Leasing 1,000 hectares, Vietnamese agronomist supports Cuba’s food-secured future

The promised land

“In agriculture, you must accept setbacks, like running headlong into a rock. What matters is whether you are resilient enough to overcome them,” Nguyen Khac Hoang shared about his more than 20 years devoted to the path of sustainable agriculture.

Graduating from the Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA), he once worked at the former Vinh Phuc Sub-Department of and Plant Production and Protection. With a passion for green, low-emission farming, he decided to start a business with Van Hoi Xanh Clean Vegetable Cooperative, bringing safe food to schools and industrial kitchens in the area.

His bond with Cuba came by chance. During a South American trip with friends, when everyone ended their journey to return to Vietnam, Khac Hoang instead flew alone from Venezuela to Cuba. He wanted to experience firsthand the land he had only read about. And it was there that he found the “promised land” he had been searching for. Determined to lease 1,000 hectares of land to develop agriculture in Cuba, Hoang established Viet Minh - Cuba Joint Stock Company (VIMICUBA).

In September 2024, during General Secretary To Lam's state visit to Cuba, Vietnam and Cuba signed an agreement on rice production cooperation. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (now the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) was assigned to lead the cooperation project, to support Cuba in ensuring food security for the 2025-2027 period. The highest-level commitment opened opportunities for entrepreneurs like Hoang to invest and test new models.

The Vietnam-Cuba relationship has been nurtured since the most difficult times of both nations. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1960, Cuba has always been the first Latin American country to support Vietnam in its struggle for independence and reunification. President Fidel Castro's famous words, “For Vietnam, Cuba is ready to devote even its own blood,” became a symbol of unbreakable solidarity.

Today, Nguyen Khac Hoang's dream of bringing green agricultural knowledge from Vietnam to sow the seed on Cuban soil represents a new phase in the over 60-year-long journey between the two nations.

Vietnam has limited land and a dense population, so securing production resources requires huge costs. Meanwhile, Cuba has flat, fertile, and pristine land. Hoang considers it an ideal place to develop food crops and short-term industrial crops.

But the promised land also comes with challenges. Cuba lacks supplies: even a single screw, a roll of electrical wire, or a pump nozzle is hard to find. Transportation is difficult, language differences remain, and economic policies still face obstacles.

Yet all of that is offset by the sincerity and hospitality he felt from the Cuban Government, the Embassy, local authorities, and the Vietnamese business community there. Recognizing a golden opportunity, Hoang did not hesitate but resolved to pursue a sustainable model on the other side of the globe.

Reviving water fern

When receiving 1,000 hectares of land in Cuba, Hoang did not rush into business. He began with something seemingly simple but fundamental: cultivating water fern (Azolla). On the first 100-200 hectares, he planned to plow, flood the fields, and release native water fern varieties.

For nearly two years, Hoang tried to restore water fern in his fields in Vietnam but without success. In the lowlands, water was often contaminated with pesticide residues, causing the fern to wither and biomass to decline. In Cuba, however, he found a water fern variety that could withstand temperatures above 40°C and grow year-round. He saw it as the “lifeline” for the sustainable agriculture model he had long pursued.

Hoang also viewed water fern through the lens of modern science. He had studied research showing that this small plant can absorb CO2 at a rate 8 times higher than ordinary trees. Combined with mechanization and scientific irrigation, a rice cultivation model with water fern promises to minimize greenhouse gas emissions.

Technically, Hoang plans to mechanize every stage, from soil preparation to sowing, spraying, and harvesting. In particular, he is collaborating with Mekong Delta enterprises to complete a “3-in-1” machine that simultaneously clumps seeds, applies pelletized fertilizer, and sprays pre-emergence herbicides directly on the rig.

According to Hoang, this technology can reduce fertilizer use by up to 30%, and throughout the crop only one application of chemical fertilizer would be needed.

In addition, he affirms that dividing fields into smaller plots helps regulate water more efficiently and simplifies management. Vietnam’s pure rice varieties will be prioritized for trials because they adapt well to diverse climates and are highly nutritious. As for materials and fertilizers, he plans to import from countries near Cuba to reduce transportation costs, while gradually establishing local fertilizer production.

On distant Cuban soil, Nguyen Khac Hoang is “reviving” the once-thriving wet rice culture. Water fern has become a symbol of the Viet Minh spirit: perseverance, creativity, and turning small things into great strength. It is the way he chose to sow the first green sprouts on the promised land.