When farmers are "ahead of the times"

(Baonghean) - Phu Dien land in the past (Dien Chau today) was a bustling place due to trading activities, a hub of the regions. Phu Dien people in the past were also famous for their dynamism. That, to this day, is further promoted in business, in the ability to cope with the market mechanism. We returned to Dien Chau and witnessed many things worth pondering.

endure hardship, not suffering

When talking about business talent in Bac Hong and Nam Hong blocks (Dien Hong commune), everyone mentions Chu Hung's family. Chu Hung is the owner of a facility that both melts steel billets and rolls steel into construction materials. People often call Chu Hung's family "scrap iron billionaires" because he used to work as a normal scrap collector. When he realized that the source of scrap was large, and that only importing and selling scrap would be less profitable than recycling, Chu Hung's family went to Thai Nguyen to study steelmaking, and at the same time hired Thai Nguyen workers to work as technical workers. From then on, Chu Hung's family "prospered" by melting steel and importing steel billets for Thai Nguyen itself, and rolling them into products to re-import to the Lao market.

Mr. Ho Viet Cuong, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Dien Hong Commune, said that in this commune there are many other "scrap billionaire" farmers such as Nguyen Hung, Nguyen Son, Trinh Van Bau... Not only recycling scrap iron, but there are also about 20 households recycling plastic scrap, paper scrap, recycling into plastic granules, packaging, other plastic products, cardboard boxes to import to China and Laos. From the successful households, Dien Hong gradually formed a production and purchasing hub for raw materials, scrap, gradually forming the Dien Hong Industrial Cluster by "genuine farmers" households carrying out effective production and business.

Shops of households in hamlet 6, Dien Thanh commune (Dien Chau). Photo: D.D

If in Dien Hong we encountered “scrap billionaire” farmers, farmers who own “industrial and handicraft” establishments, then in Dien Thap commune we encountered “village streets”. From afar, Dien Thap commune appeared with rows of high-rise buildings and many massive villas. Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh’s household in Hamlet 2, Dien Thap used to be a poor farming household. Since 2005, Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh followed the trend of going to Laos to find work. Starting from trading small items in villages in Laos, realizing that this was a “promised land”, Mr. Thanh expanded the collection of items such as bedding, pillows, mattresses, and construction materials. Initially, the goods were consigned by trucks and passenger cars. When he realized that the volume of goods circulating in Laos was convenient, Mr. Thanh bought trucks to connect with the collection facilities in Dien Thap to bring the goods to Laos. Up to now, Mr. Thanh has become a well-off household in hamlet 2. In addition to the vehicle system and working capital, he has just built a 12 billion VND house and bought a luxury tourist car for 5 billion VND.

Mr. Dau Xuan Manh, Vice Chairman of Dien Thap Commune People's Committee, said that before 2005, Dien Thap Commune was in the bottom group of Dien Chau District in terms of economy, but now it has become one of the leading units with a growth rate of 16% per year in the period 2010 - 2015. The total population of the commune is 6,500 people, of which 1,360 are currently working in Laos. In the commune, there are many households that have risen to become good at commercial services, such as Mr. Nguyen Cong in Hamlet 2, Nguyen Sam in Hamlet 3, Pham Phuong in Hamlet 6, Nguyen Hung in Hamlet 4, Pham Thao in Hamlet 3, Vo Ut in Hamlet 8... From farmers trading in Laos, Dien Thap now has 12 companies that both construct, produce and trade construction materials, and the whole commune has 5 establishments specializing in producing barbed wire to supply and consume in the Lao market.

At the Dien Thanh commune beach resort, Mr. Cao Ba Phong in hamlet 6 calls himself a "farmer doing tourism". The seafood in Dien Thanh is fresh, easy to buy, and cheaper than other places. Initially, his restaurant only served customers in the district and some mountainous districts who came to swim in the sea. Since 2010, the number of tourists from the northern provinces, especially Hanoi, coming to Dien Thanh has increased, Mr. Phong's family has gradually expanded the restaurant by renting 4 adjacent plots of land at the same time, upgrading the restaurant to Phong Ngu restaurant. Phong Ngu restaurant not only has 50 sets of outdoor tables and chairs but also has an air-conditioned room that can serve nearly 20 tables of guests at the same time. Mr. Phong said that not only on holidays but also on normal days, his restaurant is always the most crowded. Currently, Phong Ngu restaurant is doing paperwork to build two floors to increase the service area.

Sharing stories about the talented and dynamic farmers with Mr. Dau Ngoc Long, Deputy Head of the Department of Industry and Trade of Dien Chau district, Mr. Long shared: "The bold dynamism and calculation skills make Dien Chau farmers turn around very quickly. Many times they are ahead of the times, ahead of the mechanism, the mechanism has to follow them"...

"Go" accordingly...

In Dien Thap, if asked about business experience, the answer is always vague, mainly: "Do whatever is profitable and don't get caught!" Almost all farmer "bosses" are not interested in talking to journalists about their "tricks" of doing business. Mr. Dau Xuan Manh, Vice Chairman of Dien Thap Commune People's Committee, explained that they rarely share information, partly because it is a "secret", in business "information" is "profit", partly because there may be "sensitive information". Even the origin, price, and quality of goods, if not a person in charge, it is difficult to know. Propaganda and mobilization to raise awareness to ensure the origin and quality of goods circulating on the market is a challenge and difficulty.

A corner of Dien Thap commune - Photo by Thanh Hai

In Dien Hong commune, when discussing the situation of some scrap iron, plastic, and paper recycling facilities causing environmental pollution as reported by the press, Mr. Ho Viet Cuong, Chairman of the Commune Farmers' Association, said that it is necessary to look at both sides. The households causing pollution are in violation, need to be strictly handled and in fact there have been strong measures such as the steel smelting facility of Chu Hung household in Bac Hong block had to be moved to another place. But it must also be recognized that there are times when forecasting and information gathering are not good, not keeping up with the dynamism and sensitivity of the people, so there is no supervision, intervention, guidance, and timely support for handling. Regarding the rumors and gossip about the talent of "building" and making "fake" goods in Dien Hong, Mr. Cuong said that saying so is "unfair to Dien Hong", because Dien Hong is only a trading hub. However, Mr. Cuong also said that it is difficult to avoid the infiltration and circulation of smuggled, fake, and poor-quality goods.

For Mr. Cao Ba Phong in Hamlet 6, Dien Thanh, what he is concerned about is the Xuan Thanh beach tourist area, where many private businesses organize restaurants and shops, but the development is not commensurate with the potential. Construction planning is still slow and management is limited, not stimulating large-scale and long-term development. In Dien Thanh, private businesses mainly do small-scale, fragmented business. It even creates bad public opinion about some shops that operate in an unhealthy manner. This directly affects the expansion and development of business establishments as well as creates bad feelings, affecting the choice of vacation destination in Dien Thanh.

From some stories we have seen and heard, we believe that being ahead of the mechanism, or ahead of the times, is a way of saying to describe the dynamism of a part of Dien Chau farmers, and clearly that is a potential, an extremely important strength of the locality. However, to promote the above-mentioned potential of human resources, many mechanisms and policies are needed that are fast and strong enough to both manage, encourage and release dynamism, business talent and resourcefulness appropriately. Only then can we create rapid and sustainable development, dynamism but still strictly comply with the law and fully perform obligations to the State.

Duc Duong