Left the city to return to the countryside to work in agriculture
Born in 1994, graduated from Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry. Ho Chi Minh, after many years of working in the city named after Uncle Ho, Mr. Cong decided to "leave the city and return to the countryside" to work in agriculture
Mr. Tran Chi Cong (left) shares his experience growing mokara orchids with leaders of Tan Hung commune and youth union members in the area.
Mr. Cong shares the story of growing orchids in Binh Phuoc: Initially, I applied to work at a flower farm in Cu Chi district, City. Ho Chi Minh because of his major. After that, seeing the profits the flower industry brings to growers, I focused on learning experiences from garden owners and raised the idea of growing flowers in my hometown of Binh Phuoc.
After consideration, the flower chosen by Mr. Cong was the mokara orchid. This flower has many advantages such as: beautiful, large petals, many flowers on one branch, bright colors, and flowers almost all year round. The tree is very strong, grows strongly in height, leaves are long but not tightly tied to the trunk, the tree roots many and quickly, and is less susceptible to pests and diseases. In particular, this flower is very suitable for Binh Phuoc climate. With support from his family, in 2019, Mr. Cong quit his job and returned home to start a business.
"When it comes to orchids, many people think of gardeners in Da Lat (Lam Dong province). However, mokara orchids are not suitable for cold countries but prefer hot sun. While in Binh Phuoc, there are not many gardens growing this flower. If we grow successfully in Binh Phuoc, we will be able to compete with flower supplies from other places due to the price advantage because we do not have to spend much on transportation costs. This is the main reason why I decided to grow mokara orchids."
Mr. TRAN CHI CONG, Tan Hung commune, Hon Quan district
Stable income from mokara orchids
Mokara orchids flower after about 6 months of planting, but the highest yield is achieved when they are 1 year old.
Initially, with family capital, Mr. Cong built a garden of more than 1,000 square meters of land. To save costs, he did all the steps himself, from building the net house frame to building flower beds. According to Mr. Cong, this flower loves the sun but needs to build a net house, using black nets to block about 50% of the sunlight and prevent damage from insects. Next is to make flower beds, each bed can be planted in 2-3 rows, 60cm-1.2m wide/bed. Then, prepare a substrate of peanut shells. When purchased, the pathogen must be treated before putting it into the planting bed. After 1 year of trial planting and seeing the results, he expanded the second garden to about 1,500 square meters. “Growing this flower is not difficult, but you must master the technique. At the same time, knowing common diseases to promptly handle them will help the garden develop well" - Mr. Cong shared.
Mr. Tran Chi Cong's mokara flower garden brings a stable source of income
Mokara orchids bloom once a month, with 2-3 flower stems per plant. This flower takes about 2 months to wilt and is colorful, so it is popular with flower shops. Currently, Mr. Cong's mokara orchid garden is supplying flower shops in Binh Long, Phuoc Long, and Hon Quan. The price of mokara orchids ranges from 5,000-7,000 VND/branch. With this selling price, growers can recover their investment after more than 1 year of growing the garden. The mokara orchid harvest time is relatively long, maybe 5-6 years, until the old orchid is uprooted and replanted. "My flower garden is always "sold out", not enough to supply the market" - Mr. Cong happily.
To reduce labor and create synchronization in care to bring high productivity, Mr. Cong installed an automatic mist irrigation system. Successful with his model, Mr. Cong is willing to share his experience in growing and caring for mokara orchids with youth union members and surrounding people.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Trang, Vice Chairwoman of Tan Hung Commune People's Committee said: "Industrial orchid growing is a new economic model in Tan Hung, meeting the policy of restructuring the local agricultural economy. From the effectiveness of this model, we hope that youth union members and farmers will learn from experience and apply it on suitable land areas, thereby increasing family income."
Mr. Tran Chi Cong cuts mokara orchids and prepares them for delivery to flower shops
From Mr. Tran Chi Cong's model of growing commercial orchids, it can be seen that this is a flower suitable for Binh Phuoc climate and can be replicated in the province. Sharing about his future plans, Mr. Cong said he plans to expand the area of the mokara orchid garden to supply to the market. Besides, develop many other orchid strains to create diversity and richness for the orchid garden. According to Mr. Cong, starting a business from agriculture is always difficult, but if you have determination and determination, you will definitely succeed.
Author: Le Na
Binh Phuoc Radio - Television and Newspaper
Translator: Van Sinh
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