Exemplary veteran, sharp in business

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Minh (right cover) shares his experience on an effective cocoa growing model. Photo: An Nhon

In particular, he is very sensitive in converting the structure of crops and livestock appropriately, bringing high economic efficiency, contributing to local development.

Sensitive to crop conversion

Together with the staff of the Veterans Association of An Vien commune, we visited the effective economic models of Mr. Nguyen Thanh Minh's family. He is currently implementing 3 economic models, including: growing a cocoa garden with an area of 8,000 m2, a green-skinned grapefruit garden of over 5,000 m2 and investing in 300 beekeeping boxes for honey. Thanks to the methodical and careful investment, the models have achieved high economic efficiency, bringing a good income for his family.

It is known that, in the past, Mr. Minh chose the model of growing coffee in a 1.7 hectare garden. However, when the price of coffee "fell" deeply, he boldly switched to growing rubber trees and became a pioneer in bringing the new model to apply locally. Rubber latex has long been considered "white gold", with very high economic value and it is the sensitivity to change crops in a timely manner that has helped Mr. Minh's family have a very large source of income.

After cultivating rubber for about 15 years, the rubber latex market began to fluctuate, leading to ineffective business. Mr. Minh researched and invested in a bamboo shoot growing model, and this method brought a guaranteed income for his family. However, bamboo shoot growing was only maintained for a while and then had to stop because many people rushed to do the model, causing supply to exceed demand, and the product consumption market was unstable.

By 2020, Mr. Minh had cut down the bamboo garden to convert it to growing cocoa and green-skinned grapefruit (8,000 m2 of cocoa and 5,000 m2 of green-skinned grapefruit). Currently, cocoa and green-skinned grapefruit have become the main crops, bringing in a large source of income for his family. Instead of letting the land rest, he took advantage of the remaining land in the garden to grow some other fruit trees to increase income.

Currently, his family harvests an average of about 2 tons of cocoa fruit per month, with a stable selling price of about 18,000 VND/kg, earning about 30 million VND/month and about 300-400 million VND/year after deducting expenses. The grapefruit garden is also in the fruit harvest stage, bringing the family a significant source of income.

The effectiveness of beekeeping for honey

In addition to gardening, Mr. Minh's family has also invested in a large-scale honey beekeeping model for many years. Sharing about the idea, Mr. Minh said that in the past, when his family was still growing rubber, some people from other places came to ask to put boxes in the garden to raise honey bees. After researching, he found that the model was easy to do, suitable for the family's economic conditions, and the honey consumption market was very large. From there, he decided to invest in a honey beekeeping model in 2001.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Minh has chosen a sustainable direction for beekeeping and the products produced always ensure safety and quality for consumers. In 2024, his product "Coffee flower honey" was granted a certificate of 3-star OCOP product (One Commune One Product Program) by the People's Committee of Trang Bom District (old).

Mr. Minh chose the motto "slow but sure" with an initial investment of only 5 boxes for trial breeding. When he saw the effectiveness of the model, he increased the number of bee colonies to 50 boxes, 100 boxes... Up to now, he has maintained a steady breeding of 300 boxes and earned an average output of about 10 tons of honey/year. "Currently, the product output is stable because a business has signed a contract to buy honey in large quantities. The price of honey only needs to reach 25,000 VND/kg for the breeder to make a profit" - Mr. Minh said.

Chairman of the Association of War Veterans of An Vien Commune, Dinh Van Dong, commented that Mr. Nguyen Thanh Minh is one of the exemplary and typical members of the Association of War Veterans, who has made many positive contributions to the movement activities of the Association and the locality. He is a typical example of good production and business and is very successful with 3 models: growing cocoa, green-skinned grapefruit and raising bees for honey. The Association of War Veterans has widely introduced Mr. Minh's good and effective ways of doing things to members to visit and learn from their experiences in order to invest in business effectively to develop the family economy and stabilize their lives together.

An Nhon - Tran Nguyen

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/kinh-te/202507/cuu-chien-binh-guong-mau-nhay-ben-lam-kinh-te-6442e1d/