Thuy's family only has over 2,000 sq.m of farming land. Grasping the market demand for clean vegetables, since 2018, her family has converted from growing corn to cucumber (1,000 sq.m), tomato (400 sq.m) and bird’s eye chili (100 sq.m).

Thuy shared that cucumber is easy to grow. Growers just need to prune the leaves, fully fertilize, clear the grass and spray pesticides, and harvest after 45 days. Each year, there are 2-3 cucumber crops, from April to August. She collects 3 tons of fruit each crop, with a selling price of 12,000-15,000 VND (0.49-0.61 USD) per kg.

For tomato, more care is needed. Growers need to regularly supplement phosphorus and potassium and prevent pests. Tomato is harvested after three months, with two crops a year from March to the end of October. Each crop, her family harvests 3 tons of tomato, with a price of 6,000-15,000 VND per kg. Both cucumber and tomatoe love moisture, so her family invested in a drip irrigation system for 1,400 sq.m of land to save workforce and increase crop productivity. As for bird’s eye chili, this is the first crop this plant is grown on 100 sq.m on a trial basis. Currently her family is harvesting chili, which is sold for 25,000-30,000 VND per kg.

In 2022, her family invested in building a 400 sq.m membrane house to pilot growing 12,000 lisianthus plants. This flower stays fresh for a long time, so they are favoured with many people. The selling price ranges from 8,000 VND to 25,000 VND each branch.

“The weather in Van Ho is very suitable for this cold-loving flower. The most suitable time to plant lisianthus is from September, so after harvesting tomato and cucumber, I continue to plant lisianthus,” she said.

With only 2,000 sq.m of land, Thuy's family earns over 300 million VND (12,200 USD) each year. From the new effective crops, she shared her experience with other women union members in the hamlet to together develop the local economy.