Today farmers use internet to market and sell farm-grown products

The Internet is an effective communication and marketing tool that can introduce her farm or ranch to a large number of potential customers. Today Vietnamese farmers are used to social networks to market and sell their farm-grown products.

Ngoc Thuy is packaging her farm-grown products to deliver to consumers (Photo: SGGP)

It took ten minutes to market her farm-grown products in social networks, farmer Ngoc Thuy in the Central-Highlands Province of Lam Dong has sold out 10 kilograms of vegetables and chicken. 

She said she no longer worries that traders will depress the price of her produce. Selling farm-grown products in internet also helped to increase her income to VND20 million (US$ 856.8).

Plenty of small farmers find internet is a great way to market their products and keep income coming in steadily on the farm.

Thuy used to be a worker in an industrial park in Ho Chi Minh City. Due to Covid-19 crisis, the company has not received order, she was laid off along with many others.

Returning to her hometown to do farming with her parents, she realized traders often depressed prices of farm-grown products; she has therefore marketed the produce and contracted with transportation companies to deliver produce to consumers.

To gain consumers’ trust, she usually livestreams from production to harvest and packaging, Thuy said.

Another farmer in the South - Central Province of Binh Thuan use internet to market her product. Because of social distancing during Covid-19, price of chicken went down dramatically, Nguyen Dieu Linh couldn’t sell any poultry. She tried to advertise the chicken on her Facebook. In early days, her friends have bought the chicken and shared the information and more people have known the farm.

Linh was eagerly saying that more and more customers and eateries have ordered her chicken adding that she will take heed of advertising the chicken on internet later.

During coronavirus pandemic, not only farmers but enterprises also advertised their products internet. For instance, Vinh Thanh Dat Company had to spend on production line to process eggs as sales of their products have increased after the company marketed it on internet.

Chairman of Phuc Sinh Company’s board of director Phan Minh Thong said the percentage for internet sales of of pepper, cashew, coffee bean tripled that before the coronavirus pandemic. The company has recruited more employees for marketing, packaging and transporting products.

More and more farmers have marketed their products in internet. Distribution channels have been booming; transportation companies agreed to deliver commodities at homes. E-commerce platforms have developed more to connect farmers and buyers; prices of agricultural products are therefore cheaper.

The remaining matters are food safety, slaughter and preservation of poultry, chicken meats and fish.

According to the Vietnam Digital Agriculture Association, farmers nowadays should be good at marketing, taking photographs, writing status to advertise their products but above all, they must enhance their good reputation because purchasing and selling through internet rely heavily on trust between sellers and buyers.

Economists advised farmers to work with prestigious e-commerce platforms which will earn their certificates of food safety and ensure stable sales.