Tuong Duong mountainous district half term of innovation

Changes in difficult areas

Nga My commune is a particularly difficult area, more than 65km from the center of Tuong Duong district with 1,111 households, 5,009 people, of which 557 are poor households (accounting for 50.14%); 61 near-poor households (accounting for 5.49%).

During the past half term, the Party Committee and the government of Nga My commune have implemented many solutions to eliminate hunger, reduce poverty, increase income, and improve the material and spiritual life of the people. First of all, it is to create changes in the thoughts, actions, thinking and working habits of cadres, party members and ethnic minorities in the area.

Coming to Nga My today, you will witness the excitement of large-scale markets held on the 1st and 15th of the lunar month every month.

This is not only a place for ethnic people to exchange goods but also an opportunity for people to meet, exchange and participate in cultural activities. "Previously, the products made by local people did not know who to sell to. Since the market opened, goods, agricultural products, including brocade and woven products have a place to sell, and people's lives have also improved," said Ms. Vi Thi Dung in Vang Mon village.

According to Mr. Kha Van Lap - Secretary of Nga My Commune Party Committee: In addition to effectively implementing national target programs and implementing the Resolution of the Commune Party Congress, the Party Committee and the government have focused on directing people to maximize the potential and advantages of the locality, applying science and technology to cultivation, increasing the productivity of rice fields by more than 170 hectares; implementing the conversion of crop structure for low-yield areas. In addition, making the most of flat land, land along streams to develop various vegetables or fruit trees; taking advantage of production forest land (in places with conditions) to plant concentrated forests; developing key indigenous seedlings such as cassava, acacia, growing medicinal herbs, raising ducks, raising fish, raising large livestock in villages outside the area...

Despite facing many difficulties, there has been a positive change in the way people think and work. Currently, Nga My people have boldly participated in new models to increase their income such as the DT52 glutinous rice intensive model on an area of ​​13 hectares with 93 households participating; the 8-hectare winter corn model with 50 households participating; the 97 glutinous rice model on 10 hectares with 70 households participating; the Taiwanese mango growing model in Bay and Na Ca villages with a scale of 2.6 hectares...

In Yen Hoa commune, Project 07-DA/HU on "eliminating conservative, expectant, and dependent thinking among cadres, party members, and people" - one of the important projects to implement the Resolution of the Tuong Duong District Party Congress for the 2020-2025 term has been concretized with specific programs and actions to promote internal strength and arouse the spirit of proactiveness among the people.

As evidence, Yen Hoa has recently become known as an emerging tourist destination in the district, with a system of nearly 50 waterwheels and a beautiful cajuput forest. Yen Hoa is also one of two localities chosen to develop medicinal herbs under the forest canopy, mainly velvet antler and yellow flower tea concentrated in Yen Tan, Yen Hop and Coc villages.

Taking us to visit the medicinal model on an area of ​​1.5 hectares, Mr. Vi Van Chom - Head of Coc village said: My family started growing khôi nhung in 2020, last year we started harvesting the first batch (both leaves and branches) of about 4 quintals, after drying we sold it for 200,000 VND/kg. Not only that, now I have successfully cultivated more than 1,200 plants and am proposing to expand the model.

According to Mr. Dang Van Vien - Vice Chairman of Yen Hoa Commune People's Committee: Currently, there are about 10.5 hectares of medicinal plants in the area. The post-harvest products are purchased by the Central Southeast Medicine Company, with retail prices ranging from 200,000 to 250,000 VND/kg (dried products), and imported products selling for 180,000 VND/kg.

In addition to medicinal herbs, implementing the Resolution of the 21st Yen Hoa Commune Party Congress, many models of livestock and cultivation have also been deployed such as banana planting, forest planting, acacia planting, buffalo and cow breeding. The whole commune has 31 small and medium-sized farms that have developed well, contributing to increasing the income of local people, and the rural landscape has changed a lot.

Arouse the will of self-reliance and self-improvement for development

The Resolution of the 27th Tuong Duong District Party Congress, term 2020 - 2025, defines the general goal: "Improving the leadership capacity of the Party Committee and the responsibility of the political system, uniting the entire people, promoting the will and aspiration to rise up, effectively using all resources, shifting the economic structure appropriately, promoting economic growth: Focusing on building essential infrastructure systems; taking care of cultural and social development; improving the material and spiritual life of the people. Ensuring national defense, security, social order and safety, determined to help Tuong Duong escape from poverty".

With the determination to successfully implement the goals set out in the resolution, the Party Committee of Tuong Duong district has directed the implementation of many solutions to effectively combat the mentality of waiting and relying on others among cadres, party members and people of all walks of life; creating a strong change in the will to be self-reliant, self-reliant, and the desire to escape poverty, enhancing the role of the people as the main subject, and comprehensively developing farmers, agriculture and rural areas.

Accordingly, the district focuses on shifting small-scale agricultural production to intensive farming, concentrated commodity production associated with food safety and hygiene, environmental protection, and increasing product value. At the same time, effectively promoting the potential and advantages of large areas of forestry land (accounting for 92% of the total area) and over 7,000 hectares of water surface area, to shift the economic structure towards reducing the proportion of the agricultural sector and increasing the proportion of the forestry and fishery sectors.

In the field of livestock, the district has directed the promotion of the development of farm and ranch models towards commodity production. The district currently has 12 farms and 26 ranches; the total herd of buffalo and cows in 2022 will reach 91.65%; the total herd of pigs will reach 83% of the congress target.

Aquaculture brings high economic efficiency through effectively exploiting the advantages of water surface in Ban Ve and Khe Bo lakes. In 2022, the total number of fish cages in the district is 501; the output of fishing and aquaculture reaches 595 tons, reaching 98.94% of the congress target.

The district especially focuses on developing raw material forests. Secretary of Tuong Duong District Party Committee Nguyen Van Hai affirmed: "The livelihood of poor households in mountainous areas must still be linked to forests to protect forests and reap benefits from forests."

As of June 2023, the whole district planted 2,552.8 hectares of forest, protected 218,339 hectares of forest, reaching 98%; cared for planted forests 3,220 hectares, reaching 83%; forest cover rate reached 79.26% of the congress target. Overall, the economic structure in Tuong Duong district has shifted positively, agriculture decreased from 61.3% to 57.5%; forestry increased from 36.02% to 39.8%; fishery increased from 2.68% to 2.7%.

In addition, the District Party Committee has directed step-by-step investment in infrastructure to develop spiritual tourism, eco-tourism, and community tourism such as building and embellishing relic sites such as Cua Rao Temple, Xa Luong Commune; and is taking steps to build Tuong Duong Pagoda. Many eco-tourism service models have initially brought economic efficiency to the people, such as: Tam Quang eco-tourism cluster (Nam Xan eco-tourism area) - Tam Dinh (Sang Le forest, Khe Co) - Van Cua Rao Temple - Luu Kien (Khe Kien); Con Nuoc tourist site, Yen Hoa Commune; Nha Vang Waterfall - Nhon Mai Commune...

As a border district, clearly aware that ensuring peace for the people, the area and the border can create a driving force for development, in the past half term, in parallel with maintaining good foreign relations with the government, people and armed forces with the villages, districts and border provinces of Laos, the Party Committee and the government of Tuong Duong district have also deployed many solutions to maintain political security, rural security and border security. Notably, the effective implementation of Directive No. 08-CT/HU on building a drug-free district. As a result, 14/17 communes and towns have met the drug-free criteria, and it is expected that by 2025, 17/17 communes and towns will be drug-free.

It can be affirmed that, despite many difficulties and challenges, in the past half term, the Party Committee, government and people of all ethnic groups in Tuong Duong district have united and unanimously realized action programs to bring the Resolutions of Party Congresses at all levels into life.

Thereby, the socio-economy continued to develop, national defense and security were ensured, and Party building work had many innovations. The above results are the basis and motivation for the Party Committee, government and people of all ethnic groups in the district to continue to be determined to successfully implement the Resolution of the Party Congresses at all levels for the 2020-2025 term.