Secret to poverty reduction in Con Cuong

(Baonghean) - In recent years, Con Cuong district has always been at the forefront of the province in poverty reduction. Going back to this land, we met many Kinh, Thai, Dan Lai households... telling stories of voluntarily writing applications to remove their names from the list of poor households;

Thickening the number of poverty alleviation applications…

Since 2012, Con Cuong district has seen families write applications to leave poverty. These are 15 families: Vi Van Thoai, Luong Van Chau, Vi Van Hung, Lo Thi Huong, Lo Thi Thuy, Lo Quoc Hung, Lo Van Diep, Lo Doan Xo, Vi Thi Huong, Vi Thi Phuong, Luu Dinh An, Luu Dinh Thoi, Luu Dinh Nga, Lo Xuan Dien, Lu Thi Toan in Thach Ngan commune. Among them, the family of Mr. Luu Dinh An (69 years old), Thach Tien village is the pioneer.

Voluntary applications to escape poverty.

Mr. An's family was voted poor by the villagers at the end of 2011, but in June 2012, they withdrew. For Mr. An, as a party member, accepting the poor household status was a painful experience, not a matter of conscience; even though the poor household status also originated from the mutual love and affection of the villagers when he had a bladder tumor in 2011. Therefore, after enjoying the poor household status for 1 year, when he was past the critical stage, he reported to the party cell and villagers and submitted a request to withdraw his name from the poor household list.

Mr. An confided: "Regarding writing the application, I also want to set an example for my children and grandchildren. Don't wait or rely on others, but strive to improve yourself through your own efforts. After I wrote the application, some more families asked to be removed from the list of poor households...".

As for Ms. Lo Thi Huong (50 years old), at the end of 2011, she was still the poorest household in Dong Tam village. However, on November 7, 2012, she wrote a request to be removed from the list of poor households. She wrote: "...With the help of the village, especially the village women's association, my family's economic life has improved. Now I am writing this request to my superiors to remove my family from the list of poor households...".

With 4 sao of rice fields, each year she gets about 2 tons of rice; Ms. Huong raises pigs, each year she sells about 1.2 tons of pork, earning a profit of 25 - 30 million VND. Ms. Huong said: "Looking up, I am not as good as anyone, but looking down, there are many people who have a harder time than me. I have to ask to withdraw to save a spot for others...".

Also in Thach Ngan, at the end of 2013, a Dan Lai family applied to leave the poor household. That was the family of Mr. La Dinh Tham in Thach Son village. The reason, as Mr. Tham said, was because he considered that "we had better conditions than the people in the village", so he discussed with his wife, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Huong, to apply; even though he knew that leaving the poor household would mean losing out on benefits.

Agricultural and industrial extension officers coordinated with Yen Khe commune and the fertilizer company to guide people in taking care of orange trees - a type of tree that brings high economic benefits to people.

There are many localities in Con Cuong such as Mon Son, Luc Da, Yen Khe, Bong Khe, Chau Khe, Lang Khe, Chi Khe, Mau Duc... where Kinh, Thai, and Dan Lai families have applied to be removed from poverty.

It can be said that at the same time, in the same area, hundreds of people voluntarily wrote applications to leave poverty, which is a record. But it was even happier when surveying some families who had left poverty in Yen Khe, and seeing that everyone confirmed that leaving poverty was the right thing to do, and excitedly discussed that through that, they also "contributed a small part to help their commune reach the new rural finish line...".

Striving for a sustainable direction

It is known that in 2015, while in some other districts, the poverty reduction rate stagnated, Con Cuong still reduced it by 5.84% (from 36.53 in 2014 to 30.69%).

Jokingly asked the Chairman of the People’s Committee of Vi Van Son district what is the “secret” to Con Cuong “stabilizing” the poverty reduction rate? He said: “I think no individual can do it. It requires the participation of the entire political system with the consensus of all cadres, party members and all classes of people…”.

Tea development is an economic spearhead of Yen Khe commune (Con Cuong).

Recently, it has been found that there are still many families of cadres and party members in the area who are poor. The District Party Committee and People's Committee of Con Cuong District share the same view: cadres and party members must be pioneers, exemplary in all work, strive to do good business and get out of poverty so that the people can believe in them. And this is the first step to carry out propaganda work, mobilizing all people to unanimously achieve the goal of poverty reduction.

The District Party Committee and People's Committee have focused on economic development, taking the economy as the backbone of the poverty reduction program. Thereby, they have focused on directing and promoting the implementation of programs and projects on agricultural and fishery extension, transferring scientific and technical advances, bringing cadres, party members, and young intellectuals to the grassroots, directly guiding poor households on how to do business...

Poverty rate in Con Cuong district. Graphics: Huu Quan

Therefore, from 2012 to now, many models of high-quality, high-yield plants and animals have been effectively implemented and replicated in Con Cuong land such as orange varieties, rice, peanuts covered with plastic, fish varieties, native cows, Quy ducks... and vegetables.

Mr. Le Van Hong - Head of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of Con Cuong shared his experience, from the first applications for poverty reduction, they were expanded, aroused into a movement, contributing to making Con Cuong a bright spot in the province's poverty reduction work...

Leaving this land at the time when everything is wearing a new green color, my heart is filled with nostalgia. Perhaps the “secret” to poverty reduction is unity and solidarity for a good goal!

Ha Giang