One garden can create multiple income streams

A garden with more than just coffee

On the basalt-rich red soils of western Gia Lai province, more and more young people are choosing to stay in their hometowns and pursue a new approach to agricultural production. Instead of monocropping, they are boldly reorganizing their farms to diversify products, combining different crops and livestock. By making better use of their land and arranging crops strategically, they can harvest crops year-round and generate a more stable income.

The mindset of not relying on a single crop is helping many young people build sustainable livelihoods on their own land.

Standing in Hoang The Thao's 1-hectare garden, it is hard to imagine that the area once consisted only of an aging coffee plantation and a few low-yield pepper vines. Today, the same plot features coffee intercropped with longan, durian, and areca palms, creating a multi-layered garden that generates higher returns.

While working as the Secretary of the Hamlet 3 Party Cell in Ia Ko commune, the 1994-born man began his agricultural journey during a difficult period. After getting married in 2016, he took over his parents' garden. At the time, volatile agro-product prices and declining yields made traditional farming increasingly ineffective. Rather than accept an unstable income, Thao decided to change his approach.

In 2019, he cleared the old coffee trees and planted sweet potatoes as a short-term crop to generate capital for reinvestment. With little experience, he patiently learned from successful production models, studied farming techniques, and applied them in practice. After three sweet potato crops, he realized that sustainable farming could not depend entirely on a single factor but on a system. Thao thus redesigned his family's garden around diversified farming.

"Each crop has a different growth cycle and harvest season, so income is spread throughout the year. When coffee prices fall, our family still earns income from longan. Conversely, when the fruit trees are out of season, income from other crops helps keep production going. This makes our garden more resilient to market and weather fluctuations," he said.

He has expanded his family's economic system beyond crops by adding a bird's nest operation and an agricultural supplies store. Today, the longan orchard generates nearly VND 200 million a year, while the bird's nest operation brings in around VND 180 million.

The agricultural supplies store provides additional income while also serving as a place where he shares farming experience with residents. Meanwhile, his coffee and durian trees are still in the establishment stage and are expected to generate stable returns in the future.

"Farming isn't just about looking at the price of one agricultural product. You have to consider long-term efficiency. To succeed, you need to understand the soil and crops, master the techniques, follow the market closely, and invest step by step rather than chasing trends," Thao said.

Diversification to reduce risks and increase value

While Thao's model is a “colorful mix” of different crops, Nguyen Vuong Thang (1995), Secretary of the Residential Group 14 Youth Union branch in An Khe ward, has chosen to develop his family's farm into a closed-loop system that combines crop production and livestock farming.

Starting with just a few cattle in 2019, Thang did not rush to expand. Instead, he gradually accumulated experience while growing elephant grass, corn, cassava, sugarcane, chili, acacia, and various fruit trees. These crops generated additional income and provided a reliable source of feed for his cattle, significantly reducing livestock production costs.

On the family's farm of more than 3 hectares, almost no resource goes to waste. Crop byproducts are used as livestock feed, while treated manure is used as fertilizer for crops. This approach reduces production costs, improves soil quality, and benefits the environment. The closed-loop production model now earns Thang's family more than VND 300 million per year.

Once the model proves effective, Thang does not keep his experience to himself. As the Youth Union secretary, he regularly helps young people and local households access technical knowledge and financing, while directly supporting disadvantaged families in developing livestock production.

"Young people starting a farming business shouldn't invest too heavily before gaining experience. Start at a manageable scale, master the techniques, study the market, and then expand gradually. That's how you minimize risks and build a sustainable business," Thang said.

According to Vo Thi Thanh Tam, Secretary of the An Khe Ward Youth Union, the locality encourages young people to make the most of their land resources and apply scientific and technical advances to develop suitable production models.

"The model has not only helped Thang's family build a stable livelihood but has also created a positive ripple effect in the community, showing how effective diversified agriculture can be. He is always willing to share his experience, provide technical guidance, and help households facing difficulties develop livestock production," Tam said.

Vo Cong Hoa, Chairman of the Ia Ko Commune People's Committee, said Thao's economic model opens the possibility of sustainable diversified agriculture. Combining multiple crops has enabled the family to generate several income streams from the same area while reducing risks associated with market fluctuations.

$ 1 = VND 26,320. Source: Vietcombank.