VietNamNet Bridge – Dr Nguyen Ba Hung once appeared in Tien phong newspaper eight years ago as the scientist who set up the first organic vegetable garden in Vietnam. The work of Dr Hung has paved the way for many other organic vegetable gardens to come out.

A strange looking hanging garden is located among a lot of vegetable farms in Da Thien area.

The owner of the garden, Dr Nguyen Ba Hung, born in 1953, who is called “the vegetable grower in the highland,” graduated from the University of Da Lat when the country got reunified.

Hung then decided to learn to drive tractors and bulldozers for vegetable seed farms, tried to find documents in English and French and translated them into Vietnamese, successfully made research on the production of some kinds of vegetable seeds. Then he obtained the bachelor degree in biology, and overcame a lot of difficulties to leave for France, where he successfully defended the thesis for the PhD degree.

Hung returned to the homeland with thousands of collected samples of vegetable and flowers seeds, and the techniques of making seeds with greenhouse technology. With such a “heavy luggage,” Hung helped a lot of gardeners in Da Lat get rich from agricultural works.

Dr Hung both helped farmers implement new technologies and set up his own farms where he grew high grade vegetables. The first farm, Ta Nung, was established in the cooperation with Associate Professor Dr Nguyen Ba Phong. He successfully drew up a standard production process which ensures that the vegetables stay safe from parasites and toxic chemicals.

The work then was checked and taken over by the State’s Science and Technology Council. It was also the first clean vegetable production process in Vietnam recognized by FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization).

After that, he teamed up with an US person to open the Golden Garden, a hanging garden, and Kim Bang Company Ltd which attracted laborers from Da Thien, Chi Lang and Dinh Anh vegetable areas. The company provided seeds and technology, keeps technical supervision and take responsibility for the outlets of the products, thus helping farmers increase their income and improve knowledge.

After that, Kim Bang Company got dissolved due to the disagreements with the US partner. Hung then decided to buy an isolated valley which could meet the some requirements, in Da Tho hamlet, Xuan Tho commune, about 16 kilometers far away from Da Lat. Then he set up a company – Organik – where he can apply genetics knowledge to grow 150 types of strange and tiny vegetables, fruits, flowers which have been provided to hotels and supermarkets.

Currently, on the area of five hectares, with a glasshouse worth eight billion dong, Organik can provide 3 tons of organic vegetables a week. Especially, the vegetables can use the geographical indication “Da Lat’s vegetables.”

Every year, 156 tons of high grade vegetables have been carried from the garden to different places throughout the country. However, the supply remains very short in comparison with the demand.

Hung is now making research to create the vegetables that serve cancer patients, or the patients who suffer from serious diseases, and need the food with natural potassium.

Hung’s vegetable farms have become well-known all over the country. Analysts believe that more and more organic vegetable gardens would be established in Vietnam, especially when people now tend to use safe food with no chemical residues.

Source: Tien phong