(VOVworld) – Tran Thi Thuan Hoa was honored as one of the 10 outstanding young people in 2012 by the Youth Union. Hoa is director of a pig-raising facility that earns billions of VND annually.  She is considered a youth leader as she has employed and found jobs for young people in her home village in the northern province of Thai Binh.

We visited Hoa at her farm in Nam Cuong commune, Tien Hai district, Thai Binh province. She spoke openly about her life and how she established her business. After finishing high school, she worked in South Korea for 4 years before returning home to get married. She and her husband were determined to develop a suitable and sustainable business in their homeland. When they were in South Korea, they visited many model farm which applied technology to husbandry to obtain high productivity. The models were in line with Thai Binh province’s orientations to apply science and technology to large scale agricultural production. Hoa talks about the reasons behind her decision: "I got involved in animal raising by chance. When I first entered the business, I learnt that foreign agriculture was highly developed, using mechanization to generate high revenue. When I returned home I recognized Thai Binh’s advantages for agricultural development such as vast land and abundant resources."

In 2008, Hoa rented 3.2 hectares of land in Nam Cuong commune to build a pig farm. Three years later, she started the Thuan Hoa Company, which supplies breeding stock and animal food and sells its products directly. It is an automated operation which uses Thai technology. The company now supplies around 2,500 piglets to pig farms nationwide. Its annual revenue is 5billion Dong. Hoa was not trained in agriculture so she contracted with agricultural engineers to oversea production and research new techniques.

"I hire apprentices from veterinary and agricultural colleges. I provide them accommodations. They have opportunities to work in my laboratory and gain experience on my farm, which uses standard Southeast Asian practices. When they graduate they will already have both knowledge and experience, and better advice farmers on animal raising techniques." Hoa said.

Veterinarian Hoang Xuan Truong has been working at the Thuan Hoa Company since the beginning. "This model is really good. If Vietnam creates more farms or this model, productivity for the animal raising industry will be high and stable. When Hoa started this business, she needed a lot of experience in knowledge on husbandry because it’s not easy to manage such a big model. Her passion for agriculture has made her a success. Not many people can do what Hoa has done, even people trained in the profession like us."

Workers at the Thuan Hoa Company are given working conditions and benefits. They are allowed to work at home during rice seedling transplanting and harvesting seasons. Director Hoa has gotten involved in studying and applying science and technology to production using VIETGAP standards. Hoa hopes her project will create a sustainable pig raising model and generate additional job opportunities for young rural workers.