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A Frenchman has become one of the first vanilla farmers in the country.

He tells Chris Mueller how he was able to grow this highly profitable yet difficult to produce plant in Vietnam.
It hasnt been easy, but after six years of trying, sometimes failing, and a lot of determination, a Frenchman has managed to become one of the first commercial vanilla farmers in Vietnam. Until now most vanilla has been imported, but Frederic Lacroix has tapped a new market by growing and selling this highly profitable spice to upscale restaurants, hotels and resorts for use in food. Lacroixs farm is in Binh Thuan province not far from Phan Thiet along Vietnams southern coast. It is truly in the middle of nowhere. To get there, you turn off the main highway down a long straight dirt road that cuts through desert-like rolling hills flanked by forest before turning onto an even more rugged path. Lacroix uses a bright yellow Toyota Highlander to make the trip a little easier. The SUV sticks out as the seemingly only modern amenity at his house. He lives in a very basic onestory Vietnamese-style house with his wife and 12-year-old daughter. He also has about 10 staff living on the property. His wife, who is originally from central Vietnam, helps him around the farm where they grow other crops like sesame, peanuts and
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passion fruit. Lacroix first came to Vietnam in 1995 and worked as an exporter. Before that he had worked at a restaurant in Tahiti where he says he started to become interested in growing vanilla. When he began his farm six years ago, his neighbours and friends were skeptical. At first everyone was laughing at me and said there is no water here he says. Lacroix says he had to drill wells about 70 metres deep to get enough water for his farm. He also has put a green canopy over his vanilla vines to give them the shade they require to grow properly. After two years of trying, he was able to get the vanilla cuttings he had imported to grow, flower and produce beans. Then about a year and a half ago he had his first harvest. Now he has about 20,000 plants that yield about 400 kilograms a year. He says he hopes to expand his farm to seven hectares, which would produce about seven tons of vanilla beans a year. His persistence has paid off. Now, he says he sells the beans for between US$50 and US$250 a kilogramme depending on the size. Most of his customers

are big resorts and hotels like the Sofitel Metropole in Hanoi, the Caravelle in HCM City and Anantara in Mui Ne that had to previously import their vanilla. Vanilla is indigenous to Mexico, which means certain insects in Vietnam can destroy the plants. The first time Lacroix was able to harvest the beans, he says he lost 99 per cent of the crop. Once he discovered these insects were responsible for destroying much of his first harvest, he came out at night with a flashlight and removed all of them by hand. But the next night, he says the insects were back. Now he has to come out each night to remove them. Even now he says he still loses up to 90 per cent of the beans before they can be harvested. Sometimes you say, Why do we come here? when you see the bean on the soil, he says. But he stuck with it through the years and lives a life different than most people he knows, which is exactly what he wants. I dont like to live like everybody. Growing vanilla is a time consuming and complex process, which is why it is one of the most expensive spices in the world. Vanilla is a vine in

the orchid family that has a pale green to yellowish flower when it blooms about once every nine months. If the flowers are not pollinated they die within a day, meaning they wont produce fruit, usually referred to as beans or pods, until they flower again in nine months. Native bees and hummingbirds pollinate vanilla in Mexico. Although it is grown commercially in other parts of the world, these areas dont have the same pollinating animals as Mexico, so most farmers have to do this by hand making vanilla an extremely labour-intensive crop. In 2008, researchers from Hue University were also able to successfully grow vanilla in Thua Thien-Hue, according to a report by Kyoto University, but Lacroix says at this point he thinks his company, Vanilla Farm, is the only one in a position to actually be selling it. Countries like Madagascar and Indonesia are notable vanilla producers because the plants grow well in their hot and humid climates and Binh Thuan has similar properties. If other farmers follow Lacroixs example, its not inconceivable that vanilla could become Vietnams next cash crop.

Photos by Chris Mueller asialife HCMC 31

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