Vietnam farmer takes dragon fruit global
LookAtVietnam – Farmer Thai Duc Duy is well-known in some circles as the pioneer of the country’s dragon fruit exports, which is now available in nearly 15 countries.
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On June 21, President of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and General Secretary of Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Choummaly Sayasone and his wife visited Duy Lan Farm and invited Duy to Laos to share his knowledge about dragon fruit production.
Duy’s achievements in producing and exporting the fruit have earned him status as a “Global farmer” by the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and other foreign experts.
He begins his story by saying, “I started from zero, then step-by-step I have reached the success I have today.”
“Before 1990, I left my native commune of Ham Thuan to start my career in Ham Minh Commune,” Duy said. “At that time, Ham Minh was known as the largest producer of this fruit. I bought and sold dragon fruit and became a secretary for a dragon fruit farm. I also knew that Taiwan bought tonnes of dragon fruit and then exported it to other markets under its trade mark,” Duy says.
“After learning about Taiwan’s exports, many questions went through my mind. In particular, I was wondering why our dragon fruit had to be known throughout the world under Taiwan’s mark, not Viet Nam’s. I was convinced it was the right time for me to act for my country and boost my country’s pride.”
Not long after he created the Duy Lan trademark, his first step was to buy dragon fruit from many farms to sell to small companies. In 1992 and 1993, these companies unofficially exported Viet Nam’s dragon fruit to the Chinese mainland, Germany and France mixed in with vegetable exports.
In 2003, backed by his strong will and many experiences, he decided to take out a loan to open his own farm. The 11-ha-farm in Ham Minh Commune, Ham Thuan Nam District in Binh Thuan Province specialises in producing clean dragon fruit.
“I faced many hardships when I opened a farm with modern facilities. I didn’t have enough capital or even encouragement from my family. They thought that my business was just an adventure and impossible to achieve, and that by pursuing it I might lose everything. Despite being under such pressure, I continued to do it for my future and for our country.”
Much of his success is owed to his fluent English language ability, which not many other farmers have.
Duy Lan Farm was founded following Eurogap standards for the certification of agricultural products. All of the farm activities, including planting, harvesting and packaging, followed the standards and procedures according to Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for conventional agriculture.
In July 2007, Duy Lan Farm received its Eurogap certificate and is now formally known as a Globalgap operation. Duy Lan was one of seven farms in Binh Thuan to earn this recognition.
“The process to achieve the Globalgap certificate included reaching about 265 standards. To reach all of them was really difficult, but I’m sure that it’s a reasonable way for Vietnamese farmers to expand the market and popularise dragon fruit to other countries,” Duy says.
As a result of his achievement, many export companies such as Hoang Exotic, PAC, BVF and Esaco have long collaborated with Duy Lan Farm to export dragon fruit to China and Europe.
In August 2008, the farm’s production process was closely supervised by APHIS, the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and other relevant agencies.
After some investigations, Duy Lan Farm was permitted to sell two containers of dragon fruit to the Son Son Seafood Processing Joint stock Company for irradiation and then export to the US. It was the first batch of dragon fruit exports to the US ever from Viet Nam.
In 2008, total dragon fruit production for export was 95 tonnes. Sixty-five of those tonnes were from the Son Son company.
After the suspension in exports this year, Duy Lan Farm resumed exporting dragon fruit to the US. Since May 5, 35 shipments have been exported by air each month to many countries.
“Even though the price of transporting fruit by plane is quite high, and even though how difficult the production was, my primary purpose was to introduce dragon fruit and even our motherland to the whole world,” Duy says.
He still has concerns about improving poor technology and mobilising other farmers in Binh Thuan to follow the modern dragon fruit production model.
“I have prepared new plans to upgrade the production process and I am conducting research on insect diseases with the Viet Nam Institute for Food Research. I continuously try to find ways to increase the sweetness and nutrients in dragon fruit, and aim to decrease inorganic substances in the fruit by 25 per cent. Regarding food safety, I intend to reduce the amount of plant protection substances. I expect the plan will be complete in about 5 years,” he says.
Nguyen Phu Chuong, president of Ham Minh Commune Farmers’ Association says “Although Duy is not originally from our commune, he came from Ham Thuan Commune, we are so grateful and proud of what he has done.
Besides his business, he has also helped other people learn more about producing clean dragon fruit. He has gathered more than 20 families to apply good agricultural practices.”
Chuong also mentioned that “Duy provided nearly VND1 billion (US$56,000) for the construction of a 2,5km road for the province and he donated money for the Poor Fund and other charity funds.”
“This road was built to help with dragon fruit production and to improve the lives of the local people. The road was previously fallow and covered by a stream. It was difficult for people to plant and for the children to go to school. When the road was constructed, these things improved. Now, there are about 100ha dragon fruit on both sides of the road. This is one of the happiest things I’ve done in life,” said Duy.
As a result, his influence has spread throughout the region. Binh Thuan Province grows an average of 12,000ha of dragon fruit with a total annual output of 220,000 tonnes per year. About 22,000 households grow the fruit and 200 companies and businesses are involved in its export.
Chuong said “Duy is definitely a patriotic, intellectual and hard-working farmer and we will never stop being proud of him and learning about what he has done for our country.”
VietNamNet/VNS
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