She used to focus on studying so that she would not have to work hard, but fate brought Ms. Tran Thu Trang (born in 1984), residing in Vinh Linh district, to farming. Together with her colleagues, Ms. Trang has been building the D-FARM organic farm model with a new and different approach.
Back to the homeland
Ms. Tran Thu Trang, manager of D-FARM farm, said that the letter D in D-FARM stands for difference. “With this name, my colleagues and I express our determination to build a truly different organic agricultural farm with its own mark,” Ms. Trang said.
Young people come to experience at D-Farm
Trang is a native of Vinh Giang, Vinh Linh. Her father is an engineer, and her mother is a teacher. Since childhood, the two parents have oriented their daughter to study so that she can have a stable job in the future. Trang has fulfilled that wish as planned. After leaving the university, she has worked as a communal land officer for about 15 years. “Before, I always wanted to have a small garden, grow this tree, raise that child, and make clean products for my family. During my time as a communal land officer, I met a lot of farmers. Although attached to the land, some people do not have or gradually lose faith in the work they are doing. My heart suddenly urged me to do something to help inspire their faith and love for farming,” Trang shared.
Fortunately, Trang's idea was on the same "frequency" as her husband, Le Van Chau, and their friends. They discussed building a farm to provide organic products, first to serve the needs of the families in the group, then to supply the market. From their combined capital, they bought a piece of land in Dong Soi village, Kim Thach commune, Vinh Linh district, to start. During the trial period, Trang felt that farming had a strange attraction for her. She was happy to see the land being plowed; each greenhouse growing; the trees blooming and bearing fruit... Once again, Trang made a bold decision to leave her stable job to return to farming.
Talking about her choice, she shared that she had to “struggle mentally” a lot. Almost everyone advised her to reconsider. Because, most people know that it is very difficult to succeed in farming, especially in a province that is heavily affected by natural disasters and floods like Quang Tri. Moreover, not everyone can do this hard work.
Connecting Talents
Everyone's comments were not wrong. When they actually got involved in farming, Trang and her friends in the group realized how hard it was. They had to get used to jobs they had never tried before. Knowing that they could not find their way, Trang and her friends had to rely on the support of experts from Hanoi University of Agriculture. Along with that, everyone studied and worked together to gain experience. Many days when they returned home, their limbs were exhausted. However, the most tiring thing for them was still the calculations in their heads.
D-Farm engineers take care of crops - Photo: TL
Determining that the model would hardly succeed if they continued to burn torches to explore the path, Ms. Trang and her friends focused on finding colleagues with knowledge, experience, and skills. Their passion for organic agricultural production attracted many talented people. Famous engineers joined D-FARM one after another. Most of them were young, good at their profession, and well-trained domestically and internationally. Everyone wanted to bring what they had learned to cultivate their homeland of Quang Tri.
After the first successful steps, the belief in changing the poor land of those who joined hands to build D-FARM was multiplied. However, the success of the first melon season was not really as they expected. In the days of mixed joy and sadness, they realized that what they got was still very large. Thanks to this first experience, they built a standard production process. That was also the way to the victory of the next melon season.
Joy after joy. When entering the market, D-FARM's melon products quickly conquered customers inside and outside the province. The good news spread far and wide, and more and more businesses, distributors, and shop owners came to D-FARM. That was the motivation for Ms. Trang and her colleagues to boldly increase the number of crops, diversify crops, and approach new markets... Currently, the farm is creating regular jobs for 5 workers. During the crop season, the number of workers increases 2-3 times.
Stick to your goals
Organic farming is not easy. In the early days of growing melons, the people who joined forces to create D-FARM went from one worry to another. Quang Tri is a hot and rainy land. This climate is not really favorable for melon growth. At one point, in some greenhouses, the rate of diseased melons was up to 50%. Seeing the melon garden gradually wither, everyone felt heartbroken. At that time, some people advised the brothers and sisters to use pesticides to save the garden, then think about it later. However, all D-FARM members shook their heads, determined to find a solution.
In addition to melons, D-Farm has been successful in testing many other crops with a strict production process, following an organic direction - Photo: TL
At D-FARM, Ms. Nguyen Lam Thi Nhat Anh (born in 1996), head of the production department, graduated with a degree in agriculture, spent a year as an intern abroad and underwent intensive training in melon growing techniques. However, the challenges that arose on the first day of organic agricultural production still made the girl from Quang Nam worried. There were days when, in addition to sleeping and eating, she spent all her time on the melon plants. Ms. Nhat Anh said: “After solving the problem of pests, mice and insects came back. These obstacles kept coming like a challenge to people's hearts. Therefore, we have to "take care of the plants like taking care of children" and persevere on the path we have chosen."
As a quality manager, Mr. Doan The Phong (born in 1999) still arranges time to support engineers in taking care of melons. Mr. Phong is originally from Quang Tri but was born and raised in Hanoi. For him, joining the D-FARM team can be compared to returning to contribute to building his hometown. Talking about his specialized work, Mr. Phong said: “We spend a lot of time checking the quality of fruits after harvest. A system of strict criteria, according to common standards, was built by D-FARM to ensure bringing the best products to customers. If we do not persevere with organic agricultural production, it may be difficult for us to achieve this standard and conquer wise customers,” said Mr. Phong.
Like Ms. Thu Trang and the founders of D-FARM, what makes Nhat Anh and The Phong happiest is seeing the organic farm model they worked together to create grow more and more. Together, they have made a difference, persistently pursuing the goal to help D-FARM become special. Since March 2022, D-FARM has launched a service of sightseeing, experiencing agricultural harvests and enjoying cuisine at the farm, attracting a large number of tourists. That good signal once again helps those who know D-FARM, especially farmers, to have more confidence in the future of the profession that has always been likened to "selling their face to the ground, selling their back to the sky".
Tay Long
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