VietNamNet Bridge – Thanks to their skills and dedication, many young people in Viet Nam's northern mountainous provinces have made the most of their environment to gradually eke out their fortunes at home.

Mountains of wealth

As one of the youngest representatives attending a conference for young farmers in Viet Nam's northern mountainous provinces, which took place in Yen Bai from May 26-27, 23-year-old Trinh Van Sang has a large fish farm.

Plenty of live stock: Hoang Chung Hieu, a young farmer in Bac Giang Province's Coc Ha Hamlet, has eked out his fortune by raising wild boars and reindeers.

Sang says that over two years ago, when he realised that his dream of going to university was not going to happen, his family helped him to establish a cage fish farm on Muong Lay Lake.

"At first, I made the cages out of bamboo. Last year, due to the fast currents, three cages were swept away and smashed on the rocks. All my fish were lost, at a cost of over VND200 million (US$10,000)," says Sang.

Not discouraged, Sang continued to invest in cage fish farming. This time, he makes steel cages and focused on raising different species of catfish that had a higher profit margin. At present, he has six cages that house over 2,000 fish.

He also raises 1,000 carp on his fish farm. On average, Sang earns over VND200 million ($10,000) annually and employs between five to eight local workers on a seasonal basis.

Similarly, 34-year-old Sin Van Vu from Ta Su Choong Commune from the province of Ha Giang is concentrating on raising sturgeon and salmon. Vu said that one day when he was out eating with friends, he learnt that these two kinds of fish are very expensive and also that they thrive in cold water, suitable with the local conditions. From that day onwards he started to research the fish and the techniques for raising sturgeon and salmon.

He bought over 2,000 breeding fish (about VND40,000 each) with support from his family. Up until then the biggest fish he has ever produced was 4kg. Vu says, besides commercial fish, he has also studied and put money into producing sturgeon spawns.

Recently appearing on the market is a new brand of coffee called Muong Ang, from the province of Dien Bien. The new brands representative at this year's conference was Ta Van Dan. Born in 1978, Dan has had a big interest in coffee crops for almost 14 years.

"During that time, I had travelled from the province of Ha Tay to Muong Ang to visit my uncle. After seeing him grow coffee, I asked my parents to let me set up a business in Dien Bien Province, but they refused. With just VND4 million ($200) available and another VND3 million ($150) I had borrowed, I bought a piece of land and set up my farm there," Dan recalls.

At present, on his 15-ha plot he grows over 6ha of coffee. He also has a 8,000sq.m pond where he breeds fish. His yearly income has now risen to over VND600 million ($30,000).

The conference's hosts, the province of Yen Bai also has many young successful farmers such as Bo Van Tan. Tan who has a large farm, over 27ha of forest, 1,5ha of fish pond, 200 thanh long (blue dragon) plants and nearly 100 pigs, which offers regular work for dozens of villagers. His annual income is over VND350 million ($17,500).

Lack of support

Even though there was some initial success, developing farms in the northern mountainous areas still encounter many difficulties. For example, the natural and social advantages have not been fully used, and modern scientific measures and new technologies are not applied widely. Subsequently, farms cannot reach their full potential and sometimes the products are not the best of quality.

Market value: Harvests produced by young northern farmers are displayed at a recent trade fair.

"If the farms in the northern mountainous areas can fully utilise their advantages, their capacity could outstrip others across the country," says Nguyen Lan Dung, secretary general of the Vietnamese Union of Biological Associations.

The weather in northern Viet Nam is ideal for farms that grow many varieties of plants and domestic animals that are economically beneficial such as cashew nuts, jackfruit and porcupines, which are used in certain medicines, according to Dung.

He suggests that the union's local hierarchy complies a register of scientific measures and new technologies that help farmers.

Besides the technological difficulties, accessing capital and the right kinds of plants and animals that can find suitable markets is also a major worry for many of the representatives.

The Union's Secretary Nguyen Manh Dung says that the Union's central committee and local officials will work with and support organisations that offer preferential capital and the best possible conditions for young farmers seeking markets for their products.

Source: VNS