Nguyen Hoang Huy is one farmer who succeeded where most failed. While most farmers gave up on looking for appropriate use for saline soil in the southern province of Long An, Huy discovered the science of growing palm trees on salty soil. But Huy actually came up with the idea just by chance. He also endured hard times before achieving success. During that time, two big floods in 1996 and 2000 destroyed his property and livelihood. Looking for ways to recover from the loss, he met someone who was planting palm seedlings from Malaysia. He asked for some of the seedlings and planted them on his farm.
 
During the process, Huy found out that palm trees adapted well to different kinds of soil. And since they usually grew in tropical areas, they could withstand poor drainage, even constant flooding. Huy then planted more palm seedling and created a small plantation. He scattered some of the seeds on rice husks and covered them with coconut fiber in order to sprout. After three months, he transplanted them on his land wherein the palm trees grew healthy and straight with unbranched stems and big, evergreen leaves. They produced a bountiful of small, white-star shaped flowers.
 
Soon, the adaptable nature and even pleasant appearance of the palm trees made them well-known in the region as beautiful ornamental plants. Huy’s hard work and perseverance began paying off by selling the trees to industrial zones, hotels and resorts in Long An and other neighboring provinces. A tree 1-1.3 meters tall sold at around VND 1.5-5 million ($74-$240).
 
Huy’s farm is 3.5 hectares big. He has a total of 3,000 palm trees in his property which brings in a total annual revenue of VND 500 million (US $24,000) from selling them as ornamental plants. His pioneering farming ability earned him the title Distinguished Farmer in his province.