Thanks to the persistence in producing high-quality organic coffee, Hoa Linh Coffee Cooperative has created organic coffee with a price twice as high as the market price.
CONSISTENTLY OVERCOME CHALLENGES
Mr. Tran Mai Binh (village 5, Tan Chau commune, Di Linh district, Lam Dong) is known as one of the pioneers in building and developing the model of high-quality and organic coffee in Di Linh district.
This farmer shared that his family has been attached to coffee for decades and suffered many ups and downs due to fluctuating market prices. In 2019, realizing that the development of coffee in the traditional way brought low profits, Mr. Binh learned and decided to switch to producing high-quality coffee in an organic way.
Currently, 4.5 ha of Mr. Tran Mai Binh’s coffee has achieved organic certification.
For coffee products to meet standards and deserve the title of “high quality”, in addition to harvesting 100% ripeness and processing must comply with technical processes, production and care are the decisive factors. The entire garden is maintaining a yield of nearly 4 tons/ha. When cutting off the source of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the yield will be seriously affected.
“The garden was depleted and productivity decreased along with many other problems from the market, so I had to struggle with myself a lot. Not only that, I had to advise family members to follow the new way under organic processes, ” Mr. Binh said.
Thanks to the persistence in organic production, by 2021 – 2022, the coffee garden has gradually recovered with high productivity, reaching nearly 3.5 tons per ha. At the same time, Mr. Binh’s coffee was purchased by partners in Ho Chi Minh City at a higher price than traditional coffee in the locality. This was the time to remove all doubts about Mr. Binh’s new way and prove that high-quality products can live well in an unstable market.
Also in this period, Mr. Binh together with 03 other local households established Hoa Linh Coffee Cooperative Group, which has so far developed into Hoa Linh Coffee Cooperative with a raw material area of up to 15 ha.
Mr. Tran Mai Binh uses organic fertilizers, combined with homemade compost from coffee peel to fertilize crops.
THE PRICE OF ORGANIC COFFEE IS TWICE HIGHER THAN THE MARKET PRICE
The new method is effective and Mr. Binh continues to carry out the production of organic coffee. Accordingly, in 2022, with the support of the Lam Dong Agricultural Extension Center, his family started to build a coffee garden model under Vietnam organic standards (Vietnam national standards).
He said that previously, the crops in his garden were produced under the model of high-quality coffee towards organic, so it was not too difficult to switch to organic standards under Vietnam’s national standards. The important thing is to practice under the standard, comply with the conditions, and ensure the prescribed indicators.
Currently, in the organic coffee model, Mr. Binh’s family maintains grass to moisturize the soil and create a habitat for microorganisms. To ensure the nutrition of crops and prevent pesticides and diseases, his family uses organic fertilizers and biological products in the allowed list.
The family utilizes coffee peel for processing and composting as organic fertilizer to supplement the plants. Thanks to organic farming, the moisture of the garden is always guaranteed. There are many microorganisms in the soil, especially worms making the soil soft. The garden ecosystem is guaranteed, and nutrients and moisture are always maintained, so coffee is healthy, bringing a yield of over 3.5 tons per ha.
The organic coffee products of Mr. Tran Mai Binh’s family are purchased at a higher price than ordinary coffee.
Currently, all 4.5 ha of coffee has achieved organic certification under Vietnam’s national standard and his family’s coffee products have been purchased by domestic partners at higher prices than usual. Mr. Binh said that he is guiding the development of high-quality and organic coffee for other members of Hoa Linh Coffee Cooperative.
The Cooperative is building a 15-ha material area and plans to achieve organic standards this year. The development of organic coffee has raised the value, improved the quality, and especially protected the health of producers, consumers, and the environment. Therefore, Hoa Linh Coffee Cooperative aims to expand and develop the organic production area to 30 ha by 2024.
Coffee products of Hoa Linh Coffee Cooperative once reached the TOP 10 specialty coffees at the Vietnam Specialty Coffee Competition 2023 – Vietnam Amazing Cup 2023.
Ms. Dinh Thi Thuy Van (Mr. Binh’s wife) said that in April 2023, Hoa Linh Coffee’s products participated in the Vietnam Specialty Coffee Competition 2023 – Vietnam Amazing Cup 2023 in Buon Me Thuot (Dak Lak) and achieved the TOP 10. In this competition, an enterprise paid 08 times higher than the market price to buy a batch of coffee for processing. According to Ms. Thuy Van, Hoa Linh Coffee currently produces 06 types of products at different prices to meet the needs of the market./.