Tay Ninh From the knowledge gained from working with the Japanese, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Vu has entered organic agriculture associated with tourism, opening a new direction in Tay Ninh.
Farming the Japanese way
Born and raised in Tay Ninh, an agricultural engineer with more than 15 years of experience in the field of fertilizers and agricultural materials for a joint venture between Japan and Vietnam, the working environment has given Mr. Nguyen Thanh Vu (Tan Hung commune, Tan Chau, Tay Ninh) many opportunities to interact with Japanese agriculture and farmers. Through that, Mr. Vu discovered that Vietnamese agriculture in general, and Tay Ninh in particular, still has a lot of work to do.
Mr. Vu (right) shares the secret of Japanese-style organic farming with reporters. Photo: Le Binh.
According to Mr. Vu, land resources used for agricultural development are very limited, forcing the Japanese to research and apply modern techniques and optimize the use of land and water resources. In addition, the people of the cherry blossom country love nature so much that when planting any type of tree, they always think about its survival. Japanese farmers will leave 5-10% of the yield for birds and animals in the wild.
“In this “difficult” country, counterfeiting, imitation, and poor quality products are strictly prohibited and heavily fined, and are boycotted by society. They believe that these people should receive appropriate punishments. Therefore, there are almost no toxic products on the Japanese market. Agricultural products are all of good quality and high productivity, meeting domestic demand and exporting to demanding markets such as the US and EU…”, Mr. Vu shared.
Armed with knowledge and experience and with the desire to bring clean products to consumers and increase profits in agricultural production, in 2018, Mr. Vu put aside his job with a thousand-dollar salary that many people dream of to embark on the path of organic farming and clean agricultural products.
Mr. Vu uses waste products in the garden to make organic fertilizer. Photo: Tran Trung.
Taking us to visit the organic mulberry garden in Tan Hung commune (Tan Chau district, Tay Ninh), Mr. Vu said the reason for choosing this tree for cultivation is because it is easy to grow, not picky about soil, and is also a valuable medicinal herb with many healing effects such as sedation, pain relief for osteoarthritis... Mulberry trees bear fruit all year round, sweet and sour, delicious and help cool the body, detoxify, and are good for health.
Currently, his strawberry garden has more than 1,000 mulberry trees that are nearly 5 years old, grown according to the Japanese standard organic circular process on an area of 2 hectares. What is impressive is that Mr. Vu's strawberry garden also nurtures and protects earthworms - a creature that is likened to a hard-working plowman who helps keep the soil loose and fertile.
“I spent 2 years improving the soil and decided to grow trees completely using organic processes. After 3 years of growing trees, up to now, the mulberry trees have produced sweet fruit, the yield is higher each year than the previous year, while the production cost is inversely proportional to the yield, decreasing day by day. Depending on the time, we can pick about 50kg of mulberry each day, sometimes up to 100kg, mainly consumed in the Ho Chi Minh City market. The rest we process into finished products such as syrup, mulberry jam... to sell locally,” Mr. Vu shared.
Towards green tourism
In recent years, Tay Ninh tourism has gradually affirmed its position, attracting a large number of domestic and foreign tourists. With the focus on Ba Den Mountain, Tay Ninh tourism has gradually coordinated with related units to gradually form tourism models associated with agriculture. The initial steps show that this direction is promising, meeting the increasing needs of tourists, Mr. Vu's Ba Phong mulberry garden is an ideal destination for many tourists when coming to Tay Ninh.
Tourists enjoy experiencing and enjoying mulberries right in the garden. Photo: Le Binh.
According to Mr. Vu, in the face of the hustle and bustle of life with many pressures, people increasingly need to experience trips that help regain mental and physical balance, and green travel is becoming a trend.
Since the mulberry garden started to harvest, many tourists from inside and outside the province have known and come to visit and experience. People really enjoy the fresh, clean space at Ba Phong mulberry garden. Here, people can learn about the organic gardening process, experience picking mulberries and enjoy them for free right in the garden.
Especially for families with young children or students who want to visit and experience, in addition to being introduced to the fruits around them, children are also instructed on how to take care of the trees, how to respect the living environment and protect the environment around them to move towards a green future.
While we were fascinated by the mulberry garden, we met Mr. Nguyen Phong Tran, a teacher at the Tam Thuc Education Center (Tay Ninh city) bringing a group of nearly 20 students to visit and experience the Ba Phong mulberry garden.
Mr. Tran shared: “We want the children to experience agriculture in a real way. Coming to the strawberry garden, they can dig the soil, plant trees, pick fruits and eat them right in the garden without worrying about pesticides. In addition to experiencing organic farming and clean products, teachers and students can also play and visit the garden, bring some fresh strawberries and mulberry products home as gifts.”
Agricultural tourism is a promising direction in Tay Ninh. Photo: Le Binh.
According to Mr. Vu, the revenue from each hectare of mulberry is about 200 million VND, the profit is about 100 million VND/year. Promoting the achieved results, in the coming time, he will continue to invest in a circular organic agricultural model according to Japanese standards to meet the needs of visitors when coming to Tay Ninh.
Evaluating the agricultural tourism model, Mr. Ha Thanh Tung, Director of the Tay Ninh Provincial Agricultural Extension Center, said that Tay Ninh has many strengths in tourism, of which agricultural tourism is a very potential model but has not been properly exploited by our country in general and Tay Ninh in particular. Currently, investors are realizing the potential and gradually shifting to this type. In the near future, the potential of agricultural tourism is expected to develop as expected.
“Ba Phong organic mulberry garden is considered one of many new tourism products that Tay Ninh finds suitable and effective. We are actively coordinating and supporting businesses to link together to create products that attract tourists in the coming time. Hopefully, with the meaningful and effective way of doing things from this mulberry garden, green tourism models combined with agricultural tourism will be born, creating more new products for Tay Ninh to attract tourists from near and far,” Mr. Ha Thanh Tung shared.
Source: https://nongsanviet.nongnghiep.vn/dau-tam-chuan-huu-co-hut-khach-du-lich-d397816.html
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