4.0 farmers of the West: The ‘green address’ and ‘red address’

This is a model that pioneers in applying the development of high-tech agriculture while taking the responsibility to protect the environment into consideration. It is the only place that provides such an abundance of root-grafted vegetables for farmers. That is Ecofarm Dong Thap Ecological Farm from Nam hamlet, Tan Thanh commune, Thanh Binh district, Dong Thap.

The “red address” of farmers

Ecofarm Dong Thap Corporation, established in 2015, is the first unit in Dong Thap to spend a large amount of money to import 30,000 m² of greenhouses from Israel (estimated VND 800 million for 1,000 m²) to initiate a greenhouse model.

Greeting us with a warm welcome, Mr. Tran Van Son, CEO of Ecofarm Dong Thap, gave us a tour around the greenhouses to see the vegetable grafting process.

“Ecofarm currently has 5 ha of local specialty crops such as Hoa Loc sand mango, green-skinned pomelo, and Lai Vung mandarin ready to harvest. The other 3 ha are greenhouses growing honeydew melons, cantaloupe, and many different kinds of leafy greens. And although it's only been a few years, root-grafted vegetables have already earned the trust of the locals thanks to their wonderful effects. Ecofarm now provides people with millions of seedlings of all kinds."

Walking for almost a kilometer, we then arrived at a greenhouse of 500m² wide, with mobile rigs filled with pots of 1-3 weeks old peppers and eggplants.

Responding to our curiosity surrounding the advantages and disadvantages of grafting, technician Vo Duy Phuong Thao, who is taking care of the new sprouts with her staff, said: "Grafted plants have the superior advantage of higher disease resistance and yield as well as longer harvest period. The downside is actually not that big of a concern: Normal sprouts can be sown in the field after one month of nursery, but root-grafting sprouts would take another 3 weeks to be truly ready for sowing. The cost is also slightly higher.”

As for the difference in yield, Ms. Thao shared that from the survey on farmers’ grafted plant models, the yield is approximately 1.5 times higher than non-grafted plants. It’s all because the root-grafted plants is is the result of two original plant sources that are opposite in characteristics but mutually complement each other's shortcomings.

“The rootstock is imported seeds, high resistance, healthy plant, but low yield, while the top uses local seed, high yield, but poor resistance, short harvest time which is brought here by the locals to place an order for root grafting. The grafted plants are stronger, so the harvesting period is thus lengthened.”

The “green address” of farmers

Leaving the greenhouse, we continued to follow Mr. Son to visit the fruit garden, fish pond, melon house, breeding area. And all of the places are well planned.

“The corporation’s initial direction is to develop high-tech agriculture models in combination with experience tourism. Our main focus is to produce green, clean and sustainable agro-products and at the same time be responsible for the society and environment. This is the reason why Ecofarm invests in processing agricultural by-products right from day one,” said Mr. Son.

And it was true: we were enveloped by the fresh and clear air surrounding this place. Even the microbial composting area we passed through had no signs of any bad or strange smell.

Mentioning experience tourism, Mr. Son explained that this is a combination of demonstration of the latest technologies in modern farming technology and activities for information, marketing, professional training support.

“During the experience trip tourists can observe production activities such as flower pollination, operation of water supply and automatic nutrition systems, honey beekeeping, flower breeding, and melon harvest. They can even participate in practical skills training courses such as cuttings - grafting ornamental flowers, collecting nectar and pollen, assembling automatic sprinkler systems, or studying hydroponic technology for leafy greens.

“Having experienced those activities directly at the farm, tourists will see that the time they well-spent is full of interesting and exciting things, not to mention moments of relaxation and peace, idly watching the Tien River while enjoying their favorite dishes brimming with the essence and taste of the homeland,” said Mr. Son.