, the fruit can be harvested after 3 years. Interestingly, all of Hoang's avocado acreage is not planted in the usual way as many generations of farmers have done, but completely applies technology, replacing human labor.

Specifically, Hoang is applying digital logs to trace the origin of avocados. Through digital logs, consumers can know the types of fertilizers used, the time of fertilization, the date the product was harvested, the means of transport used to bring it to the store, supermarket... Hoang applies high-tech techniques to agricultural production : automatic irrigation using the Internet of Things (IoT), rooftop solar power, a camera system to monitor the entire garden, drones, blockchain technology to trace the origin...

Currently, compared to many types of avocado on the market, Hoang's products are chosen and trusted by many customers. Currently, the product is available in supermarkets and large stores in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. In addition, this product is sold in many different channels, such as clean food supermarkets: DalatFoodie, Green Food, Foodmap, Wefarmer, Nam An or large supermarkets such as Mega Market , Co.op extra... In addition, avocado has also been exported to Thailand and Cambodia .

Hoang said: "Because avocados are grown organically, they are good for health and ensure adequate nutrition for the body. The avocado has a delicious taste, moderate fat and softness, and will satisfy those who like to eat avocados directly without adding sugar or milk because the avocado itself has a sweet taste. In addition to being eaten as a smoothie, avocados can be used in salads or combined with other dishes because the firmness of avocados is better than other types of avocados... Thanks to these advantages, people prefer Ong Hoang avocados."

On average, a 7-8 year old Mr. Hoang avocado tree can harvest about 300 kg per year. The market price is 95,000 VND/kg. The total revenue of the farm is 11 billion VND, with a profit of 8 billion VND.

Dang Duong Minh Hoang (2nd from right) next to automatic equipment used to care for the avocado farm.

Quang Binh

The reason why Hoang’s avocado farm model is so profitable is because the local government pays attention and supports tax policies to encourage rural youth to develop crops and livestock to get rich legitimately. In addition, Hoang’s farm uses all kinds of organic fertilizers made from leaves, composted manure, and uses a solution of alcohol and garlic to repel harmful microorganisms.

Furthermore, because of the automatic production line, the farm only needs 2 workers to take care of the 12-hectare avocado garden, mainly doing the work of adjusting valves and water pipes.

Avocado products after harvest are sold directly to supermarket systems, without intermediaries...

Bringing Vietnamese agricultural products far and wide

"Currently, I want to focus on in-depth development to ensure product quality. In addition, my wish is to cooperate with other farmers, provide seeds, guide planting and care methods to create an ecosystem with good quality and optimal care methods, helping people have good income to improve their lives in the near future, and be able to bring Vietnamese agricultural products to the world ," Hoang shared.

In the future, Hoang plans to export to many other countries, in many demanding markets such as Japan or Europe. "However, to do that, I need to learn more experiences, connect with many different channels and certainly, one day in the near future, I will realize my dream," Hoang confided.

Sharing with those who intend to start a business with avocado, Hoang did not hesitate to say: "Avocado trees originate from the forest, so growing this type of tree is not difficult. Avocado trees are less susceptible to diseases than other fruit trees, and the investment cost is also lower. However, whether an avocado tree bears fruit or not depends largely on the weather , climate, and soil. Therefore, everyone needs to carefully research the weather, climate, and soil conditions of the locality to grow the right type of avocado. I believe that if you are willing to invest and learn, this model will help bring a much better quality of life."

Mr. Tran Quang Binh, Secretary of the Bu Gia Map District Youth Union, said that Mr. Hoang's avocado farm is one of the smart agricultural models in Binh Phuoc province. Mr. Hoang's production model is evaluated by local Party committees and leaders as one of the good models with high efficiency. Thereby, it is necessary to promote, replicate and introduce it to local youth to learn from, thereby creating a startup ecosystem suitable for local conditions and units. In addition, Hoang has proactively connected products of startup models in Phuoc Long and Bu Gia Map to exchange experiences and support local youth to start businesses in the direction of applying technology.

Hoang's avocado growing model meets VietGAP standards and has received many prestigious awards from ministries and branches. Most recently, Hoang received the 2021 Luong Dinh Cua Award presented by the Central Youth Union.

Why is it called "King's Butter"?

According to Hoang, this brand also has a part of its meaning from the famous “Lau Ong Hoang” relic in Binh Thuan province. With the desire that the brand will go far and be known by many people, not only in the pure agricultural field, but also in developing ecological agricultural tourism in the future.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chang-trai-trong-bo-thu-lai-8-ti-dong-nam-1851420078.htm