Young farmer earns billions from wild bitter melon

After working many jobs and saving up a little capital, IT engineer Nguyen Quoc Hoang (born in 1991, Tay ethnic group) decided to return to his hometown to work in agriculture and continue his family's traditional medicine profession in Yen Trach commune, Phu Luong district, Thai Nguyen. He joined the Tien Phong Agricultural Cooperative specializing in growing medicinal plants; and attended an intermediate class in traditional medicine.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hoang is successful with the model of growing wild bitter melon . Photo: NVCC

When the cooperative “stagnated” due to the deadlock in the Solanum procumbens growing model and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Hoang boldly took on the role of “captain”, becoming Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director. He advocated shifting to growing and developing medicinal plants, including wild bitter melon.

Mr. Hoang pioneered the experimental planting of wild bitter melon on an area of 0.8 hectares in his home garden and directly sought outlets for the products. “In the first crop, the wild bitter melon product was well received by the market, with a revenue of more than 500 million VND... Although I only made a profit of a few tens of millions of VND, it gave me the confidence and motivation to expand the model, making wild bitter melon the main crop of the cooperative,” said Mr. Hoang.

Up to now, the cooperative has expanded its scale to more than 7 hectares with many medicinal plants such as khôi nhung, papaya, morinda officinalis , etc. In particular, the area for growing bitter melon has increased to 3.5 hectares and implemented the production and harvesting process according to 3-star OCOP standards. It is expected that in 2025, the cooperative will expand the area for growing wild bitter melon and medicinal plants by another 4 hectares to meet market demand.

From wild bitter melon, the cooperative produces many products that improve health, suitable for different needs of customers, such as: sliced wild bitter melon tea; dried whole wild bitter melon tea; tea bags. Besides, Mr. Hoang also has products from other medicinal plants such as: topical ointment, medicinal herb khôi nhung, liver leaf extract, medicinal herb cà gai leo, herbal leaves for bones and joints...

According to Mr. Hoang, to create a stable "output" for products from medicinal plants , he and the cooperative have invested in building a health care center using physical therapy methods with herbal medicine application; a model to welcome visitors and practice in the garden. The cooperative's product promotion and sales channels on social networking platforms such as Facebook and Tiktok are also invested in, regularly posting images and videos introducing the stages of planting, harvesting, processing, etc. "Each year, the cooperative produces and consumes more than 10 tons of dry medicinal herbs, bringing in revenue of 1.2 billion VND, with a profit of 600 million VND. In addition to 14 member households, the cooperative is creating regular jobs for 15 local workers," said Mr. Hoang.

Along with participating in economic development, Mr. Hoang also actively participates in many social activities, activities organized by the Youth Union - Association; supporting many families in difficult circumstances, policy families in the locality.

With his achievements in production and community responsibility, Mr. Hoang received a Certificate of Merit from the Chairman of the People's Committee of Thai Nguyen province. Recently, he was one of 36 outstanding young people to receive the Luong Dinh Cua Award in 2024 organized by the Central Youth Union.