Female engineer Kieu Thi Hue is passionate about producing clean vegetables.

In recent years, many people inside and outside the province have known about the clean fruit and vegetable products of the Vinh Phuc Safe Vegetable Cooperative. That success is the passion and aspiration to produce clean and safe agricultural products led and managed by female engineer Kieu Thi Hue.

In 2007, after graduating with a degree in Plant Protection, Kieu Thi Hue, from An Tuong commune, former Vinh Tuong district, now Vinh Phu commune, worked as a contract technician at the Provincial Plant Protection Department (now the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development), with the role of guiding farmers in producing safe vegetables and fruits (producing organic vegetables and fruits in an organic direction).

With the passion and determination to create a clean vegetable production area, she always urged, especially to create a stable output to help farmers feel secure in production. In 2014, she quit her job at the unit, borrowed capital, and established the Vinh Phuc Safe Vegetable Cooperative - headquartered in the old Kim Long town, now Tam Duong commune, with her as the Director.

Engineer Kieu Thi Hue on a vegetable field in Tam Duong commune

In the early days of its establishment, the cooperative had 7 members, mainly operating in purchasing clean vegetable products from farmers; by 2017, the cooperative had 40 members with a total clean vegetable production area of ​​nearly 20 hectares, planned into 3 concentrated production areas in Kim Long, Van Hoi, old Tam Duong district and Ho Son commune, old Tam Dao district, now Tam Duong and Hoi Thinh communes.

To ensure food safety and hygiene for the products reaching consumers, Ms. Hue has linked and managed the chain from production to consumption, controlling product quality according to technical standards, helping farmers feel secure in production and consumers feel secure in using safe vegetable products provided by the cooperative.

To produce clean vegetables sustainably, Ms. Hue actively applies the technique of covering with plastic film to produce vegetables and fruits, bringing high efficiency, because it keeps the soil moist, limits weeds, and loosens the soil. Thereby, helping farmers change the habit of indiscriminately using pesticides for crops, especially banned pesticides such as herbicides and pesticides not on the list that are not allowed to be used on vegetables and fruits.

At the same time, many production models have been effectively implemented such as: "Supporting the production - consumption chain of safe luffa products according to VietGAP standards"; "Application of microbiological technology in the production of highly active Trichoderma sp preparations to prevent diseases on crops and rice"; "Testing biological fertilizers on luffa"... The cooperative has designed logos, labels, packaging, registered barcodes and codes for products before supplying them to the market.

With careful, serious and technically correct working methods, the Cooperative was granted VietGAP Certificate for vegetables and fruits such as chayote, luffa, squash, etc. At the same time, it was granted a Certificate of qualified food safety facility in the production and preliminary processing of vegetables and fruits. Each year, the Cooperative supplies the market with 400 - 500 tons of safe vegetables and fruits with a revenue of 2 - 2.5 billion VND, ensuring enough jobs for dozens of direct workers and hundreds of households producing clean vegetables and fruits in the region.

Since 2020, Vinh Phuc Safe Vegetable Cooperative has linked up and become a trusted partner of many businesses inside and outside the province to distribute food to school kitchens and industrial kitchens. All products of households participating in production for the Cooperative are purchased at a price 1,000 - 2,000 VND/kg higher than the market price. The average income of members is 5 - 6 million VND/person/month. Thereby, helping farmers to be confident and excited about production.

In recent years, the Cooperative has introduced a number of new varieties such as: lemon squash, purple cabbage, water spinach, and at the same time, developed more chayote squash and pre-processed chayote shoots to meet the increasingly high and diverse needs of consumers.

In particular, engineer Kieu Thi Hue and the members of the Cooperative have joined forces to bring the Cooperative's safe vegetable products to the Winmart supermarket system and schools to ensure food safety, building prestige with schools. In 2024, the Cooperative supplied nearly 500 tons of safe vegetables to the market with a total revenue of more than 2.5 billion VND. It is expected that in 2025, the Cooperative will supply more than 500 tons of safe vegetables to the market.

In addition to growing clean vegetables, in recent years, Ms. Hue and her family have expanded the type of tourism combined with the Homestay experience in Binh Tuyen commune, attracting a large number of tourists, especially students, to experience growing, harvesting vegetables, fruits, fishing, and preparing food on the spot...

Engineer Nguyen Hoang Duong, Director of the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center, commented: "Engineer Kieu Thi Hue is a typical example in maximizing integrated pest management measures, limiting the use of pesticides, increasing the value and productivity of crops. Thanks to that, the agricultural environment is improved, the ecological balance in the fields is stable for a long time. The health of producers and consumers is guaranteed. Many good experiences in production are regularly shared by member households. That success has an important contribution from the Director of the Cooperative Kieu Thi Hue - who is always passionate and has many innovations in the production and consumption of clean vegetables."

With its achievements in the production and consumption of clean vegetables, Vinh Phuc Safe Vegetable Cooperative was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment as "A unit with outstanding achievements in implementing the Resolution of the National Assembly and the Decision of the Prime Minister on developing 15,000 cooperatives and the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives operating effectively, 2018 - 2019". In 2020, Director of Kieu Thi Hue Cooperative was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Provincial People's Committee for "Having outstanding achievements in the emulation movement to innovate and develop agricultural cooperatives according to the Law on Cooperatives 2012".

Xuan Nguyen

Source: https://baophutho.vn/nu-ky-su-kieu-thi-hue-dam-me-san-xuat-rau-sach-241408.htm