The Central Vietnam Farmers' Association held the 7th "Farmer Scientist" (Nhà khoa học của nhà nông) awards, and 42 people were selected. The one from Dak Lak province was Nguyen Thi Bich (Nguyễn Thị Bích) of the Kumuran 7th hamlet in Ea Sup commune (xã Ea Súp). Looking into the award rationale reported by Báo Đắk Lắk in October 2026, one decision this person made is more worth reading than the award itself. The sales of her 2 ha guava orchard rose from 1.6 billion dong to 2.4 billion dong a year. And working the sales back by the reported unit price gives 80,000 kg both before and after the improvement.
The unit price went from 20,000 dong to 30,000 dong; working the sales back gives 80,000 kg in both cases
Only these four figures were reported. That the product's value rose from 20,000 dong to 30,000 dong per kg. That sales from the 2 ha of guava went from 1.6 tỷ dong to 2.4 tỷ dong a year. Since tỷ is 1 billion, 1.6 tỷ is 1.6 billion dong and 2.4 tỷ is 2.4 billion dong. Converted at 1 yen = 164 dong, that is roughly 9.76 million to 14.63 million yen.
Let us divide these figures.
| Item | Before improvement | After improvement |
|---|---|---|
| Value per kg | 20,000 dong (about 122 yen) | 30,000 dong (about 183 yen) |
| Annual sales from 2 ha | 1.6 tỷ dong = 1.6 billion dong (about 9.76 million yen) | 2.4 tỷ dong = 2.4 billion dong (about 14.63 million yen) |
| Sales / unit price (back-calculated volume) | 80,000kg | 80,000kg |
Both come to 80 tonnes. This, however, is a back-calculated value from dividing sales by unit price; the actual shipped volume is not written in the article. Even so, it is certain that the four reported figures are consistent in the form "volume the same, unit price 1.5 times." The added 800 million dong (about 4.88 million yen) comes from the unit-price side.
The land conditions are also given in the article. Ea Sup is gravelly sandy ground, hot throughout the year. In that environment, the challenge Bich set was a way to raise the value of farm produce without depending on selling fresh fruit alone. For reference, 80 tonnes on 2 ha works out to 40 tonnes per hectare, but since neither the irrigation method, nor the cultivar, nor the planting density is reported, whether this figure is high or low against the regional average cannot be judged.
Leaves that were being thrown away became tea, and there was now more to sell besides the fruit
Bich's initiative, named "Product development from Ruby guava in the Ea Sup border region" (Phát triển sản phẩm từ cây ổi Ruby tại vùng biên giới Ea Súp), is built in the direction of combining production, processing, and use of by-products. The items the article gives as examples are the following.
- Fresh Ruby guava
- Guava leaf tea "Briêt Organic"
- Ruby guava liquor
- Guava juice and extract (nước cốt ổi)
Of these, the guava leaf tea stands out. Leaves are the part that carries no price when selling the fruit. That has become a product named "Briêt Organic." The article writes that this model has shifted step by step from linear production to circular production, reducing raw-material waste and agricultural refuse.
Bich also advanced digitalization. She uses software called FaceFarm and QR codes for managing the growing districts, updating the production log, and traceability, heading toward building a raw-material source that can guarantee quality and making product information transparent. To sell liquor, tea, and concentrate, being able to show the origin of the raw material is a precondition. Moving into processing and keeping records are two sides of the same single decision.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Award recipient | Nguyễn Thị Bích (a farmers' association member of the Kumuran 7th hamlet, Ea Sup commune, Dak Lak province) |
| Award | Central Vietnam Farmers' Association, "Farmer Scientist" 7th edition / 1 of 42 from Dak Lak province |
| Initiative recognized | Product development from Ruby guava in the Ea Sup border region |
| Land conditions | Gravelly sandy ground, high temperatures year-round |
| Cultivated area | 2ha |
| Products (examples in the article) | Fresh fruit, Briêt Organic guava leaf tea, Ruby guava liquor, guava juice and extract |
| Unit price | 20,000 dong/kg -> 30,000 dong/kg |
| Annual revenue | 1.6 tỷ dong -> 2.4 tỷ dong (1.6 billion dong -> 2.4 billion dong) |
| Digitization | Production log and traceability via FaceFarm and QR codes |
"Sending to processing" can raise the unit price in some cases and lower it in others
Read with the sense of a Japanese production area, this story should feel off. When off-grade produce or a bumper-crop surplus is "sent to processing," the unit price usually falls. That is because processing means having it taken cheaply for juice, paste, or cut use. It is an outlet for disposing of what cannot be sold as fresh fruit, not a means of raising the unit price.
In Bich's case the direction is reversed. What is reported is that she studied and perfected the process and finished it into products, tea, liquor, and juice, and that the unit price became 1.5 times. Since the product bears the name "Briêt Organic," one can read that it was not merely handed over cheaply as raw material. However, whether the manufacturing is done with her own equipment or outsourced, and who handles the sales, is not given in the article. Stand on the side handing over raw material and the unit price falls; stand on the side selling the product and the unit price rises. Even the same "sending to processing" changes direction depending on which side you are on.
The form of farmers turning to processing or direct sales is also a subject of statistics in Japan. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' Comprehensive Survey of the Sixth Industrialization, the annual total sales value of agriculture-production-related businesses in fiscal 2024 was 2.2244 trillion yen. This figure is the total of farm processing, farm-produce direct-sale outlets, tourist farms, farm guesthouses, and farm restaurants, not the amount for processing and direct sales alone. Even so, it shows that ways of selling other than shipping farm produce as-is have piled up on the order of trillions of yen.
However, applying this case directly to a large production area is difficult. Launching multiple products on a 2 ha orchard, keeping records with FaceFarm, and even preparing QR codes is something that completes within a single management entity. Once plots and farmers increase, a separate coordination of who keeps which record is needed. The cooperative that spread passion fruit to 30 ha in Ea Rieng commune, Dak Lak province makes keeping to fertilizer and pesticide use a condition of participation for each household probably because it secures that coordination by contract.
The person who built a plant, the person who shifted the off-season, the person who sold the leaves
The ways to raise the unit price in Vietnam roughly divide into three types.
The first is the type of owning a plant yourself. A woman who sold her house to build a tea factory and reached 80 billion dong in annual revenue such a case has been reported. The average unit price was 320 yen a kilo. Owning the equipment yourself keeps the processing fee inside, but you shoulder the weight of the initial investment and the utilization rate.
The second is the type of shifting the shipping timing. A Hai Phong farmers' cooperative made lotus bloom in the off-season and doubled the peak-season unit price. No equipment is needed, but it requires the technique to shift the growing season and the read on whether a price will truly attach once shifted.
The third is Bich's type. In addition to the fruit itself, products are made from the part that carries no price when selling the fruit. In the sense of putting a price on a by-product, the move of a rice mill selling husks as fuel for power generation is the same idea. The scale is entirely different, but the idea is shared in creating an outlet for what had been piled up beside the orchard or plant.
These three types are not mutually exclusive. Since Bich makes liquor and juice, she must be using processing equipment somewhere, but neither its scale nor its form of ownership is given in the article.
The 80,000 kg is a back-calculated value, and whether the unit price is for fresh fruit is not written either
Let us draw an honest line when handling the numbers. The back-calculated 80 tonnes is a figure obtained by dividing sales by unit price, not the harvest volume written in the article. Whether the reported "20,000 to 30,000 dong per kg" is an average combining fresh fruit and processed goods, or a value for fresh fruit alone, is not written either. If it is an average with processed goods mixed in, there is a possibility that the unit price of fresh fruit has not changed.
The irrigation method, the cultivar, the tree age, and the number of years in cultivation are not reported either. An award article summarizes the key points of an initiative; it is not the kind of thing that discloses production data.
Even so, the four reported figures together point in one direction. The area stays at 2 ha, the unit price is 1.5 times, and sales are 1.5 times. What increased is the take per kg.
If you make an inquiry, ask about what makes up the unit price and how records are produced
| What to confirm | Why ask it |
|---|---|
| Whether the unit price is fresh fruit only or an average including processed goods | The fresh-fruit market price and the own-brand price are separate figures |
| Whether the processing equipment is in-house or outsourced | This changes how the unit price rises and its reproducibility |
| Whether the leaf-tea raw material is prunings or dedicated leaf picking | By-product use versus a separate production line changes the cost |
| Whether FaceFarm records can be produced for outside parties | Traceability only has meaning once it can be output |
| Annual production volume and shipping calendar | The 80 tonnes is a back-calculated value; the actual number has not been made public |
| Whether there is any export track record | If it is domestic-only, the structure for supplying Japan is yet to come |
Summary
On a 2 ha guava orchard, the unit price rose from 20,000 dong to 30,000 dong and sales went from 1.6 billion dong to 2.4 billion dong. Working the sales back by the unit price gives 80,000 kg both before and after, showing that what increased was not volume but the take per kg. It is the result of not relying on fresh fruit alone but establishing products: leaf tea, liquor, and juice. What was recognized is this decision, not yield or area.
What we would recommend to those involved in Japanese production areas is, for what their own area is "sending to processing," to count separately whether they are handing over raw material or selling a product. Called by the same word, the former lowers the unit price and the latter raises it. Depending on which way off-grade produce or a bumper-crop surplus is sent, a production area's take-home moves in entirely different directions.
The yen conversions in the text are calculated at 1 yen = 164 dong (the prevailing rate as of October 6, 2026). The 80,000 kg is a back-calculated value from dividing sales by unit price.
