The transformations of the Youth Volunteer Force in the new situation.

A boost for the Brigades

At the recent Congress of the Vietnam Youth Union of Nghe An province for the 2024-2029 term, many delegates were very impressed with the booths displaying products from the youth force, including products from the province's Youth Volunteer Brigades. Many products had received OCOP certification for their superior quality and design.

Holding a bottle of turmeric starch coated with honey – a signature product of the 9th Youth Volunteer Brigade – Lieutenant Vuong Trung Uy, the Brigade Leader, said that the product has been sold on Shopee and other e-commerce platforms. The customer network is also gradually expanding beyond the province.

In 2023, the team received an investment from the State for a cold-heated turmeric starch drying system worth nearly 1 billion VND, ensuring the highest quality of turmeric starch. The production of turmeric starch is carried out using a modern production line from preliminary processing, grinding, drying, and pelletizing… resulting in significantly improved product quality and design, increasing competitiveness in the market.

According to Mr. Uy, the impetus came from Decision No. 3578/QD-UBND dated November 2, 2023, of the People's Committee of Nghe An province on approving the Project to reorganize public non-business units under the Nghe An Provincial Youth Union.

Accordingly, the province proceeded to merge five units, including the Provincial Youth Volunteer Force Command and the Youth Volunteer Brigades 5, 8, 9, and 10, into one unit. This unit will be named the Nghe An Youth Volunteer Brigade.

The Nghe An Youth Volunteer Brigade continues to carry out important functions and tasks as a unit assigned to spearhead participation in socio-economic development, maintaining security and national defense, job creation, education, training, and development of youth in Nghe An province.

However, the operation has undergone many changes, contributing to overcoming the practical shortcomings in the organization and operation of the previous model of the Youth Volunteer Brigade for Economic Development.

A shift in the new situation

One of the notable highlights is the movement and transformation of the operational model of the Youth Volunteer Brigade, which has created additional motivation for labor and production emulation, boldly pioneering the application of new things, and yielding many results.

For example, the No. 1 Youth Volunteer Team in Thanh Thuy commune (Thanh Chuong district) has a very vibrant movement for innovation and emulation in labor and production. Recently, the team has boldly attracted investment to build a tea processing factory with a capacity of 15 tons/day, purchasing and processing 1,000 tons of fresh tea leaves annually, creating stable employment for 15 workers, with an income of 8-9 million VND/person/month.

In addition, the No. 1 Youth Volunteer Team also built a wood peeling processing plant with a capacity of 60 tons of wood per day, creating stable jobs for 20 workers, providing them with an income of 9-10 million VND per person per month; providing regular employment for 300 workers in household gardens and hundreds of seasonal workers for the local people. From here, the lives of the people have gradually improved, and the once impoverished land has been completely transformed.

Focusing investment on the Youth Volunteer Teams also creates a "boost" that helps the teams improve the quality of their activities.

For example, at Youth Volunteer Team No. 2 in Huoi Tu commune, Ky Son district (the former headquarters of the 8th Youth Volunteer Brigade of Nghe An), Mr. Phan Viet Lich - the team leader, said that in 2023 the unit distributed more than 100,000 Shan Tuyet tea seedlings to serve the people for new planting and replanting in Huoi Tu and Muong Long communes.

In 2023, the unit purchased over 300 tons of fresh tea leaves from the people, of which over 185 tons were processed into 2.5 tons of green tea and 35 tons of yellow tea, with a total value of 2.9 billion VND. The Tuyet Shan tea product was awarded a 3-star OCOP certification.

It is estimated that the area of ​​key raw material crops cultivated by the Youth Volunteer Force in Nghe An province currently accounts for 15-20% of the total raw material crop area in the province, creating a sustainable source of income.

Thanks to innovation and continuous improvement in operational quality, during the period 2020-2023, the provincial Youth Volunteer Force expanded the area of ​​industrial tea cultivation to 713 hectares, with an average annual harvest of 4,140 tons of fresh tea leaves. At the same time, they planted and cared for 197 hectares of sugarcane and over 175 hectares of pineapple.

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Nghe An has every right to be proud of its enthusiastic and capable youth volunteer force in fulfilling assigned goals and tasks, contributing to the comprehensive development of the province in recent years. This is because these are important prerequisites for further improving and enhancing the quality of the youth volunteer force's activities in the new era.

Comrade Ngo Van Cuong – Secretary of the Central Committee of the Youth Union, Chairman of the Central Committee's Inspection Commission of the Youth Union – acknowledged the innovative efforts of the Nghe An Youth Volunteer Force.