S'Tieng Farm, the convergence place of OCOP Binh Phuoc

Not only is he the one who sows many unique plant varieties in Binh Phuoc, Mr. Nguyen Viet Vi also founded S'Tieng Farm - a place where the province's OCOP quintessence converges.

Farmer's Companion

In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year 2024, when visiting the border district of Bu Dop (Binh Phuoc), everyone knows Mr. Nguyen Viet Vi, Director of Phuoc Thien Cooperative, Chairman of the Binh Phuoc Billionaire Farmers Club. Because with an open mind, not only enriching himself and the Cooperative, Mr. Vi also does not hesitate to share experiences, varieties, transfer technical advances, and purchase products for many people in and outside the province, helping many people change their lives.

Mr. Vi next to his red-fleshed jackfruit garden in the border district of Bu Dop, Binh Phuoc province. Photo: Tran Trung.

Taking us to visit a garden of hundreds of hectares, which was systematically planned with all kinds of plants considered "unique", Mr. Nguyen Viet Vi said that since 2006, he has successfully planted and propagated red-fleshed guava trees. This is considered one of the products that once "made waves" in the market and contributed to creating a unique brand value for Binh Phuoc agricultural products.

Also from his dynamism, creativity, and eagerness to learn, in 2016, he continued to launch the golden star apple variety - a fruit with a golden yellow color, rich sweetness, and a cool, refreshing flavor. Not only that, this star apple variety also has high productivity, good resistance to pests and diseases, and the price of commercial star apple fruit always fluctuates at a high level of 50 to 100 thousand VND/kg. Immediately, the golden star apple became a potential crop, creating a new direction in the locality.

Golden star apple, a potential crop in Binh Phuoc. Photo: Tran Trung.

Not stopping there, in 2019, from many different jackfruit gene sources, Mr. Vi crossbred and produced a high-quality red-fleshed jackfruit variety under the brand name PT79. The superiority of this jackfruit variety is good disease resistance, early fruiting, and stable yield. After its birth, this jackfruit variety was protected by the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) and recognized as originating in Binh Phuoc, and was also certified by the Department of Intellectual Property.

“Currently, the cooperative has joined hands with farmers to produce over 2,000 hectares of jackfruit. At times, the price of red-fleshed jackfruit has reached over 150,000 VND/kg. Planting just 10 jackfruit trees can bring in much more income than 1 hectare of cashew, which has helped many farmers change their lives,” said Nguyen Viet Vi.

Mr. Vi shares red-fleshed jackfruit varieties and production techniques with people in and outside the province. Photo: Tran Trung.

Good news spreads far and wide. In recent years, Phuoc Thien Cooperative has become a familiar destination for visiting, experiencing reality, organizing events, and scientific seminars for teachers and students of institutes and universities in Ho Chi Minh City and many provinces and cities across the country.

Agricultural economic thinking

Mr. Nguyen Viet Vi confided that, as a real farmer, he understands better than anyone the difficulties of farmers who have a good harvest but low prices, and good prices but poor harvest. With the goal of sustainable development and adapting to the market, Phuoc Thien Cooperative does not stop at being a unit specializing in cultivating high-value fruit trees but also focuses on deep processing, gradually building a brand for local agricultural products.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Vi, founder of S'Tieng Farm - where the quintessence of Binh Phuoc OCOP converges. Photo: Tran Trung.

Accordingly, to increase the value of the product, Mr. Vi has devoted much effort to deep processing the product and created a "one of a kind" product such as dried jackfruit - one of the first products to be certified with 4-star OCOP along with other unique products such as jackfruit pate, salad, ham, jackfruit sausage with the main ingredient from jackfruit, these new products have been recognized by Binh Phuoc province as typical rural industrial products. "Deep processing of products not only helps the cooperative solve the problem of preserving agricultural products, but also increases income for members", Mr. Vi said excitedly.

In particular, inspired by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan's agricultural economic thinking, "if you want to go far, go together", as the Chairman of the Binh Phuoc Billionaire Farmers Club, Mr. Vi boldly stood up to mobilize members of the Cooperative and the Club to establish stores specializing in selling OCOP products, creating a playground for farmers in and outside the province, gradually bringing local specialties closer to consumers.

After many years of incubation, with the consensus of the Standing Committee of the Farmers' Association of Binh Phuoc province, the attention, coordination and support of the Center for Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion and the Binh Phuoc Provincial Post Office, on January 9, the Billionaire Farmers Club - Phuoc Thien Cooperative organized the opening of a store to introduce and distribute typical products, OCOP and regional specialties of S'Tieng Farm in the center of Dong Xoai city. Immediately, the store created a buzz, in a short time, the store gathered more than 300 OCOP products of all kinds from more than 100 partners from inside and outside the province.

In addition to direct sales, most products have QR codes to trace their origins, which is the foundation for S'Tieng Farm to digitize online sales. Photo: Tran Trung.

Holding the "sold out" dried jackfruit product in his hand, Mr. Nguyen Viet Vi said that in addition to direct sales, most products have QR codes to trace their origin, which is the platform for S'Tieng Farm to organize online agricultural markets via livestream. At the same time, S'Tieng Farm has completely applied the sales management method using software, helping with internal management, from import - export to sales, limiting the loss and discrepancy of goods. Along with that, taking advantage of electronic marketing channels, marketing, online sales on e-commerce platforms, websites, social networks, electronic payments...

“Thanks to the application of digital in sales, through a few “touches”, people can sit at home or anywhere and make online purchases without using cash, both fast and cost-effective. Up to now, this method has proven to be effective, suitable for the consumption habits of the majority of people. They are interested in information on product traceability, prefer clean, healthy products, and have a variety of designs...

The number of customers and cooperatives coming to S'Tieng Farm is increasing day by day, showing that S'Tieng Farm's development path is on the right track," Mr. Nguyen Viet Vi excitedly said.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh and leaders of Binh Phuoc province visited and encouraged S'Tieng Farm. Photo: Tran Trung.

Continuing the success, with the motto of connecting, harmonizing benefits, and sharing risks, on February 1, the clean food store named Cyber ​​farm continued to be launched in Binh Long town, breathing new life into the local agricultural sector.

Ms. Nguyen Thanh Phuong - Director of the Cooperative Union of Binh Phuoc province assessed that, in addition to improving efficiency through promoting and consuming agricultural products, digital technology helps cooperatives more conveniently learn techniques, research markets, and cooperate in production... This is an important condition contributing to gradually transforming traditional agriculture into modern agriculture, creating many opportunities to increase labor productivity, reduce dependence on environmental conditions, weather, and control epidemics. The change of Phuoc Thien Cooperative has contributed to the effective implementation of programs and plans for agricultural, farmer, and rural development of the province and each locality.

Source: https://nongsanviet.nongnghiep.vn/stieng-farm-noi-hoi-tu-ocop-binh-phuoc-d375890.html