Unstable agricultural products, farmers livestream to find output

Unstable output

Cultivating 1.5 hectares of green-skinned mulberry garden for nearly 15 years, the selling price has always been low, making the life of Mr. Pham Van Tan (Phong Dien district, Can Tho city) still not better.

Although he is a veteran gardener, taking care of green-skinned strawberries to produce a lot of quality fruit is not difficult for this old farmer. However, unstable output and traders forcing down prices have distorted the profits Mr. Tan receives.

“The price of strawberries that traders buy directly from the garden only fluctuates at 16,000 - 19,000 VND/kg, which is low compared to the market price. Once, traders even bargained with me to sell at 14,000 VND/kg, with such a cheap price, how can I make a profit?”, Mr. Tan said.

Unstable output and low prices make it difficult for gardeners. Photo: Bich Ngoc

Similarly, with 0.6 hectares of soursop garden land as the main source of income for his family, Mr. Nguyen Van Tam (Phung Hiep district, Hau Giang province) always feels pain in his heart every time the harvest season comes, the price drops, and sometimes the crop fails and traders force down the price.

"If the crop is good and the price is high, after deducting all expenses, the family will have a little left over to cover their living expenses. If the price is forced down and there is no output, it will be considered a total loss," said Mr. Tam.

Find ways to adapt

Worried about how to avoid being forced to pay higher prices and to have a better life, Mr. Tam proactively sought to adapt, research, and learn how to process fresh soursop into soursop tea to supply the market.

According to Mr. Tam, at first, when he first started doing it, he encountered many difficulties and failures. However, remembering the hard work all year round, having to sell the harvest at a low price, and life still not getting better, urged him to be determined to do it.

Mr. Tam's family researches and processes soursop to be proactive in business. Photo: Bich Ngoc

“When I had the first tea bags, certified with 3-star OCOP, I posted the products online for sale, and when customers knew about them, more orders came. Now my family also buys fresh custard apples from local people to make tea. Each month, we sell more than 300kg of tea to the market, earning 20-30 million VND, making life more stable,” said Mr. Tam.

Similarly, taking advantage of the development of social networks, Ms. Pham Thi Y (Phong Dien district, Can Tho city) became a "barefoot streamer", selling durian on digital platforms.

“In the 4.0 era, we have to find ways to keep up with the trend. We just grow and wait for buyers. If we are forced to lower the price, we will not be able to make a profit. I just post products online and livestream to sell without the need for traders. From the selling price to the quantity, I consider it myself, so the profit is also better,” Ms. Y said.

Source: https://laodong.vn/kinh-doanh/nong-san-bap-benh-nong-dan-tu-livestream-tim-dau-ra-1342746.ldo