Mr. Quyen, one of the most proactive farmers in his village, participating in the development of innovative agricultural crops that serve as models for others in Hoai Duc district.
He has worked in farming for more than half of his life. Although he planted a lot, the profit from the harvests was not good, and the whole family still struggled financially.
He said, “I used to think very simply that just growing vegetables in the right season would make a profit. I kept growing like that but didn’t see my family’s income getting better. Later, when participating in the YWAM Mercy training, I learned that cultivation skills, selecting seeds, and timing of cultivation are also very important for a good harvest.”
In 2019, when YWAM Mercy started our grafted tomato models, Mr. Quyen’s family was selected as one of the first three households to participate.
At the first planting, Mr. Quyen successfully put in more than 500 plants and harvested good tomatoes in both form and quality. Now many people visit Mr. Quyen’s farm to learn from his experience. He remains our most successful model and many others have since followed his lead and planted their own grafted tomatoes.
Mr. Quyen works with enthusiasm and energy. He meticulously cuts each leaf harboring pests and carefully chooses each pole to make his bamboo truss. His attention to detail and passion for the work has made him successful.
When donors from Australia visited, Mr. Quyen confidently shared about his model and exchanged farming experience with them.
After the success of the grafted tomato model, he also registered to grow off-season tomatoes. Not afraid to learn something new, Mr. Quyen planted 900 tomato plants and recently had a good harvest. He shared that planting tomatoes in the off-season is much harder. He had to spend more time avoiding disease to keep the plants healthy but the results were very rewarding. Because few in his village dare to grow off-season tomatoes, the revenue received from them is significant higher than other vegetables.
Mr. Quyen’s family also has separate fields used for in growing eggplant, cowpea, tomatoes, onions, peanuts, melon, and cucumbers, which he sells to people living in the city.
Although he is very confident in his farming skills, Mr. Quyen realizes he has limited knowledge of markets and economic development. Through the models and training YWAM Mercy provides, along with home visits for onsite consulting, Mr. Quyen gained a better understanding of market analysis as well as more confidence in running his agricultural activities as a business.
He said, “I want to participate in more YWAM Mercy training because I feel that I get a lot from them. As I improve my farming skills, I will have new knowledge and new models that will keep me from being left behind as society develops. “
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