Starting a business with good agricultural practices

Bring GAP products to consumers

Tam Huong One Commune – One Product (OCOP) store that is owned by Phuc Thi Lan Huong’s family and located in the heart of Tuyen Quang city is always crowded with customers.  Tuyen Quang’s OCOP products rated three or four stars such as Hong Thai Shan Tuyet tea, Minh Huong duck, Da Vi vermicelli, Phong Tho honey are abundant here.

Huong said she was a woman of the Tay ethnic group coming from the mountainous district of Na Hang. Farmers in her hometown have still kept the traditional farming practices. From growing vegetables to fruits, they did not overuse pesticides. Livestock like pigs and cattle were generally free ranging in the forests or in the backyard gardens. Therefore, food produced here was safe and clean.

Although these agricultural products were of good quality they were not sold well because local farmers didn’t know how to connect to a stable market. From that Huong came up with opening a store in Tuyen Quang city to help farmers sell their products which were grown meeting the standards of good agricultural practices.

In early 2020 Tam Huong OCOP store was opened. At the beginning, there were few customers coming to buy the products because people didn’t understand what OCOP products were and why the prices of OCOP products were more expensive than normal ones. However consumers have gradually got used to buying and accepting the products of good agriculture practices (GAP)

To ensure a stable supply of GAP products for consumers, Huong has signed contracts with agricultural and forestry cooperatives in the provinces that are producing stars-rated OCOP products. Accompanying with her, many OCOP entities have actively sold their products at lower prices than their value in order to make these products become popular to consumers then they could understand what OCOP products were, creating a habit of using stars-rated OCOP agricultural products.

Huong’s family has so far had two stores displaying and selling OCOP products in Tuyen Quang city. Seven-teen four-stars OCOP products and many three-stars OCOP products from all districts in the province are available at the stores. Besides, the stores are also displaying around 30 OCOP products originated from the provinces of Thai Nguyen, Cao Bang, Nam Dinh, Bac Kan and Hanoi city.

Tam Huong OCOP stores have accompanied with Tuyen Quang farmers during the Covid-19 pandemic, helping them with selling farm produce such as longans, custard apples and vegetables. Tam Huong has bought the products at contracted price. It has also paid all costs for loaders, transportation. During the pandemic, the shop has helped local farmers sell 500-700 tons of custard apple and longan in addition to 13 tons of winter melon, pumpkin, corn and pear shaped melon grown in Yen Nghia commune (Chiem Hoa district) where Covid-19 community cases were reported.

Ma Thi Nha Phuong living in sub-quarter No.4, Y La ward, Tuyen Quang city said in the past, she often thought OCOP products were very expensive but in fact the prices were reasonable. Some products like Ham Yen oranges or Phong Tho honey were even cheaper than those sold in the traditional market. The most prominent feature of OCOP products is that the products have clear information, fixed prices so that housewives like her are now no longer worried about the quality and prices.

Dream of organic farming

Also in 2020, Huong’s family invested in building an organic farm raising black pigs and growing fruits and vegetables on an area of three hectares in the mountainous district of Na Hang, her hometown. She started the farm with the desire to create a linked chain from farm to store and super market.

Due to a long distance from her home to the farm, her family traveled more than 100 kilometers to visit the farm every weekend. The rest of the week she hired two employees to look after and take care of the farm.

There are now 100 black pigs, 500 chickens, 200 ducks and Siamese ducks and 1,000 quails raised at her farm. Huong said she used indigenous breeds of pig and poultry. These breeds not only have good resistance, tasty meat but also have high and stable prices in the market.  

One of Huong’s advantages when starting a business in agriculture is that a member of her family is an agricultural engineer so that for all problems relating to animal health or disease prevention and control she can get a careful and better advice. Thanks to that animals raised at her farm are very seldom attacked by diseases.

Although the farm has been in operation for nearly 4 months so far, she started enjoying the fruits. Her family’s chickens are laying from 300-500 eggs per week on average. Other animals here will be harvested in two or three months then it will be easy for her to calculate profit and loss.

In January 2021, Tam Huong Agricultural Cooperative was born, contributing to enhancing the prestige and brand of Huong’s farm products. The cooperative set up a strategy of developing an organic farm with the goal to get OCOP stars for the products.

Huong shared a lot of difficulties were waiting for her ahead when she pursued the method of good agricultural practices. However the more she did the more passionate she felt. She desires of forming a chain of OCOP stores and there will be a store of that type in every district of Tuyen Quang province.

Head of Sub-Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Tuyen Quang province Nguyen Van Thuan said a survey showed that Tuyen Quang’s agricultural products still accounted for a majority of food products sold in stores and wholesale markets in the province. However only a small number of the local farm products were put up for sale at large supermarkets.

Consumers are making a habit of buying safe and healthy food products that may be more expensive than normal ones. This is the premise, creating favorable conditions for the businesses trading GAP products like Huong’s family to take off.

Tam Huong OCOP Store is an important channel that is promoting and introducing Tuyen Quang agricultural products to consumers inside and outside the province.