Download your FREE Agriculture Investment and Farmland Investment Guide here
Farms that combine forestry, agricultural cultivation and animal husbandry have enabled residents in the mountainous districts of Phu Yen Province to survive and thrive on impoverished land.
The Phu Yen Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said these farms have emerged as a trend over the last decade.
The central province now has 2,682 such farms attracting a total investment of VND374 billion (US$18 million) and the farms have an average income of VND102 million ($4.9 million) a year, a significant earning for the poor province, the department said.
Download your FREE Agriculture Investment and Farmland Investment Guide here
The farms are concentrated in the districts of Song Cau, Dong Xuan, Son Hoa, Song Hinh, and Phu Hoa, where residents are growing commercial crops like sugarcane, cassava and acacia, as well as grass for feeding cattle.
The Nhan Dan Newspaper quoted Nguyen Dinh Hoan, chairman of the An Nghiep Commune Farmers' Association, as saying the farms have extracted high economic value out of 300ha of low-fertility land in the commune.
Download your FREE Agriculture Investment and Farmland Investment Guide here
Vo Luan of Ea Bar Commune, who engages in livestock farming apart from growing rubber, coffee and cassava on his farm, said he expected billions of dong in profit this year. "Each ha of cassava fetches VND15 million, while coffee yields around VND100 million per ha," Luan said.
He has 20ha and 11ha under coffee and cassava cultivation at the same time.
Another farm owner, Nguyen Ngoc My of Ea Ly Commune, who grows sugarcane apart from rearing cattle on 25ha, earns more than VND1.5 billion ($73,000) in profit every year.
Download your FREE Agriculture Investment and Farmland Investment Guide here
According to Ban Nguyen Ngan, chairman of Ea Ly Farmers' Association, the commune has 10 farms covering 2,747ha that grow sugarcane, rubber, coffee and cassava. The farms have lifted up the commune's economy.
Farm owners said they wanted local authorities to support expansion of the model to other families and localities in the province.
Download your FREE Agriculture Investment and Farmland Investment Guide here
Source: VNA