Mr. Phan Trung Son, from Thanh Yen 2 village, Phieng Khoai commune, Yen Chau district, is tending to his family's Tai Nung pear orchard.

Leading us on a tour of his 12-hectare orchard, primarily planted with persimmons, plums, and Tai Nung pears, Mr. Son explained: "Growing perennial fruit trees using pesticides and chemical fertilizers has many limitations, such as high costs, pesticide residue affecting consumer health, soil degradation, premature aging and degeneration of trees, and reduced yield and quality."

In 2022, after participating in training courses organized by the District Agricultural Service Center in coordination with the Commune Farmers' Association, Mr. Son's family adopted organic farming methods. In addition, he actively visited and learned from successful models of this method both within and outside the district.

Mr. Son shared: "After two years of applying organic farming techniques to my family's fruit orchard, especially the 3 hectares of Tai Nung pears, the results have been outstanding. In 2023, my family harvested over 10 tons, and in the last harvest, we harvested more than 20 tons of fruit, selling at 40-60 thousand VND/kg depending on the variety, earning over 1 billion VND. Besides increasing productivity, I see another outstanding advantage of growing fruit trees using organic methods: it protects the environment, the soil is loose and porous, and erosion is reduced."

Besides pear trees, Mr. Son's family harvests 20 tons of persimmons and plums annually, earning over 1.5 billion VND; providing regular employment for two local workers, with an income of 8 million VND per person per month. Mr. Son is continuing to invest in building a modern irrigation system and applying organic farming methods and VietGAP standards to all of his family's fruit trees.

Mr. Bui Van Quan, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Phieng Khoai commune, said: "Not only focusing on developing his family's economy, Mr. Phan Trung Son is also willing to share his experience and techniques in caring for fruit trees and making organic fertilizers with the villagers to improve productivity and product quality. In 2023, Mr. Son was awarded a certificate of merit by the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee for his outstanding achievements in labor and production."

Tuan Hien