Tran Van Hoi’s apple orchard (Tan Thanh commune, Go Cong Dong district) is an attractive tourist destination. (Photo: nhandan.vn)Tien Giang (VNA) - In recent years, manyfarmers in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang have changed their way ofthinking and doing, to improve their family's income and create high-addedvalue in the direction of shifting from agricultural production to theagricultural economy.
These farmershave taken advantage of agricultural products and home-breeding models toattract tourists to visit and shop for homemade products. Profits are tens oftimes higher than before, Nhan Dan (People) Newspaper has reported.
Creative models
The model ofagriculture combined with tourism of Doan Van Khanh in Song Thuan commune, ChauThanh district, is considered a typical example of changing thinking fromagricultural production to agricultural economic thinking.
With an area ofover one hectare, Khanh planted more than 200 wax coconut trees interspersedwith pomelos, some medicinal plants such as cloves, miracles, and moringa andraised bees as a source of tourism materials.
Khanh designedsteel bridges on the top of the coconut trees, forming an overheadtransportation system for visitors to personally touch, pick, take souvenirphotos and enjoy coconuts, to make a difference and attract tourists. He alsodesigned houses, fences, tables and chairs made from made from recycledmaterials, to create a difference.
During theholidays or weekends, Khanh's tourist destination welcomes hundreds ofvisitors. Visitors can enjoy free entrance, but the price of each coconutpicked is 100,000 VND. If a customer wins a wax coconut but does not use it, thegarden will buy it back for 200,000 VND.
At the sametime, visitors can enjoy rustic garden dishes such as coconut porridge, braisedcoconut rice, pomelo shrimp salad, coconut, and khot cake, along with cleanvegetables grown in the garden.
Dong Nghiagriculture cooperative (Tam Hiep, Chau Thanh district) has a new direction,linking tourism development with agricultural production activities.Cooperative director Le Khac Dong Nghi shared that initially, the establishmentinvested in raising 500 goats to sell meat, but it was ineffective, due tounstable prices and difficult output.
After that, theestablishment boldly sold all the above-mentioned meat goats and bought 300dairy goats, to process products from goat milk, serve tourists and supply themarket.
At 50,000 VNDfor a ticket, visitors will experience activities such as feeding the goats,walking the goats, bottle-feeding the goats, canoeing on the river, cyclingaround the orchard, and enjoying the food made from goat milk. Guests who wantto enjoy the typical dishes of the village such as grilled fish, braised whitefish with pepper, and shrimp, will be served.
According toNghi, the opening of tourism is to let tourists know and come to buy moregoat’s milk products. The entrance fee will cover the cost of labour and feedfor the goats. Profits from goat milk products are dozens of times higher thanthat of meat goats.
Tran Van Hoi'sone-hectare apple garden, in Tan Thanh commune, of Go Cong Dong district, isalways crowded with visitors, enjoying fruits in the garden, and the rusticdishes of the Southern region.
Hoi said that toenjoy apples right in the orchard with the fresh air, many customers visit thegarden and pick the fruits themselves. So, his family decided to invest in andrenovate the apple orchard to plant crops, dug a pond for tourists to relax bycanoe, and build a bridge over the pond to take souvenir photos.
On average, hisapple orchard welcomes 60-100 visitors per day. On holidays and New Year, thenumber of visitors buying apples, increased nearly ten times compared toweekdays.
In addition tothe above models, Tien Giang province also has several points made by farmersTrung Kien cluster (Tan Phuoc), Dien Lan eco-tourism site in Thon Trang (ChauThanh), Thien An green medicinal plant growing area (Go Cong Tay) and ThaoNguyen orchid garden (My Tho city). These are models that can link agriculturalproducts with tourism, creating high efficiency for the family and thelocality.
Encouraging more models
According to Directorof Tien Giang province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development NguyenVan Man, Tran Van Hoi's model of apple cultivation, combined with tourism, themodel of goat farming for dairy products, and the tourism of Dong Nghi dairygoat farm, is typical in increasing the value of agricultural products.
Farmers havelinked agricultural products with tourism, exploiting the potential andavailable advantages in the locality, solving output for agricultural products,and creating more jobs and income for people.
Moreover, thesefarmers also created impressive tourism models, connecting tours to touristdestinations, diversifying local tourism types, contributing to the developmentof the province’s tourism industry, and increasing the value of agriculturalproducts. However, these models are still small, while production and businessin the link chain are still limited.
According toMan, in the coming time, the province will continue to guide farmers and createa change in thinking about production and business, aiming at product valuerather than output target, moving from single-value growth to multi-valueintegrated growth, as well as supporting farmers to associate and cooperate inproduction and using the market as an input signal for production.
Assessing theinitial effectiveness, Deputy Director of the Tien Giang Department of Culture,Sports and Tourism Vo Pham Tan affirmed that these are new economic models inthe development chain of agricultural tourism products.
These modelshave brought positive effects, both promoting and creating local output for agriculturalproducts and creating new, attractive and environmentally friendly tourismproducts, forming a highly competitive value chain, contributing to improvingpeople's living standards and making certain contributions to the localeconomy, he noted.
For the abovemodels to develop sustainably, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourismwill guide localities to support organisations and individuals, in exploitingand developing tourism associated with agriculture; provide short-term trainingcourses on vocational skills and soft skills for tourism at these sites;promote close links between farmers, travel businesses, local authorities,tourism, agricultural and commercial management agencies, in the model ofagricultural tourism development.
To change themindset of agricultural production to a successful agricultural economy, it isnecessary to uphold creative and effective ways of thinking, for each citizen,to promote roles and resources in the community for a more prosperous life./.
These farmershave taken advantage of agricultural products and home-breeding models toattract tourists to visit and shop for homemade products. Profits are tens oftimes higher than before, Nhan Dan (People) Newspaper has reported.
Creative models
The model ofagriculture combined with tourism of Doan Van Khanh in Song Thuan commune, ChauThanh district, is considered a typical example of changing thinking fromagricultural production to agricultural economic thinking.
With an area ofover one hectare, Khanh planted more than 200 wax coconut trees interspersedwith pomelos, some medicinal plants such as cloves, miracles, and moringa andraised bees as a source of tourism materials.
Khanh designedsteel bridges on the top of the coconut trees, forming an overheadtransportation system for visitors to personally touch, pick, take souvenirphotos and enjoy coconuts, to make a difference and attract tourists. He alsodesigned houses, fences, tables and chairs made from made from recycledmaterials, to create a difference.
During theholidays or weekends, Khanh's tourist destination welcomes hundreds ofvisitors. Visitors can enjoy free entrance, but the price of each coconutpicked is 100,000 VND. If a customer wins a wax coconut but does not use it, thegarden will buy it back for 200,000 VND.
At the sametime, visitors can enjoy rustic garden dishes such as coconut porridge, braisedcoconut rice, pomelo shrimp salad, coconut, and khot cake, along with cleanvegetables grown in the garden.
Dong Nghiagriculture cooperative (Tam Hiep, Chau Thanh district) has a new direction,linking tourism development with agricultural production activities.Cooperative director Le Khac Dong Nghi shared that initially, the establishmentinvested in raising 500 goats to sell meat, but it was ineffective, due tounstable prices and difficult output.
After that, theestablishment boldly sold all the above-mentioned meat goats and bought 300dairy goats, to process products from goat milk, serve tourists and supply themarket.
At 50,000 VNDfor a ticket, visitors will experience activities such as feeding the goats,walking the goats, bottle-feeding the goats, canoeing on the river, cyclingaround the orchard, and enjoying the food made from goat milk. Guests who wantto enjoy the typical dishes of the village such as grilled fish, braised whitefish with pepper, and shrimp, will be served.
According toNghi, the opening of tourism is to let tourists know and come to buy moregoat’s milk products. The entrance fee will cover the cost of labour and feedfor the goats. Profits from goat milk products are dozens of times higher thanthat of meat goats.
Tran Van Hoi'sone-hectare apple garden, in Tan Thanh commune, of Go Cong Dong district, isalways crowded with visitors, enjoying fruits in the garden, and the rusticdishes of the Southern region.
Hoi said that toenjoy apples right in the orchard with the fresh air, many customers visit thegarden and pick the fruits themselves. So, his family decided to invest in andrenovate the apple orchard to plant crops, dug a pond for tourists to relax bycanoe, and build a bridge over the pond to take souvenir photos.
On average, hisapple orchard welcomes 60-100 visitors per day. On holidays and New Year, thenumber of visitors buying apples, increased nearly ten times compared toweekdays.
In addition tothe above models, Tien Giang province also has several points made by farmersTrung Kien cluster (Tan Phuoc), Dien Lan eco-tourism site in Thon Trang (ChauThanh), Thien An green medicinal plant growing area (Go Cong Tay) and ThaoNguyen orchid garden (My Tho city). These are models that can link agriculturalproducts with tourism, creating high efficiency for the family and thelocality.
Encouraging more models
According to Directorof Tien Giang province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development NguyenVan Man, Tran Van Hoi's model of apple cultivation, combined with tourism, themodel of goat farming for dairy products, and the tourism of Dong Nghi dairygoat farm, is typical in increasing the value of agricultural products.
Farmers havelinked agricultural products with tourism, exploiting the potential andavailable advantages in the locality, solving output for agricultural products,and creating more jobs and income for people.
Moreover, thesefarmers also created impressive tourism models, connecting tours to touristdestinations, diversifying local tourism types, contributing to the developmentof the province’s tourism industry, and increasing the value of agriculturalproducts. However, these models are still small, while production and businessin the link chain are still limited.
According toMan, in the coming time, the province will continue to guide farmers and createa change in thinking about production and business, aiming at product valuerather than output target, moving from single-value growth to multi-valueintegrated growth, as well as supporting farmers to associate and cooperate inproduction and using the market as an input signal for production.
Assessing theinitial effectiveness, Deputy Director of the Tien Giang Department of Culture,Sports and Tourism Vo Pham Tan affirmed that these are new economic models inthe development chain of agricultural tourism products.
These modelshave brought positive effects, both promoting and creating local output for agriculturalproducts and creating new, attractive and environmentally friendly tourismproducts, forming a highly competitive value chain, contributing to improvingpeople's living standards and making certain contributions to the localeconomy, he noted.
For the abovemodels to develop sustainably, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourismwill guide localities to support organisations and individuals, in exploitingand developing tourism associated with agriculture; provide short-term trainingcourses on vocational skills and soft skills for tourism at these sites;promote close links between farmers, travel businesses, local authorities,tourism, agricultural and commercial management agencies, in the model ofagricultural tourism development.
To change themindset of agricultural production to a successful agricultural economy, it isnecessary to uphold creative and effective ways of thinking, for each citizen,to promote roles and resources in the community for a more prosperous life./.
VNA
