Married couple Nguyễn Thị Duyên and Nguyễn Đức Chinh at their GenXanh organic vegetable farm. — Photo zingnews.vn.

By Thanh Nga

Because of their passion for organic vegetables, Nguyễn Thị Duyên and her husband, Nguyễn Đức Chinh, decided to quit their jobs at the Việt Nam Academy of Agricultural Sciences to devote themselves to their organic vegetable farm.

Looking at the 2ha green field with many types of vegetables, it is hard to imagine that the area was almost a wasteland two years ago, and the couple overcame so many difficulties to find success.

Chinh has a PhD in biotechnology in Japan, and his spouse Duyên has a master’s in agriculture from Australia. They and two young colleagues established GenXanh organic vegetable farm after renting pieces of land from local farmer households in Hiệp Thuận Commune in Phúc Thọ District on the outskirts of Hà Nội.

“I was born in the northern province of Thái Bình, and my childhood was associated with vegetables. My work is also associated with them. I now work with vegetables after studying for a master’s degree, so I am happy with it,” Duyên told Việt Nam News.

Her husband Chinh said: “The issue of food hygiene and safety of vegetables is always acute. We aim to create fresh and pure products at an affordable price to serve more people.” 

However, their path was not easy.

During the first six months of running the farm, they built fences, dug ditches, built water filter tanks, made electrical systems, and built container houses to save costs.

All their accumulated capital was put into the farm, so the couple were upset when they suffered losses every month for the first year.

Struggling to do two things at once, in August 2020, Duyên quit her office job to focus on growing vegetables. In June 2021, ignoring an opportunity for promotion, Chinh followed his wife’s footsteps to become a full-time farmer.

GenXanh organic vegetable farm.— Photo zingnews.vn.

Their family sympathised with them, but others said what they were doing made no sense. “Doing all that studying just to return to work as a farmer!” people made fun of them.

The couple were often a little frustrated, but they brushed the sneers aside as the number of customers gradually increased and they started to break even.

A vegetable harvest.— Photo courtesy of Duyên

Natural advantage

According to Chinh, growing vegetables organically means eschewing chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Their farming revolves around nature, technology and indigenous living.

They strictly follow the 5 Nos: no chemical fertilisers, no chemical pesticides, no herbicides, no growth promoters and no genetically modified varieties.

Removing weeds and catching worms must be done by hand. If there are no seedling beds, they cut the grass with a machine and then use a plough to turn the soil.

Chinh said the notion that weeds are harmful to plants is not correct. When weeds are fewer than plants, they do not compete for light but have the effect of retaining water, avoiding soil erosion and keeping micro-organisms in the ground.

They absolutely refuse to burn grass, to avoid environmental pollution. After collecting grass, they leave it on the edge of the fields and spray micro-organisms into the soil to let it rot. After that, it becomes a natural fertiliser.

Besides the natural advantage, Chinh gradually applied agricultural technologies to the production process.

The first is micro-organism technology. He and his colleagues collect and breed indigenous strains of micro-organisms to quickly improve the soil, using strains of micro-organisms that have been isolated from compost manure and plant residues.

The farm’s vegetables are supplied to several clean vegetable shops, kitchens of several companies and individual customers. — Photo courtesy of Duyên

Chinh also uses automated drip irrigation technology to increase water usage efficiency, reduce weeds, and save watering and fertilising work, which he learned during his one-year training in Israel.

One feature of organic vegetables is slow growth, so to rotate quickly, Chinh uses a seedling nursery for shortening the cultivation time in the field, thereby increasing the efficiency of land use, ensuring the density of the plants and having seedlings ready in adverse weather conditions.

“We don’t grow vegetables in a greenhouse entirely because that inadvertently limits biodiversity,” Chinh said.

After two years of operation, GenXanh is certified to produce organic vegetables according to Vietnamese standards. The farm’s vegetables are supplied to several clean vegetable shops, kitchens of several companies and many individual customers.

The yield is about 30 tonnes/ha per year. The current yield is double compared to last year, and they are going from strength to strength.

“In my opinion, the most difficult thing is to create confidence for consumers. Producing organic vegetables is difficult, but selling them is even more difficult because organic vegetables don’t have good appearance and are at higher prices. However, we are also gradually gaining the trust of our customers,” Duyên said.

“Some of my friends used to run organic farms, but then they got bored and gave up because they worked so hard. GenXanh has had some initial success, but there are still many difficulties. Doing anything requires a passion for getting results. Growing organic vegetables is more difficult than conventional farming. If you don’t have passion, you will easily give up.”

Not only providing clean vegetables to the market, GenXanh also creates jobs for seven local workers, including people with disabilities. — Photo courtesy of Duyên

Not only providing clean vegetables to the market, GenXanh farm also creates jobs for seven local workers, including people with disabilities. They have worked here for 1-2 years.

In the near future, the couple will continue to perfect the production process so that it can be transferred to farmers and cooperatives. They are ready to share their experiences with local farmers. They also want to expand the production model to create more clean products at a reasonable price.

Compared to working at the state-run institution, it is harder for them because they have many things to do. However, they feel good now as they can do what they like and have more freedom at work. They are pleased with their new life despite the work it entails.

“Now, I am delighted with my decision to quit my job at the academy to set up the organic farm,” Duyên said. VNS