Huynh Bao Diep (left) in his garden with Nguyen Huu Khuc, vice chairman of Hoai An District People's Committee. (Photo: dantri.com.vn)Binh Dinh (VNS/VNA) - Despite hardshipsalong the way, perseverance has brought a young man success in developing ahigh-tech farming project in his hometown in Binh Dinh province.
Huynh Bao Diep, 32, from Tang at Ho town, Hoai An district, had a stable job in HCM City ingraphic design after graduating from university.
Though he had what many graduates would call a dream job, hequit and moved back to his hometown to work as a farmer, Dan Tri online newspaper reported.
Diep said that he heard someone in Quang Ngai province has succeeded in growing lilies -a flower thought to grow in only temperate climatic gardens.
He decided to go to Da Lat city, Lam Dong province, the most famous flower growingplace in Vietnam, to learn how to grow lilies.
In 2012, Diep asked his parents for 20 million VND to invest in growing liliesto sell for Tet(Lunar New Year) festival.
Though he had some experience from learning growing lilies in Da Lat city for a few months, he failed in hishometown.
Undeterred, he went back to Da Lat to try again. He went to prestigious gardeners to findanswers for his past failures.
"I failed by trying to apply the process of growingflowers in Da Lat city tomy hometown while the climate in the two places was completely different,"Diep said.
"It takes 80 days to grow lilies in Da Lat, while in thehot weather in Hoai An district, it's shorted to 60 days and thecare must be different also."
After research, in 2014, he planted 700 lily pots to sell atTet andgained initial success.
Diep earned 100 million VND from that crop after deducting allexpenses.
Then he rented more land to scale up by building a net housefor farming. But success has not come to him yet.
Lilies are very sensitive to the weather and they needsuitable care, depending on the climate of each region, to help plants growwell.
After facing many failures, Diep gained more experience andskill to care for lilies.
In 2016, he expanded production with 4,000 pots of lilies toearn money to build a greenhouse.
That year, the lilies grew very well but floods destroyedeverything he had work for.
He once again tried to rise up from the ashes to continue hisbusiness.
In recent years, growing lilies has brought profits to him.He has expanded production and gone to high-tech farming on 5ha.
Currently, besides growing lilies for Tet, Diep also plants babycucumber, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, watermelon and cherry tomatoes via a dripirrigation method.
Since the end of 2018, some of his products have been sold inlocal markets and other provinces.
To reach long-term development, Diep is preparing proceduresto register for product protection and an origin-tracing stamp.
The origin-tracing stamp will enhance consumers’ trust inproducts, Diep said.
“In addition to reliable quality, my products attract manycustomers as the transportation cost from Binh Dinh province to northern provincesis lower than buying goods from the south. Moreover, short-distance transportalso helps the products be better preserved,” he said.
Diep built a greenhouse system on 2,000sq.m to growcantaloupe melons and other fruits and vegetables.
For cantaloupe melons alone, on 1,000sq.m, he harvests fourtimes per year. The profits made up nearly 60 percent of the total takings.
By the end of this year, he plans to build a store to sellhis products in Tang Bat Ho town and link with other retail shops toboost consumption in the province and Da Nang city.
"When I left HCM City to return to my hometown to dofarming, many said it was crazy," Diep said.
"They said I did not have any knowledge aboutagriculture and high-tech farming. At that time, everyone thought I woulddefinitely fail, but the reality was different."
"The road ahead is still long, but I am confident I willgain good results. If you love your job, are dedicated to your job and with theright amount of effort and determination, everything is possible," Diepsaid./.
VNA
