Aside from being a unique tourist destination, DakLak is also famous for its fruits and vegetables. JICA Expert for Agricultural promotion – Mr. Motegi had the opportunity to visit Ban Me Green Farm (BMGF) and listen to their story.
Ban Me Green Farm – founded in 2017, realized that as the climate is getting more severe, applying high technology, and limiting the impact on nature was necessary. Having eight farms, growing different types of vegetables from tomatoes to chilies, they cultivate with a no-waste policy and head towards sustainable agriculture practices. For instance, their peeled durian husk is collected, grounded, and then moved to a partner company to process into microbiological fertilizer, finally brought back to farmers to use.
Their main cultivation of Ban Me Green Farm is Nova tomato with seeds imported from America. In the farm of approximately 1000m2 that the JICA expert visited, the greenhouse is fully equipped with automatic fertilizer spray, fan, and watering system. Ban Me Green Farm is currently the largest Nova tomato producer in Vietnam at a record of 13 tons/year, also the company provides durian and avocado in various forms. Their tomatoes are present at big supermarkets in Vietnam, and the company is reaching out to other Japanese supermarket chains. As the market is recovering after the Pandemic, BMGF is proceeding with its previous plans to export to Japan, China, and Korea to realize the goal of becoming a big group.
On another note, the staff shared many of their concerns. The Bacterial wilt disease caused by Ralstonia solanacearum bacteria is still a huge pain point in growing Nova tomatoes. Despite their effort to change the practices or consult experts, they have seen harvest loss of around 50% while there have been no effective remedies. Another problem facing them is the cracks in tomatoes due to various factors such as temperature changes, seasonal issues, etc. However, committing to their no-waste policy, the disqualified tomatoes are processed into wine, snacks, and many other products in the developing stage.