Young farmers
(Baonghean)After working as laborers in industrial zones in both the South and the North for some time, many young people in Anh Son district have returned to their hometowns to participate in economic development. They have become "young entrepreneurs," working day and night to change the face of this once impoverished region.
Nguyen Tai Dai, from Tuong Son commune, Anh Son district, looks much more robust and mature than his 22 years. Leading us along a small dirt road to visit his farm, Dai enthusiastically talked about frog farming techniques, their habits, food, and methods for preventing and treating pests and diseases in this new livestock area in the high mountains. Dai said that soon, after harvesting the acacia trees, he will renovate the hillside to plant tea, both to create a beautiful landscape and to generate income more quickly. Next to the tea hills are a system of wild boar pens and ponds for raising frogs and fish, promising high returns.
Born into a poor family in Tuong Son commune, after finishing high school, Dai took the university entrance exam but failed. Like many other young people, he asked his parents for some money and decided to head south. After struggling for a while in the Central Highlands, Saigon, Vung Tau, and Binh Duong, the young man realized that working as a factory worker forever wouldn't improve his life. Meanwhile, the land and fields in his hometown were lying fallow, and his parents even had to hire seasonal workers while he was working for others.
In 2011, after many sleepless nights of deliberation, Dai decided to pack his bags and return to his hometown, much to the surprise of his friends, siblings, and parents. Upon returning home, Dai didn't immediately start farming. Instead, he continued his research, gathering information and learning about new, effective, and suitable economic models. After nearly half a year of observation, Dai decided he would visit farms in Thanh Hoa, Hanoi, and Bac Giang, seeking out areas with soil similar to his hometown to learn the trade.
In Thanh Hoa, Dai was fascinated by the frogs of a local owner. After three months of learning frog farming there, Dai went to Hanoi and befriended an older man, nearly 10 years his senior, who owned a business raising and distributing frog products in the capital. Recognizing this as an opportunity for himself and his family, Dai returned to his hometown and decided to transform the farmland where his parents had previously raised small fish and grown lemon trees, but without much success, into a frog farm.
Initially, Dai dammed the stream behind his house to create a continuous system of four ponds, bought nets, and built cages for raising frogs. When some of his peers saw a strong, healthy young man, only 20 years old, taking care of tiny frogs, they secretly laughed, thinking, "This guy has a problem; instead of learning a proper trade, he's back in the countryside tilling the land and raising frogs." Thanks to proper care, Dai's frogs grew rapidly, were free from disease, and fetched a high price.
In the first batch, Dai raised 1 ton of frogs, selling them for over 50 million VND and starting to make a profit after deducting all costs for pond renovation and feed. With the second batch, when the yield was higher, Dai faced difficulties finding buyers because Anh Son town is tiny, and very few restaurants could consume tens of tons of frogs. At this point, with his internet-enabled phone, Dai searched online for reputable suppliers and sought advice from his older brother in Hanoi to find buyers. As soon as he posted an advertisement online, his batch of frogs immediately attracted inquiries.
Nguyen Tai Dai stands beside his frog pond.
After several successful ventures, Dai became a regular supplier for companies in Hanoi. He also boldly began purchasing froglets from other districts and supplying them to farms in the North. After two years of successful frog farming, Dai is now considering expanding his farm and learning how to breed froglets himself to meet the needs of the local population. “Frog farms in the North prefer froglets from the Central region because they are less susceptible to disease and have much tastier meat than frogs from the South. This is an opportunity for frog farmers like us to develop further,” Dai confided.
According to Bui Cong Son, Secretary of the Youth Union of Tuong Son commune, although Dai's model is only just beginning to develop farm-based economic activities and commodity production, it has attracted many young people and residents in the commune to learn from and emulate it. Nguyen Tai Dai was also elected by the youth as the Secretary of the village's Youth Union branch and was entrusted by the villagers with the responsibility of being the village militia leader, in charge of the village's self-defense militia, ready to mobilize young people and residents, and the self-defense militia to participate in forest fire prevention and control, flood and storm prevention, security drills, and combat readiness.
Also in Tuong Son commune, Nguyen Van Hung (born in 1989) is another young man who returned to his hometown to start a business after a period of wandering throughout the South and North. A college student who graduated with a degree in the zither, Hung used to perform at various music venues. However, finding the life of an artist too precarious, meager, and lacking a stable foundation for the long term, in 2010, Hung returned home with his zither, much to everyone's surprise. After studying his family's livestock facilities, Hung embarked on a plan to raise wild boars on a large scale.
Working tirelessly, often forgetting to eat and sleep, Hung's achievement is a herd of over 40 wild boars, generating an annual income of more than 50 million VND. In Hamlet 6, Hung Son Commune, Pham Cong Cuong (born in 1987) also owns a tea plantation covering over 2.7 hectares after a period of working in industrial zones in the South. On average, Cuong's tea plantation yields 8-9 harvests per year, each harvest producing about 8 tons of fresh tea leaves. With current tea prices, Cuong earns an average of over 150 million VND per year, something he wouldn't have dared to dream of when he was a factory worker.
According to Mr. Nguyen Dinh Ha, Secretary of the Anh Son District Youth Union, thanks to the success of the first young people who returned to their hometowns to start businesses, Anh Son district now has about 100 young people who own farms and economic models after a period of hard work as factory workers. Many economic models are highly effective, such as Mr. Hoang Thuy Sen in Hamlet 1/5, Cam Son Commune, who earns about 363 million VND/year with a well-organized VACR system; Mr. Bui Xuan Chien, who earns 450 million VND/year with a system of producing fired bricks and raising porcupines; Mr. Nguyen Huu Dai with a welding and mechanical workshop in Lang Son Commune; Mr. Vo The Duong, who opened a mechanical workshop in Duc Son Commune, creating stable jobs for 5 young people, etc. Dozens of other young people are achieving enviable incomes in rural areas with models such as industrial tea cultivation, raw material forest planting, sugarcane, and various forms of integrated VACR and VAC systems.
Building on this initial success, the Anh Son District Youth Union is now striving to replicate effective youth economic models, viewing this as a highly effective form of propaganda aimed at young people who have or are considering going to the South to work after school.
Currently, with the strong development of information technology and social networks, rural youth are no longer overly concerned about technical issues in livestock farming and crop cultivation, or about product outlets. What they need are concrete economic models, capital, and the attention and encouragement of local authorities and social organizations. Among these, accessing capital is the most difficult problem for young people because most banks require borrowers to have collateral, such as land ownership certificates or legal status as directors or cooperative chairmen. These requirements are very difficult for young people, many of whom are not yet married.
Currently, funding from the Youth Employment Project of the Central Youth Union and the Social Policy Bank is considered the most accessible and readily available source of capital for young people. However, administrative procedures and stringent requirements for borrowing from these sources are causing difficulties for young people. Due to limited funds, each individual can only borrow a maximum of 10 million VND, an amount insufficient to even buy a small calf and unlikely to provide the impetus for young people to develop their businesses on a farm scale or invest in production and business. To borrow 100 million VND or more, borrowers must have a production and business cooperative or a farm certificate meeting standards regarding area, scale, and income level, which is extremely challenging for young people just starting out in business.
“Over the years, many young people have undergone significant changes in their awareness and economic thinking, and many have boldly applied science and technology to production and business. However, access to capital remains the biggest obstacle today. Authorities and banks should implement more appropriate policies, such as providing unsecured loans to young people, offering low interest rates, flexible repayment options, and simplified loan procedures. Doing so will significantly contribute to encouraging young people to develop economically and legitimately enrich themselves in their homeland,” the Secretary of the Anh Son District Youth Union shared.
Nguyen Khoa
