Vietnam Farmers' Union Congress: Learning and getting rich from mushroom growing

In his journey of more than 30 years of being friends with mushrooms, old farmer Bui Van Muoi (57 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) has not only successfully built the brand "Saigon 10 Mushrooms", but also actively contributed to the development of his hometown "the land of steel and copper". He is one of 100 farmers nationwide selected and honored by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Farmers' Union as "Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer of 2023".

Mr. Bui Van Muoi, owner of "Mushroom 10 Saigon", checks the development of mushroom spawn.

Self-study Mr. Muoi was born and raised in Nha Be district (Ho Chi Minh City) and used to work in Can Gio district. Since 1990, he moved to Hamlet 5, Hoa Phu commune (Cu Chi district) and started a career in mushroom growing. Initially, due to not having much capital and knowledge about mushroom growing, Mr. Muoi chose to start his business with the easiest mushroom to grow, abalone. While working, he also self-study and learn more. Sharing about the early days, Mr. Muoi said that in the 1990s, his family's economy was difficult, along with limited technical conditions at that time, so all stages of mushroom making were done manually. Once, due to not handling the substrate carefully, all the mushroom spawns were damaged, considered a total loss. However, each failure was a lesson for him to summarize the standard process, gradually improving the quality of mushroom spawns and finished mushrooms. Having mastered the conventional mushroom growing techniques, Mr. Muoi continued to research and create new mushroom varieties to be self-sufficient in the source of seeds. After a period of testing, up to now, the 10 Saigon Mushroom facility has created more than 10 different mushroom varieties, such as red lingzhi, pink oyster, and golden mushrooms with high economic value. Accumulating capital and experience over many years, the 10 Saigon Mushroom facility, from only about 500 m2, has expanded to 2,000 m2 and is now 3,000 m2. In addition, Mr. Muoi also invested in equipment such as sawdust screening machines, industrial boilers, forklifts, etc. to ensure the quality of growing media and mushroom spawns are consistent and save labor costs. After a period of growing commercial mushrooms, realizing the increasing demand for mushroom growing in the locality and many other provinces and cities, Mr. Muoi switched to producing mushroom spawns to supply to facilities. According to Mr. Muoi, mushrooms are a food that provides high nutritional content, suitable for both vegetarians and meat eaters. Therefore, the market demand is very large. Mushroom growing has therefore also developed strongly in many localities such as: Vinh Long, Tra Vinh, Hau Giang, Dong Nai, Binh Phuoc, Ba Ria - Vung Tau... Currently, each month, his 10 Saigon Mushroom facility produces over 100,000 bags of mushroom spawn, with an average revenue of about 2 billion VND/year. Supporting poor and near-poor households In the early stages of expanding production, the 10 Saigon Mushroom facility created jobs for about 20 local workers from the stages of sawdust screening, bagging, spawn inoculation, mushroom harvesting... Since applying machinery and switching to concentrated mushroom spawn production, the number of regular workers has decreased to only 10 people. Along with cutting down on direct labor, Mr. Muoi has found ways to support poor and near-poor households in the locality to do business on their own. Trusted and elected as Party Cell Secretary and Head of Hamlet 5 (Hoa Phu Commune), Mr. Muoi proposed that the Policy Bank lend capital to people to do business. When people had initial capital, he provided mushroom spawn and instructed people on care techniques to have finished mushrooms to sell to the market for a stable income and gradually escape poverty.

Mr. Bui Van Muoi is an outstanding farmer who has been awarded many certificates of merit and titles for his outstanding achievements in agricultural production.

“In the past, Hoa Phu was a specialized area for raising dairy cows. However, recently, the price of animal feed has increased while the price of milk has decreased. Therefore, people have abandoned their barns to find new livelihoods. Young people work as workers in industrial parks, people with small businesses. I am willing to guide anyone who wants to learn mushroom growing. I have my own mushroom varieties, so I can help people have quality mushroom spawn at a cheaper price than the market price. For new growers who have no output, I also introduce them to purchasing facilities so that they can feel secure in their production. Economic development leads to stable security and order in the locality, reduces social evils, and gives young people a better future,” Mr. Muoi confided. Not only supporting local people, his 10 Saigon Mushroom facility is also a destination for many students and delegations of officials, members, and farmers to visit and practice mushroom growing techniques. Mr. Muoi shared that young people today learn very quickly thanks to the theory they have learned at school. Coming here, they can experience and apply the knowledge they have learned into practice. After only one week of practice, many of them can complete all the stages of creating embryos from mushroom ear shavings, creating spawn, to inoculating spawn into bags. Young people who learn and do it right from the beginning will reduce the stumbling blocks and failures he experienced in the early stages of starting a business. Mr. Duong Hoang Vinh, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Hoa Phu commune, said that Mr. Bui Van Muoi is an exemplary member of the Hoa Phu Commune Farmers' Club for Good Production and Business; actively participating in activities promoting local agricultural products at fairs and exhibitions. Along with developing his family's economy, Mr. Muoi also supports many disadvantaged households in the area by providing seeds and instructing on commercial mushroom growing techniques, creating a stable income. “Mr. Muoi's spirit of self-study and enthusiasm for research in the field of mushroom growing is both an example and a source of inspiration for many young people and farmer members in Hoa Phu to boldly study, start a business, and take control of the economy. Mr. Muoi is also a typical example in the new rural construction movement in the commune when he actively mobilized households to donate land and open roads; contributing to completing the criteria on traffic and rural landscape", Mr. Duong Hoang Vinh shared more. With his constant efforts in production and business, farmer Bui Van Muoi was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City for his outstanding achievements in the movement of farmers competing in good production and business, uniting to help each other get rich and sustainably reduce poverty in the period of 2017-2021. He has won the title of "Outstanding Farmer of Ho Chi Minh City" for many years. Products of the Saigon Mushroom 10 facility were also recognized as typical agricultural products at the City level in 2018.

Article and photos: Xuan Anh (Vietnam News Agency)

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