Expand production, create jobs for local workers

Born in a lotus growing area, seeing that people could only generate additional income from local agricultural products, Ms. Pham Thi Bich Thuy in Dong Hoa ward wanted to change this. With a small initial capital of 30 million VND (of which 20 million VND was borrowed from the bank), Ms. Thuy opened a small workshop with 10 sisters to receive fresh lotus flowers to separate the seeds and lotus hearts and then sell them in small quantities at local markets or to acquaintances in Ho Chi Minh City.

The COVID-19 pandemic broke out, thanks to her existing connections, Ms. Thuy was still able to sell lotus, but at a slower pace, which affected the quality of the finished product. “If it continued like this, it would not last long, so I decided to invest properly in production. In 2024, I decided to establish the Dong Hoa Lotus Agricultural Service Cooperative with the aim of developing production and modernizing the agricultural economy with my sisters,” Ms. Thuy shared.

Workers of Dong Hoa Lotus Agricultural Service Cooperative operate a lotus seed dryer.

For Ms. Huynh Ngoc Chau in Phu Hoa 2 commune, the COVID-19 pandemic is also a memorable milestone, completely changing the mindset of her and her family. From being passive in regulating production, she proactively manages all stages. Ms. Chau said: “Before the pandemic, my family lived in Ho Chi Minh City, supplying vegetables from Phu Yen (old) to the city. When the pandemic came, the supply chain was interrupted, even family meals had to wait for each vegetable and kilo of meat. Seeing that this was not good, after the pandemic, my husband and I decided to move the whole family to Phu Hoa 2 commune to open Minh Truc farm. Directly at the production site, I can manage product input, packaging and transportation processes. For the distribution of goods in Ho Chi Minh City, I can manage with digital software. This new way of doing things helps my family earn from 500 million VND to 1 billion VND per year, creating jobs for 30-35 workers with salaries from 5-8 million VND/person/month”.

"The restructuring of the agricultural sector in recent times has fundamentally created changes in production thinking. In particular, many individual households and cooperatives apply scientific and technological advances to production, invest in processing, build brands and form closed ecosystems. The stability of these agricultural production models will create jobs and improve income for rural workers.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Thang , Head of Dak Lak Rural Development Department

Not following the old way, Ms. Huynh Ngoc Chau developed the farm according to the organic agricultural production model, which means cultivating in a natural way, using organic fertilizers and rotating crops according to the characteristics of crops and livestock. At the same time, she proactively manages output by building a separate ecosystem from production, processing to transportation and consumption. On an area of 2 hectares, Minh Truc farm has 60 types of vegetables, and has a factory to produce sugars including brown sugar, rock sugar, and molasses.

“To create organic fertilizer, I use molasses as food to feed microorganisms, then compost them with cow manure and rice husks according to the ratio and time. I also learn the traditional crop rotation method to ensure that the soil always has time to rest, recover, and ensure nutrients for the plants; implementing “strange soil potatoes, familiar soil seedlings” helps the plants to best develop their natural characteristics. Every year, the farm's products are tested at SGS Switzerland, Ho Chi Minh City branch to ensure that there are no pesticide residues before being released to the market. The transportation process is also scheduled: 4 am to pick vegetables and fruits in the field according to orders; 6 am to transport to the transit warehouse in Tuy An Bac and pack them, then bring them to Ho Chi Minh City. Here, the staff quickly receives and disperses to deliver the goods. This ensures that the products reach customers within the day,” Ms. Chau shared.

Ms. Pham Thi Bich Thuy invested 700 million VND to purchase dryers, packaging machines, stamping machines, freezers, etc. to modernize the production line. At the same time, build products according to OCOP standards. Currently, 6 lotus products have received 3-star OCOP certification at the provincial level, including lotus heart tea, lotus seed powder, fresh lotus seeds, dried lotus seeds, lotus stone tea, and lotus leaf tea. Two products, lotus root tea and crispy dried lotus seeds, are also being completed by the Dong Hoa Sen Agricultural Service Cooperative to register as OCOP products in the next round.

“To boost product consumption, the cooperative participates in trade promotion fairs, puts products on e-commerce platforms such as https://phuyentrade.gov.vn, ECOFARM-Pay… We also have our own website sendonghoa.com to introduce the land, people and product making process. Not only selling in supermarkets, every year the cooperative makes 2 orders with partners in India and Malaysia. Of which, the unit supplies 2 tons of dried lotus every Mid-Autumn Festival…”, Ms. Thuy added.

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/xa-hoi/202508/mo-rong-san-xuat-tao-viec-lam-cho-lao-dong-dia-phuong-6de0e9e/