Some promising Agricultural Startups in Vietnam

Vietnam’s agricultural industry is facing many difficulties such as production cost, labor shortage, ineffective management of land resources and food waste; besides, consumers require more production transparency.

To cope with these threats, some startups researched and improved agricultural products and services which are quality, eco-friendly, alternative materials, applied technology but pricey.

Together with ITI Fund, let’s learn about some Vietnam startups that have positive support for the sustainable agricultural industry.

• Vietnipa – Startup makes use of valuable resources from a forgotten thing
  

If the visual representation of Northern and Central Vietnam is green bamboo, South Vietnam is proud of the nipa palm.

The lives of local people stick with this tree. Broad foliages are used for making roofs to cover against the rain. Roots and trunks help to prevent landslides. Nipa palm also is the shelter of typical seafood and brings food sources for them.

Sources: Vietnipa

However, the nipa palm’s area under cultivation is narrowed by urbanization. Moreover, because of worthless leaves and copra purchase, local people have to destroy traditional farms to plant other trees and take land to build houses.

Many types of seafood have lost their natural shelter. Riparian lands also lose their protective barrier against tidal waves. All of them destroy the ecosystem and environment, affecting climate change.

Sources: Vietnipa

However, honey, the material of nipa palm that is often forgotten, is precious. While palmyra palm honey is exploited and became an attractive specialty of Vietnam Southwest, nipa palm is just exploited of fruit and leaves.

Meanwhile, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand used nipa palm honey to make sugar, wine, and vinegar for a long time, and this brought a more valuable economy many times than leaves and fruits.

Sources: Vietnipa

With hometown love, Mr. Tien quit his job as a pioneer to establish a startup which is “Vietnipa“. He was also born and raised in the Can Gio district, which UNESCO recognizes as a World Biosphere Reserve because of the thousands of hectares of nipa palm.

Leaving job at a large enterprise; the young engineer overcame the initial complicated and challenging stage through eagerness to learn and his father’s agricultural experience to exploit the honey of nipa palm.

Nipa palm nectar products (Sources: Vietnipa)

Processing nipa palm into honey is more complex than picking its fruits. Nevertheless, Tien and his co-worker have constantly improved technology and equipment, created more quality products, and satisfied customers’ tastes.

Therefore, farmers in the Can Gio district have a stable income. Local people can replace picking the nipa palm’s leaves 1-2 times per year by knocking the stalks to collect honey daily. Nipa palm honey, which can be exploited 10-20 tons per one hectare yearly, is also purchased by Vietnipa at a higher price. So farmers can cultivate their garden that was abandoned, improve lives and help to protect “the green lung” of Ho Chi Minh City.

Nipa palm sugar products from Vietnipa (Sources: Vietnipa)

Nowadays, honey and sugar products from Mr. Tien’s startup, Vietnipa, have reached many customers all over the country. However, the higher-value products are still being developed and promised to meet higher demands to help Vietnamese products go global in the future. Vietnipa also is the startup in which ITI Fund is discussing investing.

• HiFarm – Startup applies high technology to farming

HiFarm’ engineers team has researched and launched a comprehensive agricultural solution which is automatic and high-tech; because of putting themselves in the year of 2050 when the world reaches a population of 10 billion people and lacks food.

Sources: HiFarm

This startup provides the suitable environment for all crops so they can grow stably regardless of climate and terrain, through the application of information technology, AI (artificial intelligence) and IoT (internet of things), including:

• Agricultural solutions: apply IoT to farming and control 5 factors: EC, PH, light, temperature, soil/air. Therefore, it helps farmers save effort, time so they can improve the quality of products, in order to access difficult markets such as JP, US, EU…

Sources: HiFarm

• Agricultural products: are collected from farms which use HiFarm system, with 3F criteria – Fresh from Farm. All of them are rigorously tested from cultivation to packaging, for ensuring fresh and delicious, helping customers feel secure to use these green products.

Sources: HiFarm

HiFarm solutions are set up to replace the role of farmers, while optimizing both quantity and quality of agricultural products. Devices which are exclusively and individually, are designed to ensure the efficiency of the entire system.

Sources: HiFarm

This startup has more than five automatic farms, with a total area of ​​4.2 hectares. Currently, its agricultural products which qualify GAP standards, are sold in many supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City.

Sources: Collection

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