Solving the problem of sustainable employment for rural workers during the Covid-19 pandemic

People from southern provinces return to their hometowns to avoid the epidemic. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Pressure on the balance of employment and social security

According to the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Nghe An province, there are currently nearly 100,000 people returning from the Covid-19 epidemic area to districts, cities and towns in the province. Of which, the number of people of working age is more than 75,000 people, accounting for 75.95% of the total number of citizens returning to their hometowns. The problem is how to solve the problem of sustainable employment for rural workers living with the Covid-19 epidemic from now on? Thereby actively contributing to improving the material and spiritual life of the people so that they can feel secure in their homeland.

On August 12, 2021, the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued a Project to create jobs for workers in the province for the period of 2021-2025. The Project sets out many tasks and solutions that must be implemented, such as: Completing and developing the labor market information system, connecting labor supply and demand; improving the quality of human resources, paying attention to information, propaganda and counseling, career guidance, developing businesses and entrepreneurs, supporting youth and students in starting businesses and businesses; focusing resources on supporting employment and improving the effectiveness of state management of employment. These are comprehensive solutions that need to be planned and implemented well by all levels and sectors.

Farmers in Dien Thinh (Dien Chau) go to the fields to produce winter crops. Photo: Canh Yen

However, in reality, the economic transformation in the localities in recent times has not really created many jobs for the majority of people. There is a lack of jobs while some summer-autumn and winter crops are left fallow due to low efficiency, income, difficult product output, etc. Rural areas mostly lack enterprises, industry, and small-scale handicrafts are slow to develop, so there are not many job opportunities for workers, etc. Therefore, solving the problem of rural labor living with the long-term Covid-19 pandemic is still mainly economic solutions, taking care of the livelihoods of people in the localities.

Solving the employment problem with innovative economic thinking

In the province, there have been many models and farms that have been produced and operated by households, which are effective but have not become a movement or aspiration of many households determined to get rich on their own land. The family of Mr. Tran Trong Binh in Thuan Son commune (Do Luong) received a 7-hectare hill in 2010. If hybrid acacia is planted, it will take 5-6 years to harvest 50-60 million VND/ha (calculated to only reach 10 million VND/ha/year), which is enough to cover the costs.

Broiler chicken farming model of Mr. Le Van The's family in Hamlet 4, Dien Trung Commune (Dien Chau). Photo: Thu Huyen

His family decided to raise hill chickens under the canopy of hybrid acacia forests. The chicks are imported, and their food is corn, rice, sweet potatoes, and bran. The chickens are sold in school canteens, large restaurants in Vinh city, towns, etc. Each year, the family raises 12 batches, each batch has 5,500 - 6,000 chickens (average selling price 70 - 80,000 VND/kg), so the annual revenue is quite high, and the family's living standards have improved significantly. Currently, the family has reduced the area of ​​hybrid acacia to grow 1 hectare of seedless lemons.

Also under the canopy of hybrid acacia trees, dozens of households in Dong Thanh and Quang Thanh communes (Yen Thanh district) have invested in raising bees for honey. Hybrid acacia trees are drought-resistant, improve soil quality, have few pests and diseases, do not require spraying pesticides, and have concentrated flowering seasons, so they are very suitable for developing honey beekeeping. Each year, honey production in Dong Thanh and Quang Thanh communes has reached over 30 tons. With an average selling price of 400,000 VND/liter, the additional income per hectare of hybrid acacia is quite large.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghe An, in 2020, the whole province had 190,000 hectares of timber trees, mainly hybrid acacia. If more households are encouraged to combine production and business with raising chickens like Mr. Binh's family (Do Luong), and combine beekeeping for honey like households in Dong Thanh and Quang Thanh communes (Yen Thanh), it will be a significant source of income for rural people.

Leaders of Thai Hoa town visited the honey bee farming model in Tay Hieu commune.

Kim Thanh Commune (Yen Thanh) is a mountainous area with arid land, mainly growing cassava, sweet potatoes, hybrid acacia, and people's lives are difficult. From a few households switching to growing peach blossoms to sell during Tet, it has now grown to dozens of households. The whole commune currently has over 30 hectares of peach blossoms and has been planned to grow to 150 hectares in the next few years. After two years of planting (usually 1,500-2,000 trees/ha), it can be sold to traders and earn about 1 billion VND/ha. The advantage of peach trees is that they are quite drought-resistant, have few pests and diseases, if well cared for, pruned, and shaped, after 2 years they can be sold as ornamental peach trees and the longer the trees are kept, the higher their value. Every year on the occasion of Tet, Kim Thanh peach blossoms are brought by traders to sell in provinces and cities: Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh, Vinh... bringing income to Kim Thanh farmers.

Many farmers have built highly effective cage fish farming models. Photo: Tien Dong

Regarding seafood production and business, many households in Quynh Luu, Dien Chau, Nghi Loc have achieved high efficiency. A typical example is the household of Mr. Nguyen Viet Thang in Dien Trung, Dien Chau. He invested in 6 floating tanks using Israeli technology, each tank has a capacity of 500m3.³seawater. This is a model that saves land area (only 1.2 hectares), directly pumps seawater to raise 3 crops of white-leg shrimp/year, minimizes diseases, handles environmental pollution conveniently, and takes initiative in weather (rain, sun, storms and floods). With that farming method, his family's project annually produces over 50 tons of commercial shrimp and brings in tens of billions of dong in income...

In recent years, many provinces have strongly transformed the rural economy associated with new rural construction, especially boldly replacing some ineffective crops to develop fruit trees such as Son La (over 82,000 hectares), Ben Tre (over 100,000 hectares), Tien Giang (over 72,000 hectares), Bac Giang (over 28,000 hectares)... Organizing the consumption of all 28,000 hectares of ripe lychee right at the time when the Covid-19 epidemic broke out in industrial parks in Bac Giang province is worth referring to for provinces with large products.

Nghe An has a fairly abundant agricultural land area, farmers are hard-working and have many models, typical examples of getting rich on their own land. If the authorities and sectors continue to lead and direct strongly to encourage people to produce and attract businesses to invest in purchasing and deeply processing agricultural products, solving the consumption stage well will be a very important measure to create the most jobs for rural workers today. On that basis, the goal of "leaving agriculture but not leaving home" in rural areas can be achieved, overcoming the situation of workers having to leave their hometown to work far away while the epidemic and natural disasters are still complicated and unpredictable.