The startup story of Vũ Ngọc Minh, a YUP student, and his clean agricultural produce, saying no to agricultural chemicals and preservatives. Published in Quảng Ngãi Newspaper.
THE MAN PURSUING NATURE-ALIGNED AGRICULTURE
(Quang Ngai Newspaper) – In June 2018, a small, lovely shop selling vegetables and fruit free from agricultural chemicals, along with preservative-free products, opened on Ngô Sỹ Liên Street in Quang Ngai City. This was one of the first steps of Vũ Ngọc Minh (1987), who left a large company after 8 years to explore and pursue natural farming.
After graduating in mechanical engineering from the University of Technology, Minh worked at a large company in Dung Quất Economic Zone. In 2017, a friend introduced him to a gardening model at Huế City’s Center for Children with Disabilities, and Minh spent 5 days there planting, tending, and harvesting vegetables and fruit with the children.
Minh then realized the gardens not only produced clean agricultural products but also helped improve the children’s illnesses. He therefore spent a year studying natural agriculture in greater depth.
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| Vũ Ngọc Minh inspects products on sale at the store. |
Although he felt some regret after spending 8 years building his career, the joy farming brought Minh led him to decide to formally leave his job at the company. First, Minh visited vegetable gardens and sought to persuade local people to sell the vegetables they grew “for their own families to eat.”
The same goes for fruit: Minh spends time finding orchard owners who reject chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Minh shared that finding naturally grown vegetables and fruit without chemical fertilizers or crop protection chemicals is very difficult, but he perseveres because he wants to help change people's farming practices.
Since the start of 2018, Minh has noticed more and more young people nationwide sharing a commitment to farming in harmony with nature. To obtain clean supplies, Minh partners with like-minded groups across provinces and cities, including young people growing clean vegetables and fruit in Đà Lạt and a group in Huế producing beans…
Alongside fresh produce such as vegetables, roots and fruit, Minh’s store now also offers dry goods such as rice, brown rice, mung beans, red beans, black beans and turmeric powder, as well as partially processed products such as seasonings, noodles, kudzu starch and tofu made from non-GMO soybeans, using salt water rather than sour whey to coagulate it.
Although supply was limited, mainly serving retail sales and orders through social media, what mattered most was Minh's desire to bring clean agricultural products to consumers. For that reason, the prices of these goods did not differ from those of products sold at the market.
With an initial direction toward nature-aligned agriculture, Minh's group is implementing an agroforestry model combining long-term and short-term crops, medicinal plants, vegetables, and more. Minh believes emphasizing produce quality not only raises agricultural value but also protects consumers' health, including that of one's own loved ones.
Text and photos: HUỲNH THẢO
Original article link: http://baoquangngai.vn/channel/2025/201907/nguoi-deo-duoi-nong-nghiep-thuan-tu-nhien-2953965/index.htm
