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Tran Huy Duong - Love for the land of thousands of flowers

Anh Dao - KT: Hong Toai • DNUM_AEZAJZCACF 16:37

In Lam Dong, Mr. Tran Huy Duong is one of the pioneers in applying high-tech agriculture and smart agriculture to production. Now, with two large farms and a coffee shop, he continues to learn and apply new technologies, true to the title he calls himself on his personal Facebook page: old technology farmer.

Content:Cherry /Technique:Hong Toai• 04/09/2025

With fertile land and favorable natural conditions, Da Lat city (old) is a great place to start an agricultural business. Seeing this potential, more than 20 years ago, Mr. Tran Huy Duong gave up his position as head of department at Lam Dong Post Office, returned to the gardens, attached himself to flowers, and laid the first bricks for Lang Biang farm.

Farming is not easy for an outsider like him. Therefore, he has found every way to learn. He has learned from books, from the Internet, from friends, from farmers, from experts. He has visited all the most famous flower growing countries in the world: the Netherlands, Israel, Spain, Japan, and from each place he has collected a little bit of knowledge to apply to his farm.

Step by step, Mr. Duong learned and explored, enriching his knowledge through each flower season. He chose a different path, which was to grow and supply the market with the newest and most unique flower varieties. He was the pioneer in importing and growing all kinds of lisianthus, carnations, lilies, and later Japanese chrysanthemums, ranunculus, single hydrangeas, baby stars, daffodils, etc.

From an outsider, he became one of the most successful people in the flower growing profession here, holding the position of Chairman of the Dalat Flower Association for two consecutive terms, from 2009 to 2013.

But to achieve that success, he had to go through bitter failures. There were some crops of lilies that were ready to be harvested, but just a few days before, a tornado came and blew away the greenhouse and the flowers. That year, he lost everything. Then, one year, he sold the same lilies to Hanoi. On the evening of the 29th of Tet, when he received the goods, the customer responded that the lilies were too young, afraid they would not bloom in time for Tet. With his experience, he knew that the lilies would bloom in time, but he decided to give the victory to the customer, accepted a refund and hired someone to transport the flowers to the plane to sell in Saigon.

He shared:People say that farming is full of ups and downs, full of emotions, full of risks. That is absolutely true. I sell flowers, I sell beauty, I sell emotions, and I am willing to exchange, return, and refund customers immediately, thereby building a solid position in the market for Lang Biang Farm.

Having succeeded with flowers, he continued to grow vegetables. And his vegetable farm was also built with a philosophy of making a difference, which is to be a pioneer in applying high technology to production. More than 10 years ago, LangBiang Farm Company Limited was recognized as a high-tech agricultural enterprise by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, now the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

Lang Biang Farm's export vegetable farm is over 20 hectares wide in Lac Duong commune, Lam Dong province, and is planned spaciously with large traffic routes. Every day, nearly 100 workers work here, taking care of and harvesting more than a dozen types of high-quality vegetables, exporting to markets such as Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, etc. Vegetables are grown using the recirculating hydroponic method, automating all stages from pumping water, mixing, and adjusting the amount of nutrients. To ensure export standards, vegetables are protected from pests by greenhouses, sticky traps, lights, and fumigating fans, etc.

In particular, the farm installs smart sensors, connects and automatically controls over the network throughout the production process, also known as IoT technology.

While showing us around the farm, Mr. Duong explained:The farm has a motorized shading system and sensor systems. When the temperature is high or the weather is harsh, the sensor will control the fan system to run, the black net system will also be pulled out, creating the best microclimate for the plants. Irrigation and nutrition are also completely automatic. This entire system is controlled from the farm's central software. That is agriculture 4.0, or smart farm.

Over 20 years, from nothing to a farmer worth hundreds of billions, Mr. Duong has been constantly searching for new directions. Green Box Coffee Shop was born more than 7 years ago, when he realized the potential of agricultural tourism. The shop is located on Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Street, Lang Biang Ward - Da Lat, is a combination of a relaxing and chatting space and gardens with all kinds of flowers, vegetables and fruits. Visitors can freely visit, explore and learn how to grow and care for typical plants such as tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries... in a new and very familiar green space.

Once a month, at Green Box, an organic agricultural fair is held with the participation of many farms. The idea of ​​establishing this fair came from a group of young foreigners and was wholeheartedly supported by Mr. Duong. The new generation of farmers came here with all respect and eagerness to learn.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Hanh, owner of a small booth at the Fair said:This place is great for everyone, we come here not only to sell but also to exchange and learn experiences from everyone, from Mr. Duong...

He gained that spirit of openness and sharing from the times he learned from his predecessors, who guided him in his first steps. Today, when he has become an experienced “old farmer”, he wants to pass it on to the younger generation, those who practice agriculture properly.“I consider myself a pioneer, and I want Vietnamese agriculture to develop, so I am willing to share with everyone my experiences, my valuable lessons, for a sustainable and in-depth Vietnamese agriculture.”

From his love for the land of thousands of flowers, from his aspiration towards a modern and sustainable agriculture, Mr. Tran Huy Duong created Lang Biang Farm with his own mark, beautifying the image of Nghe people everywhere.