Replicating hill garden economic models

(Baonghean) - That was the opinion of Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Xuan Duong in a meeting with Thanh Chuong district on November 25. Considered a midland area with a large land area and a large population, Thanh Chuong has the strength to develop a comprehensive garden and hill economy. In fact, many effective models have appeared in the area, creating a premise for replication among the people, contributing to sustainable poverty reduction and gradually becoming well-off and rich.

The family of Ms. Hoang Thi Nhung in Hamlet 13, Thanh My Commune is famous for its integrated livestock model, growing fruit trees on an area of ​​nearly 2 hectares of sloping hills. Over the past years, Ms. Nhung and her husband have "groped" to find a suitable direction. That is, planting forests on the top of the hill, growing fruit trees halfway up the hill, and zoning off areas to raise over 2,000 chickens, hundreds of pigeons, and dozens of wild boars. And below, taking advantage of streams and holes to build ponds to raise fish and soft-shell turtles. In the past three years, her family's economic model has stabilized in scale and brought in over 400 million VND per year. To achieve this improvement, in addition to taking short-term to support long-term, accumulating capital, Ms. Nhung focuses on planting and raising plants and animals suitable for the area and climate.

Ms. Nhung said: “When we first started building the farm, whenever we heard about a developing economic model, we would visit and learn. There were trips where my husband and I traveled for many days to Yen Thanh, Quynh Luu and even communes and districts of Ha Tinh province to learn about effective methods. After such trips, along with reading more books on livestock and crop farming techniques, the whole family started to implement it on our land…” Ms. Nhung’s husband, Mr. Tran Cong Son, shared: “I have been an officer for 3 years. This model was mainly built by my wife. I retired to help. Livestock farming is as elaborate as raising hill chickens. We have to actively find suitable breeds of free-range chickens and strengthen disease prevention. To raise livestock effectively, there is no other way but to master care and disease prevention techniques…”.

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee and the working delegation visited the crop rotation production model in Hong hamlet - Thanh Linh - Thanh Chuong.

As for Mr. Vi Tuyen Quynh's family - in Tan Lap village, Thanh Son commune, is one of the advanced examples of the Thai people when resettling from Ban Ve Hydropower Plant to Thanh Chuong. This year, he is over 73 years old, but Mr. Quynh is still very healthy, nimbly leading us to the tea hill to introduce. Within 7 years of settling in Thanh Son, Mr. Quynh has been a pioneer, exemplary in studying the area to find a direction for economic development. And the raw tea tree was chosen by him. Along with the support of seeds and techniques from the Department of Agriculture, nearly 1 hectare of tea has yielded stable harvests, he is very excited. He himself is honored as a village elder, a prestigious person. Therefore, when seeing his tea model growing well, giving many buds, other families gradually followed suit.

Mr. Quynh also mobilized some households to eliminate low-economic efficiency trees and switch to tea cultivation. Up to now, 50/53 households in the village have participated in tea cultivation, forming a raw material area on the new land. When asked about the new resettlement area, how is life? He affirmed with certainty: “At first, some people complained, but I found it more favorable than the old place. Now, everyone is familiar with this area and is working hard. I am discussing with some households about developing hill chicken farming to increase income. Through research, I see that chicken is still suitable for this area and easy to consume…”. Talking to elder Quynh, comrade Nguyen Xuan Duong hoped that he would promote the role and prestige of the village elder to work with the government, departments, branches, and organizations to continue to mobilize resettled people to promote economic development, plant trees, raise livestock and poultry to increase income, and sustainably eliminate poverty.

Due to the characteristics of the midland and semi-mountainous region, in the economic development structure of Thanh Chuong district, agriculture and forestry still account for the largest proportion of over 34%. In recent years, the promotion of the application of scientific and technological advances in cultivation and animal husbandry has contributed to improving productivity and value per unit area. It is estimated that by the end of agricultural production in 2013, the whole district achieved nearly 110 thousand tons of grain, equal to 102.5% of the plan, an increase of 2,699 tons compared to 2012. Animal husbandry has grown quite well in the direction of commodities, with a herd of 73,209 buffaloes and cows, 110,349 pigs (an increase of 4,498 compared to last year), and a herd of over 1.7 million poultry. The whole district has 270 farms and ranches that are promoting positive results along with many hill garden economic models being formed, creating changes from residential areas.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Vinh - Chairman of the District People's Committee said: "There was a period when Thanh Chuong people as well as some other districts struggled to find a way to develop the economy on the hills. Tens of thousands of hectares of planted forests, mainly acacia, after 5-7 years of planting did not bring about the expected economic efficiency; many areas of land have not yet been effective. But now, the directions have been gradually determined. Due to the unstable consumption market, the government and people advocate promoting development according to the model of family farms and integrated farms. Besides supporting people with farming techniques, the district and other sectors are coordinating with Youth Volunteers, tea companies, enterprises... to find stable output for agricultural products".

In the process of identifying key plants and animals, farmers in Thanh Chuong district focus on species that are strong and popular in the market. That is to promote hill chicken farming and aim to build their own brands. Or the expansion of the area of ​​black plum, raw tea, oranges, pepper... and recently, the models of rotating green squash, beans, watermelons, cucumbers... on hillside soil are promising a positive development direction. In many areas, people have maintained native cucumber varieties, applying intensive science and technology for high economic efficiency. For the past few years, the entire Hong village, Thanh Linh commune has grown native cucumbers together. This type of cucumber has slender fruit, soft thorns, is sweet and fragrant and is suitable for autumn and winter weather, is popular with consumers, and is easy to consume. For the past 3 years, dozens of tons of cucumbers in Hong village have been pre-ordered by traders, so people are excited to invest in increasing productivity.

Mr. Nguyen Van Truong - Head of Hong village said: “My family is short of people, the land on the hillside is only a dozen meters, about 350 square meters. On average, each year, on this area, growing melons and squash has brought in an income of over 30 million VND. The stable income from these plants has brought about a change in the lives of the people in the village…”.

Through the actual inspection of agricultural economic development models in Thanh Linh, Thanh My, Thanh Son communes, comrade Nguyen Xuan Duong welcomed the effective methods of the people. He also reminded the leaders, departments and branches of the district to focus on encouraging people to replicate economic models of family farms, farms, and hill gardens. The sustainable development of these models in the communes is an important nucleus in the locality for widespread replication. Agriculture is still an important foundation to ensure food security, creating a solid premise for other areas to develop. Therefore, the district needs to closely coordinate with provincial departments, develop policies to support people to replicate the model, contribute to sustainable hunger eradication and poverty reduction, actively promote the construction of new rural areas, and improve people's lives.

Nguyen Son