3 breakthroughs to build Ky Son into a comprehensively developed region.

A view of Muong Xen town today. Photo: Sach Nguyen

PV:The goal of Ky Son is to focus on effectively exploiting the district's potential advantages, striving to build Ky Son into a comprehensively developed district and escape poverty as soon as possible. To achieve this, what breakthroughs has Ky Son chosen?

Comrade Nguyen Huu Minh:

The Resolution of the 23rd Congress of the Ky Son District Party Committee, term 2020-2025, sets forth the important goal of: Strengthening the great unity of all ethnic groups; enhancing the leadership capacity and fighting strength of the Party Committee, building a strong Party and political system; promoting democracy and the combined strength of socio-economic development, ensuring national defense, security, and foreign relations; effectively implementing social welfare; effectively exploiting the potential advantages of the district, striving to build Ky Son into a comprehensively developed district, and soon escaping poverty.

To achieve that, the district has identified the following three breakthrough areas:

The first:Strong reforms are needed to enhance exemplary conduct, combat conservative thinking, dependence, and parochialism based on localism, ethnicity, and clan ties among cadres, Party members, and the people.

Monday:Implementing land allocation linked to forest allocation to households aims to improve the efficiency of forest management and protection, form and develop concentrated agricultural and forestry production zones on a value chain scale, and combine this with the development of medicinal plants under the forest canopy.

Tuesday:Restructuring the district's economy towards a commodity-based approach, developing production scale, and forming a system of key products linked to the establishment of geographical indications, trademarks, and brands for Ky Son district products; developing cooperative economic production models in agriculture, forestry, and small-scale handicrafts. Developing trade, services, and tourism; preserving and promoting the cultural identity of ethnic groups; ensuring national defense and security; and deepening foreign relations with border localities of neighboring Laos.

Noọng Dẻ village, Nậm Cắn commune (Kỳ Sơn district). Photo: Sách Nguyễn.

Identifying that development direction will be an important basis for Ky Son district to formulate appropriate policies and strategies for each specific period. Following the successful conclusion of the 23rd Congress of the Ky Son District Party Committee, term 2020-2025, the district has focused on disseminating information and guiding all levels and sectors to develop specific solutions for the widespread implementation of the district's three key breakthroughs.

PVClearly, in just a short period of time, Ky Son has made significant progress in all areas. Could you please share some specific results?

Comrade Nguyen Huu Minh:

Over the past period, the district has decisively implemented tasks and solutions to direct and manage socio-economic development, and promptly issued work programs, growth scenarios, and assigned targets and plans for units, communes, and towns to proactively implement.

Comrade Nguyen Huu Minh, Chairman of the Ky Son District People's Committee, surveys the expansion of medicinal plant cultivation in Tay Son commune. Photo: Lu Phu.

Along with that, the district focused on implementing the dual goal of both preventing and controlling the Covid-19 pandemic and actively directing economic development, especially directing the production of the Summer-Autumn crop, the main crop of the year for the ethnic minorities in the mountainous Ky Son district; preventing and controlling livestock and poultry diseases; ensuring social welfare; ensuring national defense and security; managing and protecting forests... With the efforts of departments, agencies, communes, and towns, and the attention and assistance from the Central and Provincial governments, Ky Son district has achieved remarkable results.

Comrade Nguyen Huu Minh, Chairman of the Ky Son District People's Committee, works with the people of Yen Hoa village, My Ly commune. Photo: Lu Phu.

In particular, during the implementation process, Ky Son always received timely attention and support from the Central Government and the Province through programs and projects such as: the National Target Program for Sustainable Poverty Reduction and the New Rural Development Program, and balanced funding from the Provincial Budget… Ky Son has risen to the challenge, building a comprehensive infrastructure, contributing to social welfare and creating a foundation for economic development in the district.

It can be seen that, in recent years, the district has effectively mobilized and utilized resources for development in various fields, most notably the successful restructuring of the agricultural sector towards commodity production, the formation of specialized farming areas, and the strengthening of the application of science and technology associated with the development of processing and consumption industries along the value chain, based on promoting local advantageous products such as ginger, taro, green squash, Mong melon, and sweet cabbage grown by the Mong ethnic group on the mountain slopes,...

The district has promoted the application of appropriate science, technology, and techniques, forming specialized production areas for crops, combined with building geographical indications, brands, and trademarks for the district's strong agricultural products; expanding the area of ​​clean vegetable cultivation on hillside fields according to the seasons. It has also expanded the area of ​​high-economic-value industrial crops suitable to the district's soil; and developed medicinal plants such as Phuxailaileng ginseng, Polygonum multiflorum, Codonopsis pilosula, Panax notoginseng, and seven-leaf one-flowered ginseng... in the highland communes.

The plan involves gradually shifting from small-scale, scattered livestock farming to concentrated farming in farms, family farms, and households; forming livestock farming areas far from residential areas, such as the Muong Long Black Chicken Farming Cooperative and the Khe Nhinh Cooperative in Huu Kiem commune; shifting the structure towards increasing the proportion of poultry in livestock herds; and developing livestock farming in conjunction with waste treatment, minimizing environmental pollution, ensuring food safety and hygiene, and preventing and controlling diseases.

Developing livestock products that leverage local advantages, meeting consumer and processing needs, and contributing to economic growth and restructuring. The goal is to increase the total buffalo herd to 9,600, the cattle herd to 39,800, the pig herd to 26,000, and the poultry flock to 150,000 by 2021…

Residents of Huoi Tu commune introduce and sell local products. Photo courtesy of Hoang Vinh.

Continue to protect the area of ​​protective forests and review the land fund, balancing the area of ​​protective forests and production land appropriately. Promote the allocation of land and forests, linking the interests of the people in the management, enclosure, protection, care, and planting of forests. Develop the area of ​​high-economic-value tree species suitable to the ecological conditions, such as cypress, fir, and medicinal plants under the forest canopy.

Effectively implement central and provincial policies supporting production development through poverty reduction projects and programs, and support for diversified livelihoods. Replicate successful production development models. Transfer and train people in applying scientific and technological advancements to production, thereby contributing to the gradual shift of the agricultural economic structure in the right direction. Improve the quality and efficiency of production, especially for the district's key products (Tuyet San tea, ginger, livestock farming, and vegetables). Strictly adhere to the regulations of the Law on Public Investment in rural development...

PVDue to the severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, achieving the district's goals will face many difficulties in the coming period. Could you please outline appropriate development solutions in this new situation?

Comrade Nguyen Huu Minh:

Due to the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy in general, Ky Son district is no exception. As a border district with over 203 km of border and boundary markers, bordering four districts in three provinces of Laos, the Ky Son District Party Committee and government have implemented timely measures to control and prevent the spread of the disease. Along with increased inspections, the district's COVID-19 prevention and control steering committee regularly holds online meetings with the People's Committees of 21 communes and towns, 7 border guard posts, and functional forces in the communes to promptly direct the implementation of disease prevention and control according to the recommendations of the Ministry of Health. In particular, they have strengthened control and checkpoint forces along the border to prevent people from illegally crossing the border via unofficial trails.

Alongside disease prevention and control efforts, especially strictly adhering to the Ministry of Health's "5K" recommendations, the district also directed communes to mobilize and guide people to actively participate in the 2021 Summer-Autumn crop season, with a total planted area of ​​over 6,544 hectares of upland rice, 740 hectares of paddy rice, and nearly 1,400 hectares of corn. This is considered the main production season of the year, providing up to 70% of the food supply for the people of Ky Son district for the year.

Huu Kiem commune has achieved the new rural standard. Photo: Lu Phu

In particular, at the beginning of 2021, Ky Son District, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghe An Province, conducted a survey, assessment, and development orientation for Na Ngoi commune. Specifically, with a large natural land area of ​​over 17,000 hectares, a cool climate year-round, and fertile soil, and especially with the Pu Xai Lai Leng peak reaching 2,720 meters above sea level, Na Ngoi commune in Ky Son District has great potential for developing an agricultural-industrial complex, combined with tourism services including resort tourism, spiritual tourism, community tourism, and adventure tourism conquering the Pu Xai Lai Leng peak.

Springtime in Muong Long, the capital of the region. Photo: Ho Nhat Thanh

To unlock the natural potential of Na Ngoi commune, transforming it into a "Sa Pa" of Nghe An province, a second "Da Lat," Ky Son district has collaborated with Thien Minh Duc Group to plan and invest in the construction of an agricultural-industrial complex, combined with tourism services including resort tourism, spiritual tourism, community tourism, and adventure tourism to conquer Pu Xai mountain peak, covering an area of ​​2,000 hectares.

Furthermore, Thien Minh Duc Group is also supporting the district by planning and directly investing in the construction of a modern urban area in Block 1 of Muong Xen town and Hoa Son village, Ta Ca commune. This is the most modern urban area in the Western districts, including a chain of guesthouses and services, creating a highlight to attract tourists to Ky Son in the future.

The task force of Nam Can commune and Nam Can Border Gate Border Guard Station are carrying out disease prevention and control awareness campaigns for the local people. Photo: Thanh Cuong

In addition, the district focused on directing the development of programs and projects (29 projects and programs according to the action plan of the District Party Congress) to preserve, conserve, and promote the cultural identity of ethnic groups (Mong, Thai, Khmu). It intensified propaganda, mobilization, and education of the people, creating a strong shift in their will to self-reliance in eradicating poverty. Simultaneously, it built key national defense projects in the defense zone, strengthened propaganda and education on national defense and security; regularly patrolled and guarded the area, maintaining security and order, especially national border security. It continued to strengthen foreign relations with districts and provinces of the Lao People's Democratic Republic across all three pillars: Party diplomacy, State diplomacy, and people-to-people diplomacy.

PV: Thank you, comrade!