8x guy went to Da Lat mountain town to cooperate with farmers to grow 100 hectares of organic coffee

On the afternoon of September 10, a reporter from Cong Thuong Newspaper had a conversation with agricultural "engineer" Bui Xuan Thang (36 years old, residing in Xuan Truong commune, Da Lat city, Lam Dong province) to learn about the process of planting, caring for, and harvesting dozens of hectares of organic coffee.

Agricultural "engineer" Bui Xuan Thang next to his organic coffee garden. Photo: Le Son

Mr. Thang said that in 2014, for some unknown reason, he thought about it and decided to stop his business with a stable income in Ho Chi Minh City to move to Da Lat to live and start a business in the land of tea and coffee, Cau Dat, with the agricultural profession of growing coffee.

“ Although I graduated from university with a major in Business Administration, because of my passion for agriculture, I used my small savings to buy a coffee garden from a household in Xuan Truong commune, Cau Dat area, Da Lat city to grow coffee, ” Thang shared.

To ensure the product meets standards, the coffee will be selected and picked at 100% ripeness. Photo: Contributor

Currently, the product is exported to markets in Korea, Japan, the US... Photo: Contributor

After having a garden, Mr. Thang started working and researching coffee varieties with high productivity and quality to grow. At the same time, he searched for output markets. When he had output, Mr. Thang gradually expanded the scale of production. Initially, he encountered many difficulties due to his lack of understanding of agriculture, especially how to care for coffee trees, so the trees were damaged by pests and diseases, leading to reduced productivity. But with determination and not being discouraged, he met with farmers in the area to learn how to care for and treat diseases for plants. He also researched documents on coffee cultivation processes.

However, at that time, coffee trees were still growing poorly, productivity was low, coffee prices were not high, so Mr. Thang researched and decided to switch to organic coffee production. He linked up with local households to convert about 29 hectares of old orchards to grow new coffee crops using clean water for irrigation to ensure safety and not using pesticides and chemical fertilizers. According to Mr. Thang, for the trees to grow well, he uses microbial and organic fertilizers, biological products, organic pesticides, etc.

By 2019, the coffee on the 29ha area had grown well. In addition, Mr. Thang received financial and technical support from the Lam Dong province's agricultural sector in developing organic coffee production and then it was time to "plant trees until the day of picking fruit" the 29ha coffee garden of the group of farmers led by Mr. Thang achieved organic agriculture certification according to Vietnamese standards.

Mr. Bui Xuan Thang is currently a member of Lam Dong Provincial Business Association. Photo: Contributor

Mr. Bui Xuan Thang said that the production of organic coffee has high productivity and quality. However, at first, the product did not have a stable output, so he had to sell this organic coffee to traders at the same price as regular coffee.

Not giving up and in order to have a stable output with good prices for organic coffee, Mr. Thang brought organic coffee products to many places, met many partners, many businesses inside and outside Lam Dong province to introduce the products. Starting a business, then a Korean business accepted and signed a consumption contract with a price 30% higher than the normal coffee price.

Since then, his reputation has spread far and wide. Up to now, all organic coffee products from Mr. Thang's garden areas have been known and purchased by many companies. Currently, he has expanded the production area, linking with dozens of other farmers in the two communes of Xuan Truong and Tram Hanh (Cau Dat coffee area of ​​Da Lat) with a total area of ​​nearly 100 hectares. In 2024, in addition to exporting to the Korean market, the products will also be exported to the markets of Japan, the US, Canada, Italy, Australia, etc.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Dai - Chief of Tram Hanh Commune Police - said that since the organic coffee growing model was established by Mr. Bui Xuan Thang in association with farmers in the area, it has brought about development and high economic efficiency. People are always assured to focus on farming, contributing to ensuring security, social order and safety for the entire Cau Dat coffee region.

Along with that, this method contributes to increasing the value of the product, protecting human health and the environment. The production linkage model between Mr. Thang and the people contributes to increasing income, creating sustainable development in the locality.

Currently, Mr. Thang is a member of Lam Dong Province Business Association and he has established a business (Cau Dat Bean LLC), creating jobs for 10 official employees with a salary of 8-10 million VND/month and dozens of seasonal workers with a salary of 6-7 million VND/month.

To ensure the product meets the standards, Mr. Thang's company organizes the harvest by selective method, picking 100% ripe fruit. After harvesting, the coffee will be pre-processed and transferred to the processing factory. The company currently buys coffee from associated households at a price higher than the traditional coffee price on the market by about 3,000 VND/kg.

It is expected that on September 12, 2024, Mr. Thang's Cau Dat Bean Company Limited will open a showroom to introduce organic coffee products in Xuan Truong commune, Da Lat city for consumers, partners and businesses inside and outside the province to visit and purchase.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/chang-trai-8x-len-pho-nui-da-lat-lien-ket-voi-cac-nong-ho-trong-100ha-ca-phe-huu-co-344853.html