Urban residents thriving with agricultural careers

Hoang Van Lam, a resident of An Lac neighborhood (Trau Quy Town, Gia Lam District, Hanoi), owns a small farming area that spans 3,600 square meters, a combination of his own property and leased land. However, Lam has successfully grafted and propagated 20,000 fruit tree seedlings of various cultivars each year, earning an annual income of 300 to 400 million VND.

Lam shared that during the prime of his farm (1996–2005), he had to produce seedlings on nearly 7,000 square meters of land to meet the high demand from traders. Consequently, his family was able to afford education for the children, built a modern home, and purchased various expensive household conveniences.

Lam’s journey into fruit tree propagation began with inspirations from the local Agricultural University No. (now the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture). He initially acquired skills in the trade through part-time work in the university's experimental gardens. He mastered the techniques of grafting and propagating fruit trees during the rapid expansion of the market for fruit tree seedlings.

Recognizing this opportunity, Lam made the decisive choice to convert nearly 3,000 square meters of his rice fields into a nursery for the most in-demand fruit varieties at the time, including apples and citrus fruits (oranges, mandarins, grapefruits). To his surprise, he achieved considerable success in the first year of his new venture, with seedling production efficiency increasing tenfold compared to high-quality rice production on the same area of land.

Motivated by his initial success and improving grafting skills, Lam continued to expand his operations by leasing an additional 3,000 square meters of land with the aim of increasing his seedling production scale. In addition to growing seedlings for apples, oranges, mandarins, and grapefruits, he diversified into lychee, longan, and mango trees. Subsequently, he passed on his grafting knowledge to his wife and children, allowing the entire family to master the techniques for propagating fruit trees such as custard apples, longan, lychee, guava, mango, avocado, durian, sapodilla, seedless persimmon, and various apple varieties. Consequently, Lam's fruit tree seedlings have been sold nationwide over the years.

To further increase income, Lam actively explored new technologies and propagated high-yield, high-quality, rare, and unique fruit tree varieties, including newly introduced varieties and those preserved in local regions. By targeting niche markets before they gain widespread popularity, he can sell seedlings at higher prices. Additionally, he focuses on cultivating mother plants and seed trees to create a reliable source of seedlings for production. On the other hand, he engaged in the trading of buds for grafting.

Whenever Lam learns about a new fruit tree variety, he makes it a priority to visit the source with the goal of acquiring either seedlings or budwood for propagation in his home nursery before producing and introducing his own seedlings to the market. Notably, in 2023, he traveled to Bac Giang University of Agriculture and Forestry to acquire a newly imported Taiwanese Dai Mat apple variety.

Initial trials in the first year of cultivation revealed that the trees produced large apples, with an average weight of 0.2 kilograms per fruit. Additionally, the apples feature a superior taste—crisp, sweet, and fragrant—compared to the commonly grown apple varieties in Vietnam. Although the fruit can be sold for as much as 60,000 VND per kilogram, Lam remains focused on nurturing the trees primarily for budwood production.

When asked about the challenges of fruit tree seedling production, Lam noted that the local authorities of Trau Quy town have failed to improve or rebuild the internal road systems, resulting in significant difficulties for farmers, especially during the rainy season. Furthermore, there has been a lack of initiatives to promote the establishment of cooperatives or cooperative groups.

In response to these issues, seedling producers used their own funds and efforts to improve critical road segments, thereby facilitating access for agricultural activities. The fruit tree seedling market has experienced a substantial slowdown in recent years, which has led to a decrease in sales and has compelled numerous local nursery owners to pursue alternative employment. Lam has taken on a part-time security job at an agency in Hanoi; however, after each shift, he returns home to graft and propagate fruit tree seedlings with his family, in preparation for a rise in the market prices for seedlings.

For fruit trees that require specific ecological conditions and cannot be cultivated in the Red River Delta, Lam must personally travel to select and acquire high-quality budwood from reputable production and trading establishments. For instance, he travels to the provinces of Son La, Lang Son, or Phu Tho to purchase budwood for the production of seedless persimmon. Similarly, he visits the Central Highlands and select provinces in the Mekong Delta with the goal of propagating avocado and durian.