Border guards in resettlement area

(Baonghean.vn) -Ngoc Lam Border Guard Station (Nghe An Border Guard) is assigned to manage the border area of ​​3 communes Thanh Son, Ngoc Lam and Hanh Lam (Thanh Chuong district), in which Thanh Son and Ngoc Lam communes are mainly resettled people of Ban Ve hydropower project, established in 2009.

In addition to the task of firmly protecting the sovereignty, security and social order and safety of the border, officers and soldiers of Ngoc Lam Border Post also actively help resettled people get used to farming methods in the new land.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Nhu Tuan - Political Commissar of Ngoc Lam Border Post, shared: Ethnic minorities from the highlands of Tuong Duong district who came here face many difficulties and hardships. Previously, they were only used to slash-and-burn farming, but now they have to learn how to raise livestock and grow crops on their own land. Some households, because they are not familiar with the new way of doing things, have returned to their hometowns to slash-and-burn farming. At first, we were also confused in propagating and implementing to help people develop their economy and society.

Officers of Ngoc Lam Border Post help people plant rice

How to make the people feel secure in the new land is a constant question in the Party Committee and the unit's command. After many meetings, there was an initiative to try to apply the station's livestock farming model to help the people (the annual revenue from the station's increased production source is over 50 million VND). The unit collectively agreed to select a number of families with difficult circumstances, focusing on investing efforts to guide the people to get used to the new farming method.

To get started, the unit selected officers and soldiers with experience in farming and production to mobilize families to mobilize all human and material resources to focus on developing production and raising livestock. To make the people believe and follow, the border guards rolled up their sleeves and got to work. “In the early days, when we saw the border guards bringing buffaloes to plow and harrow the land to plant rice and peanuts, the people were surprised, because in their old hometown, buffaloes were only used to pull wood, and they had never seen buffaloes pulling “multi-toothed” rakes to work the land”; “There were times when the soldiers guided the people to sow and transplant rice, they followed the correct procedure, but just a few days later it was too cold and the seedlings had not yet taken root and died. The people wondered: the cadres had given the wrong instructions. So the soldiers explained in detail, then went to contact to get seeds, planted the seedlings, replanted the rice from the beginning, and took care of and monitored until harvest day... Only by being specific and meticulous like that did the people believe and listen to what they instructed,” Major Tran Van Khoa, Deputy Head of the Mass Mobilization Team, recalled.

Following the introduction of Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Nhu Tuan, we went to the family of Mr. Luong Van Phuong (in Muong village, Ngoc Lam commune) to "witness" the initial achievements: the family is currently raising 3 buffaloes, over 100 chickens, ducks, a 1,500m2 fish pond, 1,700m2 of rice fields, and also growing 12,000m2 of acacia, cassava, tea... which have grown well. Mr. Phuong happily said: thanks to the help of the border guards, last year the income from raising livestock and growing short-term crops was 35 million VND. Near Mr. Phuong's family is the family of Mr. Luong Van Than (also in Muong village, Ngoc Lam commune), which has received investment support from the Station and currently owns 2,000m2 of rice fields, an 8,000m2 fish pond, 15,000m2 of forest land growing acacia, cassava, and a 1,500m2 tea garden. In addition, the family also raises over 70 poultry. The average annual income from raising livestock is over 30 million VND, basically escaping poverty. When the perennial trees are exploited, the above families will have a comfortable life.

Guide people on acacia planting techniques

In addition to helping people develop production, the Party Committee and Command of Ngoc Lam Border Guard Station also directed the VĐQC team and the Youth Union to coordinate with local authorities and organizations to participate in thousands of working days to help people in Thanh Son and Ngoc Lam communes build new houses and improve land for gardening. Proposed to the Management Board of Hydropower Plant 2 and the Department of Agriculture of Thanh Chuong district to organize technical training sessions on household economic development.


Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Nhu Tuan said: In the coming time, the unit will continue to invest working days and time to help and guide to improve the effectiveness of existing family economic development models. At the same time, it will continue to survey, plan, and deploy new models in the villages of the resettlement areas of Thanh Son and Ngoc Lam communes.

Hung Phong