Minister Tran Duc Thang outlines two key proposals for Que Lam Group

Science and integrity

On November 16, Minister Tran Duc Thang led a working delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to visit the organic agriculture and circular economy production models of Que Lam Group in Phu Tho province.

Reporting to Minister Tran Duc Thang, Nguyen Thanh Vinh, CEO of Que Lam Group, stated that after nearly 30 years of pursuing organic agriculture and a circular economy, the Group has successfully built an ecosystem comprising 15 member units. This includes eight organic fertilizer factories distributed evenly across the country’s regions.

Annually, these eight factories collect millions of tons of waste byproducts from daily life, livestock, aquaculture, processing, and crop cultivation. These are converted into raw materials for microbial organic fertilizer production, contributing significantly to the microbial organic fertilizer targets set by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

Notably, through research and practical application, Chairman Nguyen Hong Lam, known as the "Scientist of the Farmers" and Chairman of the Vietnam Circular Agriculture Association has successfully developed a training process for farmers. This curriculum focuses on organic agriculture and circular economics within a multi-value chain.

Hundreds of thousands of farmers across various provinces have been trained to spread these practices. Utilizing exclusive microbial technology from Japan, Que Lam Group and local farmers have transformed byproducts, once considered an environmental burden, into millions of tons of organic fertilizer. This circular economic loop has helped farmers improve soil fertility, provide crop nutrition, reduce environmental pollution, and ensure zero waste.

"Que Lam Group’s models are highly sustainable and completely unaffected by disease outbreaks, specifically regarding livestock, farmers can increase profits by 25-30% using the Que Lam model. Combined crop-livestock models increase economic efficiency by over 25% compared to conventional farming methods. Most importantly, these models are highly sustainable and completely unaffected by disease outbreaks," he remarked.

A prime example is Que Lam’s 4F (Farm-Food-Feed-Fertilizer) Organic, Circular, and Ecological Agriculture Complex. The development philosophy here revolves around the axis of Agriculture - Social Security - Environment. The complex includes zones for livestock, cultivation, organic fertilizer production, and animal feed production, as well as a dedicated training center for farmers on circular agricultural models.

Many leaders from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment have assessed the 4F Complex as a "major university for farmers" and a nucleus for human resource training in the agricultural sector.

The farmer training process established by Mr. Nguyen Hong Lam was described by former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong as a revolution that "leaves no one behind." Similarly, National Assembly Vice Chairman Le Minh Hoan affirmed it as an ecosystem aimed at the noble values of a responsible agriculture sector.

"From a small seed, Que Lam Group has grown into an organic agricultural and circular economy ecosystem with widespread influence. From a dream, Que Lam built a simple belief that Vietnam's agriculture can advance through integrity and science to deliver multi-dimensional value to farmers and society," Mr. Nguyen Thanh Vinh affirmed.

Many leaders from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment have assessed the 4F Complex as a "major university for farmers" and a nucleus for human resource training in the agricultural sector.

The farmer training process established by Mr. Nguyen Hong Lam was described by former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong as a revolution that "leaves no one behind." Similarly, National Assembly Vice Chairman Le Minh Hoan affirmed it as an ecosystem aimed at the noble values of a responsible agriculture sector.

"From a small seed, Que Lam Group has grown into an organic agricultural and circular economy ecosystem with widespread influence. From a dream, Que Lam built a simple belief that Vietnam's agriculture can advance through integrity and science to deliver multi-dimensional value to farmers and society," Mr. Nguyen Thanh Vinh affirmed.

Two proposals from the minister

After inspecting the microbial organic fertilizer production and biosafety livestock models, Minister Tran Duc Thang noted that the reality on the ground clearly reflected the contributions Que Lam Group and Mr. Nguyen Hong Lam personally have made to society, the country, and especially to farmers in many localities.

"On behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, I send my sincere thanks for these very kind and humane contributions. The efforts of Que Lam Group and Mr. Nguyen Hong Lam have provided the Ministry with important practical bases from a development model proven to be correctly oriented and effective," Minister Tran Duc Thang stated.

Based on these practical results, Minister Tran Duc Thang made two "very important" proposals:

First, he requested the National Agricultural Extension Center to coordinate immediately with Que Lam Group to summarize the models and fully evaluate the achieved results. Once the models are summarized and confirmed as correctly oriented and highly effective, the National Agricultural Extension Center must deploy them widely to the commune-level extension system.

The Minister noted that since October 15, the extension system has been transferred from the district level to the commune level. Across 3,321 communes and wards nationwide, each locality will have 3-4 extension officers. This workforce must be ensured full access to information and a clear understanding of the model to advocate for and encourage citizens, cooperatives, and businesses to participate in replication.

Second, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is preparing to implement National Target Programs on new rural development, sustainable poverty reduction, and socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas. These large-scale programs require many effective models and innovative approaches.

Given the clearly demonstrated effectiveness of Que Lam Group’s practices, specialized agencies within the Ministry should study them for inclusion in the implementation content of these National Target Programs. Simultaneously, funding support should be provided to expand the scale and maximize the efficiency of these models.

Respectfully acknowledging the Minister's direction, Mr. Nguyen Hong Lam committed to coordinating with the specialized agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to contribute to building an ecological agriculture sector, a modern countryside, and a civilized farming class.

According to the Chairman of Que Lam Group, now that the Party and State have positioned agriculture and the environment as national advantages and pillars, Vietnamese farmers can fully expect to build wealth from agriculture. They can enjoy the clean air of the countryside, protect their own health, and deliver value to the community.

"From Que Lam Group's value chain, we have been and are working with farmers to build a circular agricultural economic ecosystem. By placing people at the center and accompanying them to change perceptions, we join hands to build an agricultural ecosystem along the Agriculture - Environment - Society axis, developing sustainably together," Mr. Nguyen Hong Lam shared.