Farmers prosper through agroecology and community-based tourism

Opening pathways through green agriculture

For many years, An Giang Province has focused not only on increasing agricultural output but also on raising the value generated per unit area of farmland. Models of agroecology, circular agriculture, experiential tourism, and deep processing have gradually emerged, providing stable incomes for local residents. 

During field surveys of outstanding production and business models, as well as high-tech cooperatives, across various communes and wards, leaders of the An Giang Farmers' Association recognized many innovative approaches developed by farmers.

The Me Linh Gia ecological mulberry garden in Thanh Loc Commune, owned by Hua Truong Giang, is one of the stories frequently mentioned.

Visitors can pick mulberries themselves, enjoy traditional folk cakes, and taste rustic dishes made with freshwater fish and homegrown vegetables. Many families choose the site as a stopover on their way to or from famous tourist destinations in An Giang, such as Ha Tien, Phu Quoc, and the islands of the Gulf of Thailand.

Nguyen Thai Nguyen, a visitor from Can Tho, shared that his family decided to stop by the garden after returning from a trip to Ha Tien. What impressed him most was the cool, peaceful atmosphere and the familiar charm of the Mekong Delta countryside.

After just more than four months of operation, visitor numbers to Me Linh Gia increased rapidly. On average, the site welcomes around 400 visitors per day, while weekends and holidays nearly double that figure.

Thach Tung, Chairman of the Thanh Loc Commune Farmers' Association, said the model currently provides stable employment for around 30 workers. More importantly, it has opened up a new development direction for the locality by transforming agricultural production into a tourism product with much higher value.

Hua Truong Giang is planning to connect surrounding households to form a community-based tourism area. Under the plan, visitors would not only tour a single garden but also experience vegetable cultivation, plant care, harvesting agricultural products, learn to make traditional folk cakes, and enjoy local specialties. According to him, a countryside that preserves its cultural identity can become an attractive destination, drawing visitors from near and far.

Increasing value through deep processing

If Me Linh Gia tells a story of prosperity through landscapes and visitor experiences, then in Giong Rieng, Mr. Nguyen Tan Dau has chosen a different path: increasing the value of agricultural products through investment in deep processing combined with building a distinctive brand.

The Giong Rieng area is home to many households cultivating soursop. The crop is easy to grow and highly productive, but for many years, local residents mainly sold fresh fruit. Whenever harvests were abundant, prices dropped sharply, leaving farmers discouraged as a year’s worth of care brought only modest profits. It was from this concern that Mr. Dau began searching for a new direction for soursop products.

After multiple rounds of research, field visits, and self-learning production techniques, he decided to process soursop tea. The first batches encountered many failures: some were overly dry, others failed to retain flavor, and even when product quality improved, the packaging remained unattractive. Yet Mr. Dau persisted, continuously refining the process through trial and experience until the 2 Dau Soursop Tea brand was born.

At the end of 2021, 2 Dau Soursop Tea was recognized as an outstanding rural industrial product and achieved a provincial three-star OCOP rating. By the end of 2024, the product was further upgraded to a four-star OCOP rating.

What began as a small idea in a family kitchen has now become a brand recognized by consumers.

Currently, the facility sells nearly two tons of finished tea products each year, generating considerable profits. The products are distributed through e-commerce platforms, social media channels, specialty stores, and are also ordered by many organizations as gifts for holidays and Lunar New Year celebrations.

The combination of agroecology, community-based tourism, and deep processing is opening up sustainable development opportunities for rural areas. From organic mulberry gardens welcoming visitors every day to packaged soursop tea reaching broader markets, farmers in An Giang Province are proving that modern farming is no longer just about cultivation and livestock production. It also involves economic thinking, the ability to tell the story behind a product, building community connections, and applying digital technology, thereby creating sustainable pathways to prosperity for farmers.