Changing the mindset of market approach for safe vegetable products

HA NAM In the context of a constantly changing market, if safe vegetable products want to have a foothold, the subject needs to organize production to sell instead of producing and selling.

Thanks to persistent development of safe vegetable production, over the years, Lien Hiep Safe Agricultural Products Cooperative (Thi Son Commune, Kim Bang, Ha Nam) has grown from a vegetable farm to become one of the leading cooperatives in the province in directly supplying quality vegetables.

Nhờ kiên trì sản xuất rau an toàn, sản phẩm của HTX Nông sản an toàn Liên Hiệp thuận lợi đi vào các cơ quan, trường học, bếp ăn tập thể. Ảnh: Trung Quân. — Thanks to the persistence in producing safe vegetables, the products of the Lien Hiep Safe Agricultural Products Cooperative have been easily distributed to agencies, schools, and collective kitchens. Photo: *Trung Quan.*

“Every day, the cooperative supplies vegetables to 12 schools, 4 canteens, 4 collective kitchens, 2 food stores and a number of units in Hanoi,” Mr. Pham Hoang Hiep, Director of the cooperative, proudly told us about his customer base.

When asked about the journey to his current success, Mr. Hiep shared that he and his wife both graduated as agricultural engineers and worked at large units in plant variety research and production. However, the dream of owning an agricultural farm prompted the couple to decide to leave the city and return to their hometown to start a business.

In 2016, with the capital he had saved, Mr. Hiep rented 5 hectares of fields from non-farming households in the area along the Day River to produce vegetables, tubers and fruits. With the knowledge and experience gained after years of research, he believed that if he produced products in the usual way, using chemical inputs, sooner or later the farm would fall into a situation of "good harvest, low price", completely dependent on traders, investment costs would increase when the soil quickly ran out of nutrients; the living environment and water sources would be polluted.

Therefore, in 2018, he established a cooperative and invested in building a 100m2 greenhouse to be proactive in seedling production and to conveniently apply safe vegetable production standards, VietGAP and technical solutions to limit the impact of the environment and pests on the commercial vegetable growing area.

For areas without roofs, he uses Japanese non-woven fabric, nylon film, installs water treatment systems, sprinkler irrigation; does not use pesticides, chemical fertilizers, prioritizes the use of composted manure according to new methods, biological products to control pests...

Theo anh Phạm Hoàng Hiệp, Giám đốc HTX Nông sản an toàn Liên Hiệp, sản xuất rau an toàn đã khó, giữ vững được còn khó hơn. Ảnh: Trung Quân. — According to Mr. Pham Hoang Hiep, Director of Lien Hiep Safe Agricultural Products Cooperative, producing safe vegetables is difficult, maintaining it is even more difficult. Photo: *Trung Quan.*

Thanks to the diligence and seriousness in each production stage, the cooperative's farming activities have been smooth. In the winter crop of 2019, with the support of the Ha Nam Agricultural Extension Center, the cooperative has built a cabbage production model according to GlobalGAP standards and successfully exported nearly 100 tons to the Japanese market.

By 2022, the Cooperative will continue to transform strongly in the production and consumption of safe vegetables when accessing the Project to strengthen the value chain of safe crops in the northern provinces of Vietnam implemented by the National Agricultural Extension Center and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Japanese experts and agricultural extension officers have supported the cooperative with new farming techniques, utilizing crop and livestock by-products to compost organic fertilizers, and improving marketing capacity and market assessment. Based on the advice of experts, the cooperative focuses on producing products that are in demand in the market to facilitate consumption and improve the brand, upgrade processing and packaging facilities, and directly supply products to users to control the chain and increase value.

HTX tận dụng chất thải từ chăn nuôi ủ phân bón hữu cơ theo hướng dẫn của chuyên gia. Ảnh: Trung Quân. — The cooperative uses waste from livestock farming to make organic fertilizer according to expert instructions. Photo: *Trung Quan.*

According to Mr. Hiep, the project is like a "magnifying glass" that helps the cooperative to see and deeply understand farming techniques and the nature of good production practices. Once they understand and master each stage, the chain will operate smoothly. The clearest proof is that in a limited area, the cooperative can continuously grow 20 types of vegetables, ensuring enough supply of quality products for partners and creating jobs for more than 10 local workers with an average income of 6 - 7 million VND/month.

“Along with the successes, there were many times when my husband and I cried because we lost all our vegetables. Safe agricultural production is difficult, maintaining it is even more difficult. In the context of unpredictable climate change, there is not much market for this product line. If we do not know how to seize opportunities and be satisfied with what we have achieved, we will fail sooner or later,” Hiep confided.

HA NAM In the context of a constantly changing market, if safe vegetable products want to have a foothold, the subject needs to organize production to sell instead of producing and selling.

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