Proactively seizing new opportunities, Mr. Kim Van Dung and members of Dung Tien Agricultural Cooperative in Moc Chau town, Son La province have earned more than 100 billion VND each year from the model of growing off-season vegetables, tubers and fruits.
Following the instructions of Mr. Luong Tien Quynh - Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Moc Chau town, we met Mr. Kim Van Dung (born in 1965) - Director of Dung Tien Agricultural Cooperative (residential group 83, Van Son ward). At the age of 60, Mr. Dung is operating and developing Dung Tien Agricultural Cooperative with 18 members, not to mention hundreds of households participating in production linkage.
This is the "sweet fruit" after many years of Mr. Dung struggling and trying to find outlets for local agricultural products.
Harvest sweet fruit by choosing a difficult path
"I was born in My Duc district, Hanoi. The vegetable and fruit gardens along the Red River have been with me since I was a child" - Mr. Dung recalls his journey into agriculture.
In 1984, Mr. Dung went to Son La to start a business, working as a tea plantation worker in Moc Chau. In 2008, Mr. Dung established a tea production and processing cooperative.
Having lived in Moc Chau for decades, Mr. Dung realized that this place has many suitable conditions for growing temperate vegetables. After careful research, he found that the fruit and vegetable market still has many opportunities, so in 2016, Mr. Dung decided to switch to growing off-season vegetables.
Being a good businessman and having a voice in the locality, Mr. Dung convinced 8 more Dao households in village 83, Phieng Luong commune (now residential group 83, Van Son ward) to pool capital to establish Dung Tien Agricultural Cooperative. The cooperative focuses on growing temperate vegetables such as cabbage, lettuce... and tomatoes.
Mr. Kim Van Dung - Director of Dung Tien Agricultural Cooperative and members harvest off-season vegetables. Photo: TT
Dung Tien Agricultural Cooperative has 18 members, linked to produce more than 30 hectares according to VIETGAP process, including 5 hectares of greenhouses and net houses.
All beginnings are difficult, Mr. Dung soon faced difficulties in production, especially not knowing where to sell the harvested vegetables.
In the first few years of its establishment, the cooperative did not dare to expand its scale or cooperate with any households because it had not found a stable outlet. In addition, the yield of off-season vegetables was not high due to pests and diseases, making it difficult to cooperate with large agents.
"At that time, I received news that there was a foreign project that would support the consumption of agricultural products for local cooperatives. I immediately registered to participate. Thanks to that, our cooperative was able to access the scientific vegetable cultivation process and learn the organic vegetable growing model. We were also connected with many businesses such as Vinschool, NOVA, Dong Tam..." - Mr. Dung said.
Accordingly, more than 20 hectares of production of the Cooperative are grown according to VietGAP and organic processes. Vegetable areas are cared for, timely protected from pests and diseases, periodically inspected by experts and have been granted VietGAP certification.
Since then, most of the cooperative's vegetable output has been supplied to large agents; a part has been exported to Taiwan.
Currently, the main products of the cooperative are cabbage, tomatoes, chayote, pumpkin, green beans... Because they are off-season vegetables, the cooperative often sells them at high prices, for example: Chinese cabbage is purchased at 6,000 VND/kg; cabbage 9,000 VND/kg; cherry tomatoes 25,000 VND/kg (there are times when demand is up to 35,000 VND/kg, 5-7 times higher than the price of regular tomatoes). Tomatoes are also the product with the highest profit of the cooperative.
Mr. Dung confided: "Choosing the organic direction, we accept high input costs. In return, we can access large markets. The products are guaranteed to meet clean, safe standards, and have beautiful designs, so they are very popular with customers. Last year's vegetable crop, the cooperative earned hundreds of billions, with a net profit of 40 billion VND. My family alone earned 2 billion VND from growing vegetables."
Help ethnic minorities have a good income
Up to now, Dung Tien Agricultural Cooperative has 18 members, most of whom are ethnic minorities Dao, Thai, Muong... The cooperative has linked up to produce more than 30 hectares of vegetables according to VietGAP process; including 5 hectares of greenhouses, net houses, applying organic farming methods.
Last year, the cooperative invested in additional cold storage to process and preserve agricultural products, ensuring that vegetables are always fresh before being distributed to the market.
Mr. Kim Van Dung checks tomato products in the cooperative's garden. Photo: Tung Anh
Currently, all members of the cooperative have been transferred by foreign experts the process of growing off-season vegetables and organic vegetables; applying technical advances and digital transformation in the production and processing of vegetables, tubers and fruits. Members are cared for and have a good income.
Ms. Ly Thi Hai - one of the active members of the cooperative said: Since joining the cooperative, we have participated in many training sessions of the Farmers' Association of the town, province, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Moc Chau town, experts of the FAO project... on digital transformation, application of science and technology in agricultural production. Those who have gone to school will return to guide those who have not yet studied. Thanks to that, we know how to build greenhouses, net houses, use microbial fertilizers, organic pesticides properly and effectively...
Having been with the cooperative for many years, Mr. Ban Van Dong - a member of the cooperative proudly said: "With the care of Mr. Dung and the cooperative, we have had stable jobs and improved our qualifications thanks to going through systematic training courses. The vegetables grown are purchased by the cooperative at a much higher price than sold at the market. Working hard, we can earn 500-600 million VND per hectare. Thanks to that, my family has saved quite a bit, allowing our children to have a full education."
Expanding the scale of development, in 2025, Dung Tien Agricultural Cooperative will continue to cooperate with Ta Vung Agricultural Cooperative to export agricultural products to Taiwan. The Cooperative will also cooperate with people in other villages and communes to jointly produce safe vegetables, organic vegetables and proactively source raw materials for export...
Talking to reporters, Mr. Luong Tien Quynh - Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Moc Chau town said: "Mr. Kim Van Dung is one of the good farmers of Moc Chau town; always actively applying scientific and technological achievements in production activities, taking care of the lives of members. Dung Tien Agricultural Cooperative operates effectively; actively and proactively in transferring science and technology. In addition to effective production, increasing income for members, the Cooperative also cares about helping poor households and effectively implementing social security work in the locality".
Source: https://danviet.vn/trong-rau-trai-vu-kieu-gi-ma-xuat-khau-thanh-cong-ra-nuoc-ngoai-htx-o-son-la-thu-100-ty-nam-2025031217554516.htm
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