Building a brand of safe vegetables in Van Noi

Mr. Nguyen Van Hanh, the first Vice Secretary General of Van Noi commune Executive Party Committee accompanied  the delegation of the Vietnam Farmers' Union at the central level to visit the models of safe vegetable production in the commune, and excitedly said: Thanks to safe vegetable cultivation and safe vegetable production and trade services, all farmers in the commune have become well off and rich. In 2022, the average income of people in the commune has reached 79.25 million VND per year.


"Currently, there are no poor households in Van Noi commune. Thanks to the production and trading safe vegetables, many companies and cooperatives in the commune have the income of several billion dong per year. Many households even build villas and buy cars thanks to the production and trading safe vegetables," said Mr. Hanh.


Talking about the local situation, the leader of Van Noi commune said: “Van Noi commune has a long tradition of producing vegetables and crops, but because it was mainly produced based on their experiences, the productivity and efficiency were not high, the quality of life was low, and the people faced many difficulties.”


Since 1995, in order to implement the policy of Hanoi city and Dong Anh district on developing safe agriculture, farmers in the commune have been supported to invest in facilities, materials, and techniques to produce and sell safe vegetables. Therefore, the vegetables of Van Noi commune have a brand and have gradually developed.


"Instead of growing many types of vegetables on one farming area, Van Noi commune leaders gave directions to farmers and cooperatives to specialize in safe vegetable cultivation. Concentrated farming areas help people easily manage, care for, regulate irrigation water, and sell products.


Besides, vegetables cultivation brings job opportunities and a stable income, which ensure the good lives of farmers. Currently, the commune has planned to develop a concentrated farming area according to the model of a large sample field with an area of 110 hectares, accounting for nearly 50% of agricultural land in Van Noi commune," said Mr. Hanh.


Getting income of billlions VND thanks to safe vegetable production and trading

According to the leader of Van Noi commune, thanks to the methodical investment in growing safe vegetables, the income value has increased rapidly from about 37 million VND per hectare in 1995 to 610 million VND per hectare in 2022. Van Noi commune, which was a poor commune in 1995 with a poverty rate of 10.3%, has become a commune with a high income, with no poor households until 2022.


Notably, the farmers of Van Noi commune are not only producing safe vegetable but also promoting the services of safe vegetable production and trade.


In Van Noi commune, there is currently one traditional market and the largest wholesale market (covering an area of 2.9 hectares) trading vegetables and fruits in Hanoi, which consumes over 200 tons of vegetables and fruits per day. Currently, in this commune, there are 10 cooperatives and 2 safe vegetable trade companies with over 200 members distributing to more than 300 shops and kitchens. In 2022, many companies and cooperatives in the commune had a revenue of several billion dong per year.


Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen, Chairwoman cum Director of Ba Chu Cooperative that is one of the most effective cooperatives in Van Noi commune,  said that since 2016, the cooperative with150 members has specialized in producing leafy vegetables and operated under the Law on Cooperatives. With the mission of both doing business and linking safe vegetable production and trade with schools and markets in the local area, finding markets has never been a challenge for the cooperative since its establishment.


According to Ms. Huyen, at present, the cooperative has more than 30 diverse varieties of vegetables evenly grown throughout the year. Each bed of safe vegetables is meticulously fertilized by the members of the cooperative according to PGS (Participatory Guarantee System) standards (the system ensures the participation of households, groups of households, and groups of households for internal cross-monitoring), and the members usually record production diaries.


After being harvested, safe vegetable products are preliminarily processed and distributed to the market through traders, companies, and chain stores providing services to consumers. Therefore, each cooperative member household has a revenue of hundreds of millions of VND per year thanks to safe vegetable production and business.


Since 2019, Ba Chu Cooperative has not only focused on safe products but has also boldly registered to participate in the OCOP program in Hanoi. After more than 3 years, Ba Chu Cooperative has had 11 products with 3-star OCOP certification, including bok choy, spinach, kale, water morning glory, ect...


Discussing the direction of production development in the coming time, Mr. Nguyen Van Hanh, the first Vice Secretary General of Van Noi commune Executive Party Committee, said: "The area of cultivation land is increasingly narrowing because of the process of urbanizing. Therefore, the Party Central Committee, local authority, and people in Van Noi commune have agreed that promoting safe vegetable production and trade as well as improving the production value per hectare are the key tasks. At the same time, it is also necessary to increase the area for growing safe vegetables to 120 hectares, develop a number of areas for seed production, grow ornamental plants and flowers, etc. Besides, the commune continues strengthening and improving the quality of agricultural service cooperatives and trade cooperatives, as well as maintaining the brand of Van Noi safe vegetables.


After listening to the report and visiting a number of models of safe vegetable production and trade by farmers in Van Noi commune, VNFU Vice Chairman, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dinh, and members of the delegation highly appreciated the effectiveness of the safe vegetable growing model in Van Noi commune.


Moreover, both the development of models applying science and technology and agricultural production linked with trade have shown dramatic changes in the thinking and farming solutions of farmers, which therefore provide stable income for farmers, eradicate poor households, increase well-off and rich households, and contribute to socio-economic development. The VNFU Vice Chairman claimed that thanks to the survey results in Van Noi commune of Dong Anh district, the delegation has selected more data and information to implement the VNFU activities and the Farmers’ Movement and has replicated the effective models that support farmers' economic development.


The VNFU Vice Chairman, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dinh, also suggested that, in the coming time, the Farmers' Union of Dong Anh district should continue to call for resources, have policies on encouraging and supporting farmers that exploit their potential capacity, and boldly apply new agricultural methods as well as high technology in production in order to increase productivity and product quality, increase incomes for cooperative members and farmers, and contribute positively to the local socio-economy.