Many farmers in Long An have become "agricultural entrepreneurs" thanks to the application of scientific and technological advances and e-commerce.
Turn grapefruit garden into a "gold mine"
Born into a farming family, since childhood, Ms. Nguyen Thi Xiet - Director of Nhon Thanh Trung Agricultural Cooperative (Binh Trung 1 Hamlet, Nhon Thanh Trung Commune, Tan An City, Long An Province) often attached to the fields and gardens. However, her family in particular, and rice farmers in general, often face the situation of good harvests, low prices or vice versa. Worried about these difficulties, she began to look for many different farming models and "fell in love" with the clean grapefruit growing model.
Ms. Xiet recalls that in 2014, many people switched from growing rice to growing dragon fruit, but she decided to choose a new direction of growing grapefruit to create a stable output for agricultural products, avoiding the situation of supply exceeding demand.
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| Ms. Nguyen Thi Xiet boldly switched from low-yield rice fields to growing grapefruit and extracting grapefruit essential oil for business, generating income - Photo: Le Ngan |
"I converted 1 hectare of low-yield rice land to grow grapefruit. At first, family members were hesitant, because they were afraid that the grapefruit tree would not be suitable for the soil, leading to no fruit or small fruit that did not reach the required weight," she said.
However, thanks to the application of scientific and technical advances and determination, the grapefruit garden has developed well, with stable productivity and an average income of over 150 million VND/year.
Ms. Xiet added that her family has a tradition of making wine, so she came up with the idea of using grapefruit peels to distill and extract essential oils. After many trials, the first batches of grapefruit essential oil were produced and were highly appreciated.
The Board of Directors of Nhon Thanh Trung Cooperative boldly invested in an essential oil distillation system and produced and launched a number of hair care products to the market: Pure grapefruit essential oil for hair care, grapefruit essential oil distilled water,... which were well received by the market.
"Currently, the cooperative produces about 750ml of essential oil from 100kg of grapefruit peel every day. The products are sold on e-commerce channels and supplied to wholesale customers. In addition, we also process grapefruit essential oil," said Ms. Xiet.
Since Nhon Thanh Trung Cooperative expanded into grapefruit essential oil production, all selected young grapefruits were purchased, providing farmers with additional income. The cooperative’s grapefruit essential oil production also creates regular jobs for a number of local workers.
"The cooperative plans to invest in another distillation system to increase productivity. We are preparing documents to have the product recognized as an OCOP product, gradually expanding to other markets," Ms. Xiet shared.
New door for farmers to get rich
In today’s digital age, utilizing e-commerce platforms to promote and consume products has become especially important. Realizing this, Nhon Thanh Trung Cooperative has flexibly applied online sales channels and social networks to expand the market and enhance the brand value of local products.
In recent years, instead of selling in the traditional way at some retail outlets as before, the cooperative has now been supported to invest in computers to carry out digital transformation to promote, market and sell in the online environment. Thanks to that, the products of Nhon Thanh Trung cooperative are now available on major e-commerce platforms, including San Viet. After being guided and supported to carry out digital transformation, the cooperative has expanded its market and attracted many customers.
"The process of selling on e-commerce channels has helped the cooperative grasp customer information, control products, and avoid having to pay for warehouse and store space, thereby reducing costs. Therefore, the cooperative will continue to develop products on major e-commerce platforms and invest in advertising so that more customers can access the products," said Ms. Xiet.
Ms. Chau Thi Le - Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Long An province said that the province always focuses on advertising, trade promotion and brand building. This is not only a short-term solution but also a long-term strategy to promote the sustainable development of local agricultural products, while connecting domestic and international consumption markets.
In particular, the locality focuses on promoting the application of e-commerce to support key export industries, expand consumption for domestic goods and promote e-commerce development with hundreds of local products updated on e-commerce platforms; connecting supply and demand, exchanging and consuming products and services between businesses and consumers; supporting the development of online brands; supporting businesses to promote online sales using multi-channel marketing methods...
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| E-commerce platform San Viet - Screenshot |
To support local businesses, the Department of Industry and Trade of Long An province has cooperated with the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy, Ministry of Industry and Trade, to build the Long An e-commerce platform (www.hoabinh.sanviet.vn). This platform is part of the unified e-commerce platform ecosystem (Sanviet.vn), managed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
San Viet is an e-commerce platform managed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which has become a strategic distribution channel for OCOP products. Consumers can now easily access products with just a few simple steps. At the same time, features such as price comparison, promotions and product reviews on the platform have created more convenience and transparency in transactions, increasing buyer trust.
By leveraging e-commerce, local agricultural products not only save operating costs but also expand their market reach, from domestic to international. For consumers, they not only discover many quality products but also have the opportunity to enjoy attractive promotions and convenient shopping anytime, anywhere.
Source: https://congthuong.vn/thuong-mai-dien-tu-thoi-luong-sinh-khi-moi-cho-hop-tac-xa-366622.html
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