Young couple quit their government jobs to go to Con Ma to get rich

Graduated with honors in Aquaculture from the College of Aquaculture in 2010, Mr. Ho Phuc Hoang (born in 1987) was accepted to work at the Nghe An Aquaculture Breeding Center (Nghe An Department of Agriculture).

With a stable job, he married his wife, Ho Thi Tien (born in 1990), who graduated from the College of Pharmacy at Vinh Medical University. At that time, she was accepted to work at the Quynh Bang Commune Health Station.

Mr. Hoang and Ms. Tien used to be civil servants but retired to become rich from farming. Photo: Quynh Thanh

However, realizing that many local young people were getting rich by taking advantage of the potential and advantages of land, Mr. Hoang discussed with his wife about trying to "take a risk to get rich", finding a breakthrough through farm economy.

At the end of 2013, both of them decided to quit their jobs at the agency to rent more than 3.5 hectares in Con Ma to develop a farm. At that time, Con Ma was just a wasteland, a place where waste was concentrated. Along with that, the scarce irrigation water source made the idea of ​​​​developing vegetable cultivation of the couple met with opposition from relatives and friends.

In early 2014, Mr. Hoang and his wife started to transform the barren land into an organic farm. To create a water source, they had to drill 4 wells and a system of 20 water pipes to regulate irrigation.

At the same time, the couple invested in building nearly 1,000 concrete piles and steel frames to expand the area for growing gac and medicinal herbs. After the first crop, gac and medicinal herbs yielded nearly ten tons.

However, the products could not find a market so they were piled up in high piles for composting, making the young couple bitter. Along with that, approaching organic farming with patchwork knowledge caused them to suffer heavy losses.

A small part of the farm land of Mr. Hoang and Ms. Tien at Con Ma (Quynh Bang, Quynh Luu). Photo: Quynh Thanh

The first failure was a valuable lesson that helped them realize that farming cannot be done in a rush, but requires careful consideration and calculation. Putting aside the psychological burden of a debt of nearly a hundred million, the young couple became even more determined to start over.

In 2015, when the district had a policy to build a pilot model to develop greenhouse vegetable growing technology, they immediately registered to become a pioneer household applying this method.

With the experience he has accumulated in the process of creating microorganisms to prevent diseases for livestock at the Department of Fisheries, and having a wife with solid expertise in pharmacy, Mr. Hoang decided to compost his own organic fertilizer.

After purchasing the original microorganisms, he used natural solvents from water, vinegar, sugar, etc. to multiply the microorganisms into large quantities. When he had enough microorganisms, he and his wife purchased agricultural by-products such as corn stalks, vegetable cobs, etc. to compost. This amount of fertilizer not only provided nutrients but also helped the plants fight against pathogens, especially fungi. Thanks to that, the vegetable area of ​​the farm had very few pests.

In mid-2015, the couple built a greenhouse system and automatic watering system. Along with that, they built an additional livestock area following VietGAP standards.

Overcoming many difficulties, Mr. Hoang and his wife's farm has now begun to take shape on a modern scale. Photo: Quynh Thanh

After 2 years of short-term use to support long-term use, the vegetable growing area, livestock area, and greenhouse area have been designed systematically and reasonably. The appearance of the land that used to be a wasteland has now become a fertile farm.

When the difficulties in production were resolved, the products from his farm were also welcomed by the market. In addition to conventional crops such as traditional vegetables and tubers, he also tested some new varieties of melons, cucumbers, etc. with good productivity and quality. Thanks to that, many clean food chains located in the province have agreed to purchase many products from the farm.

Up to now, it is estimated that each crop the farm has harvested nearly 6 tons of finished products, bringing in a total revenue of over 500 million VND each year. With the achievements, for many consecutive years, Mr. Hoang and his wife have received awards from the commune, district and provincial levels for their excellent production and business achievements.