MEKONG DELTA — Nguyễn Văn Hơn has been a farmer all of his life. Now, in his mid 50s, he is working as a tour guide.
He
is one of the first lotus farmers in the Mekong Delta to adopt the
lotus–ecotourism model as an alternative to growing an unsustainable
third rice crop every year (called the autumn-winter crop).
The
owner of 4ha of lotus in Mỹ Hòa Commune in Đồng Tháp Province’s Tháp
Mười District, Hơn began offering tourism services in 2013 when locals
set up the Đồng Sen (lotus farm) ecotourism zone.
His
business began to take off about two to three years ago, and during
peak season from June to August, he welcomes around 50-100 tourists a
day.
Visitors
at his farm can pick lotus flowers and enjoy lotus specialties like
salted roasted lotus seeds, rice cooked with lotus, sweet lotus dessert,
and fresh lotus seeds.
“When
I was growing only rice and lotus, my income was quite good, but when I
started the tourism business, it definitely improved,” he said. “Last
year, visitors from HCM City, Đồng Nai Province and even the central and
northern regions came here.”
.
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Over a period of four years, his business expanded by four-fold.
The
Đồng Sen ecotourism zone has now expanded to 11ha, with tourism
services the main source of income for local farmers taking part in the
model, according to local authorities.
In
the first half of 2017, the zone welcomed more than 36,000 local and
international visitors and grossed more than VNĐ2.1 billion (US$92,000).
Though
the province has encouraged more farmers to join the ecotourism model,
not everyone has the skills needed to offer good services or the
finances to invest in infrastructure.
Trần
Văn Kịch, who has a 4.5ha area of lotus flowers only a 20-minute
riverboat ride away from Hơn’s farm, has decided to breed fish on his
lotus farm to increase income.
But
unlike the lotus–ecotourism model in which the lotus output is bought
by tourists, farmers like Kịch who rely on selling lotus seeds are
worried about the price fluctuations of lotus.
“I’m not sure if I can sell lotus flowers at good prices this year,” he said.
As
he only sells fresh lotus seeds, he has to rely on prices offered by
traders who visit his farm to buy lotus seeds and flowers directly from
him.
Sometimes
traders are willing to pay VNĐ12,000 per kilogramme, but later change
their minds to VNĐ10,000 or even VNĐ8,000 after the lotus is picked,
saying the plants are not “beautiful”, according to Kịch.
Farmers
have to sell the lotus plants soon after they picked, he said, because
they could lose freshness if they are stored overnight.
“Unstable
prices discourage farmers,” he said. “Besides, it’s not easy to find
lotus pickers since many of them have moved to other places to work in
factories or at construction sites.”
When
asked why he still grows lotus even though many neighbours have
stopped, he said: “My first thought was that I am doing this for the
environment.”
Lotus leaves can also be a good source of organic fertiliser, he said.
“After
harvesting lotus and preparing for the next rice crop, I only need to
use half of the fertiliser volume compared to other rice fields,” he
added.
The income from selling fish also helps him cover the expenses of growing lotus.
