In late August, it was not easy to meet old farmer Cao Van Hung (69 years old, residing in Tan Quoi hamlet, Phong Hoa commune, Lai Vung district, Dong Thap), because every day he visited the longan garden that was preparing to be harvested. The garden is 2.7 hectares wide, of which 2.2 hectares are planted with Thai jackfruit and 0.5 hectares are planted with longan.
Old farmer Cao Van Hung "changed his life" thanks to growing Thai jackfruit and longan
Mr. Hung said that his family was very poor and had no land to cultivate. When he got married, his parents gave him a small piece of land to build a temporary house out of trees and leaves. During storms, he was afraid that the house would collapse, so he had to take his wife and children to a relative's house for shelter.
At that time, although the local government said they would issue a poor household certificate, Mr. Hung refused because he saw many other people in more difficult circumstances who needed help. So he worked as a hired hand and went fishing to make a living. When he had some money saved, he and his wife switched to selling fish.
After many years of saving, Mr. Hung and his wife bought land for cultivation. In 2019, realizing that Thai jackfruit trees are easy to grow, have low investment costs, quick payback, and are suitable for local soil conditions, he boldly planted 2,000 trees on an area of 2.2 hectares.
Mr. Hung's longan garden is preparing for harvest.
Due to lack of experience, Mr. Hung worked hard to find documents, read newspapers, and watch news to learn techniques. After 18 months of planting, the jackfruit tree bore its first fruit.
Mr. Hung said that Thai jackfruit bears fruit all year round, but he starts processing the fruit from the 5th lunar month. The rest of the time, he focuses on taking care of and nurturing the trees. Each year, the Thai jackfruit garden harvests more than 40 tons of fruit, with prices ranging from 20,000 to 35,000 VND/kg. Thanks to that, Mr. Hung earns over 600 million VND.
In addition to the high-income jackfruit garden, Mr. Hung also owns a 5,000m2 longan garden. This type of longan has thick, dry and crispy flesh and is popular with consumers. "I planted 150 longan trees interspersed with coconut trees, and have harvested 2 crops so far. The first crop yielded 1.8 tons of fruit, selling for 35,000 VND/kg. This year, I expect to harvest more," said Mr. Hung.
From nothing, Mr. Hung has now built a spacious house, all 5 children have moved out, and his economy is stable. In the past, he has always been willing to support and provide free advice on planting and garden improvement experiences for gardeners who want to switch to growing Thai jackfruit and longan.
Mr. Hung planted 150 longan trees interspersed with coconut trees.
Besides gardening, Mr. Hung also actively carries out charity activities, such as: paving concrete roads in the hamlet, building 4 new concrete bridges, mobilizing gifts for students every school year, helping poor and disadvantaged households; mobilizing people to donate land to build rural roads according to new rural standards...
Mr. Tran Bao Linh, Vice President of the Farmers’ Association of Phong Hoa Commune, said that Mr. Hung is a good farmer in economics, accumulating knowledge through mass media. He is very sharp and innovative in cultivating fruit orchards.
With the results achieved in developing household economy and striving to get rich, recently, old farmer Cao Van Hung was voted by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Farmers' Union as one of the 100 outstanding farmers of the country, achieving the title of Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer in 2023.
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