Vu Van Hieu’s journey in life has taken him from the humid subtropical heat of Nam Dinh in northern Viet Nam’s Red River Delta, where he grew up, to the crisper, cooler weather and higher altitude of the Moc Chau plateau.

But if the 35-year-old farmer had hoped to benefit from the rich soil and big differences in day- and nighttime temperatures of his new home, he also came up against the challenges of traditional farming in an era of climate change and unpredictable prices.

"Outdoor vegetable farming was a gamble," Hieu explains. "Sometimes we'd have a great harvest but no market,” for the tomatoes and different cabbage varieties he was growing. “Other times the prices were good, but pests or bad weather would destroy everything."

He knew there had to be a better way. That soon came along in the form of the "Smart Farming for the Future Generation" project being implemented in his town. He spotted the project’s distinctive greenhouses being put up all around and instantly recognised their superiority to the traditional ones he’d seen elsewhere. Hieu lost no time in signing up to join the initiative.

Funded by the Republic of Korea and implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the initiative supports local farmers and cooperatives in adopting smart farming techniques, particularly through the use of optimized greenhouses. These combine more advanced technology with affordability and suitability to farmers’ needs. The project also helps mitigate price volatility by empowering farmers to produce high-quality products during off-seasons, access more stable markets through collective action and explore direct sales channels.
Among the equipment which the project has provided are anti-insect nets, a layer of plastic curtain to protect against cold and rain, a retractable shade net, sensors monitoring temperature and humidity and a drip irrigation system which feeds water through long pipes to individual plants for maximum effect. Multi-layered doors preventing pests and diseases from entering, greatly reducing the need for pesticides, are among the other simple but innovative solutions the initiative has offered.

The project has also provided Hieu with high-quality seedlings and advanced fertilizers for addressing specific nutrient deficiencies. But he says the most valuable asset was the technical training he received on greenhouse cultivation and pest management.