Talking about the first
days of his business, Tam said: "I noticed that although my family owns a lot
of land, we have yet to use it efficiently. After graduating from high school,
I thought deeply about how to earn money from every piece of land and how young
people like me can prosper in our own homeland”.
At the age of 35, he is
now the owner of a farm covering more than 2.5ha, earning nearly 400 million
VND (17,596 USD) a year.
From the initial 250 longan trees, Bui Van Tam, residing in
Son Thuy commune (Kim Boi district) has become the owner of an integrated farm
with average income of 400 million VND (17,596 USD) a year.
Tam recalled: "In 1999, I
came to Hung Yen to choose a suitable variety of longan and started my farm by
growing 250 trees in an area of 2.5ha owned by my family. The result was
unexpectedly good. The first longan harvest earned me 30 million VND, then it
increased to 150 million, 300 million and 600 million VND in the following
years”. However, he was not content with what he had gained. He learned more
about cultivation technique, applying science and technology in growing longan
trees and shifting to high-quality longan varieties.
Traders have highly valued
the longan grown by Bui Van Tam and placed their orders early. "This year,
there is a bumper crop of longan so its price is lower than that of previous
years. My family outcome from selling longan may drop. However, high
productivity of longan over the past years shows that the climate and soil of
Son Thuy commune are suitable to grow the fruit. Growing
Along with investment in
longan growing and through studying market demand, in 2006, Bui Van Tam
extended the scale of his farm, building a pigsty to raise a local pig breed
which is cross-bred with wild boar. From the four pairs at the start, he now
sells two batches, with 20-30 pigs each, each year. With locally-available feed
like grinded bran and banana trunks, in only six months, each pig weighs about
14-15kg and is suitable for selling. Currently, apart from selling pork, he
also raises and sells piglets at the price of 300,000-400,000 VND per kg.
In 2010, Bui Van Tam decided
to raise viverrine with young animals bought from the Cuc Phuong national park,
in order to diversify his farm and take advantage of local natural food source
like grass, maize and soy beans. After one year, he had 23 pairs of vierrine.
He currently raises the animals to sell their young at the price of 1.5-2
million VND per pair.
Tam has become a role
model for having ambitious goal in business, being creative and daring. He is
not afraid of hardships and is also enthusiastic to share his experiences with
others. "He is really commendable!”, said Bui Van Thang, Secretary of the Ho
Chi Minh Communist Youth Union of Kim Boi district.