The slow and steady rise of organic farming in Vietnam shows no signs of subsiding. But with the extra expertise and costs associated with growing organic produce, is it a profitable business model?
Organic farmer, Pham Phuong Thao, of Organica Farms has said it is not a realistic business venture for most local farmers.
“It simply isn’t very profitable and probably isn’t a worthwhile investment for most local farmers,” Ms Thao noted.
She first went into the segment four years ago, when she launched Organica. The company spent its first few years trialling a wide variety of fruits and vegetables and experimenting with differing approaches.
“It’s a lot of hard work and one doesn’t see immediate returns,” she quipped, noting it differs substantially from conventional farming, requiring much more expertise and investment to be successful.
All phases of cultivation and harvest must be free of pesticides, chemicals, stimulants, hormones and genetically modified seeds. In addition, growers must keep a thorough record of production.
There were no textbooks on how to establish an organic farm in Vietnam when we started our operations and we had to learn every lesson the old-fashioned way, by trial and error, she said.
For instance, she noted that organic plants are much more susceptible to damage from wet weather conditions and that product quality can be ruined even from a heavy rain on the day of harvest.
