Go to Cay Sao Hamlet, Tan Lap Township, Tan Thanh District (Long An Province), and ask for Mr. Le Thanh Nhan and Ms. Duong Thi Truc. Everyone here knows because they own the largest mushroom farm in this region. . Thanh Nhan Mushroom Farm is more than 3,000m2 and mainly produces fresh abalone mushrooms.

A special feature of this mushroom farm is the owner’s passion for mushroom cultivation and for organically produced mushroom products, which is why customers from near and far enjoy their trust. The customers who buy mushrooms mainly include the San Ha Company, small traders in traditional markets and local people. On average, the farm sells 200-300 kg of fresh abalone mushrooms every day, the price is between 40,000-50,000 VND/kg, the turnover is over 10 million VND.

In addition to selling fresh mushrooms, this facility also provides abalone mushroom embryos to help many local households further their profession. Each embryo bag costs between VND 5,000 and VND 5,300. The operating motto of Thanh Nhan Mushroom Farm is to provide the highest quality and not to chase profit, especially to ensure food safety. The facility mainly uses rice bran and corn bran as embryos.

“The mushroom profession is the most difficult at the stage of embryo generation, besides, it is highly dependent on the weather, so it takes a lot of passion and grace to be faithful to this profession,” said Ms. Duong Thi Truc.

According to Ms. Truc, her husband was originally from a local farmer. Not only her family but also the income of the people around her can only depend on the fields and rice plants. Seeing that farming was miserable but his income was very precarious, Nhan began learning and experimenting with growing abalone mushrooms almost a decade ago. However, the quality of the mushrooms grown is not satisfactory.

Undeterred, he boldly enrolled in a 12-month course in the cultivation of edible and medicinal mushrooms at the University of Agriculture and Forestry in Ho Chi Minh City. During his studies, he bought materials to experiment with embryogenesis and mushroom cultivation. After almost two years of tinkering, he learned the secret of this profession. In 2017, Mr. Nhan started mass producing embryos for sale to customers in Dong Thap, An Giang, Kien Giang…

In the early days, she and her husband brought abalone mushroom embryos to the area. People around her thought that making mushrooms was very poisonous, so it was difficult for her to find workers to help her. Gradually, seeing a clean, organic model of mushroom cultivation, many people applied for a job. It was the workers here who persuaded their relatives and friends to buy mushrooms to use. Since workers perform all steps from embryo creation to culturing, they see no chemicals.

“Cultivating mushrooms organically means ensuring food safety, completely eliminating the use of fertilizers and chemical medicines, and using embryogenic materials from rice bran and corn bran. At the same time, we kill insects and bugs mainly with essential oils,” said Le Thanh Nhan.

After his success with abalone mushrooms, Mr. Nhan tinkered with Reishi mushrooms, long ear mushrooms (cat mushrooms) and cordyceps and continued to have success with them. In particular, the Cordyceps mushroom, to which he devoted many years of dedication and success, has only emerged in the last 2-3 years.

Currently, this facility produces approximately 4.5 kg of dried sublimated Cordyceps mushrooms on a quarterly basis. Mushrooms are sold at a cheaper price than many other establishments, around VND 20 million/kg. In addition, dried cat mushrooms cost VND 200,000/kg and dried reishi mushrooms cost VND 900,000/kg.

Ms. Duong Thi Truc shared with us what she likes most about growing mushrooms: “This mushroom profession does not kill animals and also has a stable income.” Clean mushrooms ensure consumers’ health. In addition, I have also created jobs for the local people, which makes me very happy.”

With notice from local authorities, as of January 10, 2023, Thanh Nhan Mushroom Farm has 4 products, including abalone mushroom, reishi, cat mushroom and cordyceps, which are recognized as OCOP products by Long An Provincial People’s Committee. 3 stars.

According to the farmer, the OCOP program has helped improve the product’s reputation and brand. In addition, the program created favorable conditions for the operation to promote its products to domestic consumers, thereby increasing production.

Currently, there are 5 OCOP products in Tan Thanh district, including 4 products from Thanh Nhan mushroom farm. Thanh Nhan farm’s clean mushroom farming model has opened opportunities to develop new industries, increase the income of local farmers and contribute to the maintenance and improvement of newly improved rural community standards in the region. Next time.