Having enough to eat and drink to grow potatoes

The story of farming of father-in-law and son-in-law

Following his family to the South since he was 4 years old, Mr. Lam Quang Sau (Phu Hoi, Duc Trong, Lam Dong) has gone through many ups and downs in life. At the age of 82, he is extremely happy because his family's economy has stabilized and he "has something to eat and something to live on".

Luckily, Mr. Ngu got to know Orion through the "homeland Potato" project - Orion's sustainable potato material development project. In the first phase, due to many concerns, the planting and care of potatoes was based only on the experience passed down from father to son. Initial results were not as expected, the product ratio was not high, the plants were very susceptible to diseases, especially mold, rot, and the roots and roots when harvested were not as big and round as required. It was truly a difficult time for Mr. Ngu and his family.

After more than 5 years, with the support of Agro technicians of Orion Company, as well as boldly converting traditional varieties to new varieties, Mr. Ngu's family has begun to receive positive changes. From the years of crop failure, which were thought to be lost, in recent years with 1.6 hectares of land mainly grown as winter potatoes, his family has often reached 40-45 tons/ha, much higher than before.

Committing to Orion products and extremely reasonable prices each year also helps his family almost escape the precarious situation, building a solid foundation.

At the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025, Mr. Ngu was one of the first farmers to widely grow Bliss, one of the new varieties researched and implemented by Orion and the Vietnam Institute of Agricultural Biology. By the end of the season, his family reached 50 tons of potatoes/ha, a very dream number for long-standing potato farming households. With a total investment of 1.6 hectares, after deducting expenses, each potato crop his family earns from 250-300 million VND.

"Cooperation with businesses has supported farmers a lot, like our current farming model, 100% of seed and fertilizer sources will be provided by the company. During the planting process, Agro's agricultural technicians and engineers from Orion company will also accompany and closely follow the growth process of the plant. More importantly, the company also commits to output for farmers at a reasonable price signed right at the beginning of the crop, without worrying about price pressure and deposit cancellation as before. With consecutive victories in recent years, in the coming year, I will continue to accompany potatoes and continue to develop potato growing areas, focusing 100% on Blis variety" - Mr. Ngu said.

Spreading a message to the community

More than 20 years of living on land, on agriculture, 10 years of holding potatoes, for Mr. Ngu is a daily life. But for the farmers here, Mr. Ngu is an example to strive for. Currently, Mr. Ngu is also an active member of the potato cooperative of Orion in Duc Trong. Here, his story is spread through experiences, sharing and concerns about the sustainable development of potatoes.

It can be seen that Mr. Ngu's story is not necessarily a very special story for Vietnam's agricultural areas. However, for Mr. Ngu's family and the story of two generations attached to potatoes has partly shown that the results always come from perseverance. It is a journey for farmers to stick to the land, believe in technology, and boldly change to achieve satisfactory results.