Know how to choose a job and work hard to escape poverty!

Editor's note:Since the issue published on October 17, Nghe An Newspaper has opened the column "Weekend Chat" every Friday to discuss good practices and valuable experiences in various areas of life. This week, on the occasion of "National Day for the Poor", Nghe An Newspaper reporters met and discussed with Ms. Vo Thi Nghia (born in 1968, in Lang Nam Parish, Nghi Trung, Nghi Loc) about her family's way of escaping poverty and becoming rich.

On the farm of Ms. Vo Thi Nghia.

- In the same situation as many other rural women, growing up, getting married, following farming to build a family life of your own; how did you start your new life?

- I always remember the day my husband and I moved out, the only way to make a living was 5 sao of contracted rice fields, the weather was unpredictable, looking at that to take care of the housework and raise the children to go to school was extremely difficult...

Thinking that we are young, healthy, and hard-working, can we just stay poor forever? We have been very worried and calculating to find a way to escape poverty. However, just thinking about it has caused us to get stuck, so we have to both make an effort to stabilize our daily lives and constantly learn and worry. The problem is that we have to have high determination, be determined to be hardworking and persistent...

- And how did you manage to "open the way"?

- We came up with many options and pondered over them: Opening a grocery store would be difficult due to the high capital costs; or working for hire in the city would mean being far away from my husband and children... Finally, I discussed with my husband and decided to raise ducks in the fields, because at that time, the fields were vast and few people raised them. I borrowed 3 million VND from the Agricultural Bank to buy 100 ducklings, initially raising them in the fields on the outskirts of the village. When the ducks grew bigger, we needed to find fields far away with plenty of food. After a long journey, we finally found a field in Nghi Yen commune to move the ducks to. Since then, the couple "ate and slept" with the ducks, sometimes traveling to Nghi Tien, Cau Cam, sometimes Nghi Lien... By working hard like that, the income from raising ducks in the fields was enough to pay off the bank loan and expand the duck flock.

- The "roadmap" from raising ducks in the fields to a comprehensive livestock farm including buffalo, cows, pigs, ducks and fish, all with a herd size, earning more than 100 million VND/year, surely you must have made more bold decisions?

- That is, when we have accumulated a small amount of capital, the children are grown up, if the parents keep going far away to herd ducks all day, they will not have time to take care of them. We have to change to a new business direction to have the conditions to care for the children's education. I discussed with my husband to take on a 4-hectare wasteland on the border between Nghi Trung (Nghi Loc) and Nghi Lien (Vinh City) to build a livestock model. My family was worried that the land was far from the residential area, if we had to bring electricity there, it would cost a lot of money, and then we would have to level the ground to be able to build a farm, which would be an expensive investment. I persuaded him: The land is difficult, so no one would accept it, and if we accept it and "finish it out" that would be better! Moreover, the terrain there is very suitable for raising ducks, digging ponds for fish, and raising buffaloes and cows. Finally, he agreed. It is impossible to say how much effort and money had to be put into that swampy land, such as hiring vehicles to level the ground, pouring hundreds of trucks of sand to create a new layer of soil suitable for the farm; hiring cranes to dig 3 surrounding fish ponds, planning areas for raising pigs, ducks, chickens, buffaloes, cows... In the first 3 years, the income only covered the expenses, and in the 4th year, it started to make a profit. The happiest thing was that at this time, the eldest son got married, did not follow his friend to work far away, but stayed with his parents and siblings to manage and build the family farm...

- Yes, maybe that is an understandable "attraction" not only for your children but also for many people who come here, because in addition to economic efficiency, the family farm is also a spacious facility, with a well-planned layout and especially ensures hygiene of the barns in a very beautiful green space?

- First of all, in business investment, we must always consider the sustainability factor, otherwise we will fail, sometimes even go bankrupt. In the organization of livestock farms in particular, the cleaning of barns and animal safety must be put first. With the weather like in our province, the sunny season is scorching, the rainy season is flooded, so when initially renovating the land, in addition to pouring all the sandy soil that has the effect of absorbing moisture quickly, I also discussed with my husband to buy heat-resistant trees with cool, tall canopies to build chicken and duck coops below, or shelter for buffalo and cows in the hot season. When planting trees and building barns, we must also carefully consider the locations to ensure both beauty and reasonable convenience for animal care and environmental sanitation. For example, currently on my farm, in addition to many other green trees, there are more than 50 coconut trees, which create a very cool feeling in the hot season. That environment is also for some livestock to develop close to nature...

- So, you have not only escaped poverty but also risen to become rich, built a satisfactory foundation and always brought pride in the results of labor to each member of the family, from which you are more enthusiastic about work. Have you had the opportunity to share good practices, helping many other poor households to rise?

- (Smiling brightly): I am a farmer, I just think simply that I am used to hard work, not afraid of hardship, so I choose a job to do, work diligently, take care of my results, and I will escape poverty. When I have enough to eat and save, I will help those around me!

Thank you and I wish your family farm continued success!

Thanh Thuy(perform)