Highland farmers dare to change so that their economy is not dependent on "one basket of goods".

Pioneering crop conversion

In the early days of summer, when we visited the production area of ​​Mr. Luong Van Truong's family in Pha village, he, his wife, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Giau, and a few workers were busy harvesting corn. Under the scorching sun in the mountains, sacks of golden corn were continuously transported from the field to the collection point. The corn harvest was bountiful, with large ears and plump kernels, making the working atmosphere even more cheerful.

Not far from the cornfields is the livestock farm; on the higher slopes lies a lush green area of ​​newly planted tea bushes. Few know that to achieve this success, this man of the Thai ethnic group went through many trials and tribulations, even accepting changes to the production model when it was no longer suitable.

Like many other young people from mountainous regions, after getting married, Truong went to the southern provinces to work as a laborer, hoping to save up capital to stabilize his life. Those years working far from home taught him that to escape an unstable income, he had to find a way to develop his life right in his homeland.

True to his word, after many years of wandering, Mr. Truong decided to return to his village of Pha to start a business in agriculture. In 2016, on an area of ​​about 7,000 square meters of orchard land, recognizing the high economic value of orange trees, he boldly researched techniques, learned from experience, and brought orange varieties to plant. In the early days, almost everything had to be learned by himself. Lacking in-depth knowledge, he learned as he went, from selecting varieties and improving the soil to caring for the trees and controlling pests and diseases. His hard work paid off when the orange orchard entered its commercial phase, bringing in an income of about 40 million VND per harvest.

In mountainous regions, this is a significant source of income, helping families stabilize their lives and gradually accumulate capital. However, agricultural production has never been easy or sustainable in the long term. By 2022, when many orange orchards in the region began to degrade, yields decreased, and pests and diseases increased, many households were left struggling, unsure what to switch to after removing their orange trees. While many hesitated, regretting their previous investments, Mr. Truong made another change. He decided to cut down his entire orange grove and switch to growing corn for grain.

According to Mr. Truong, after considering the actual conditions, corn is more suitable for his family's farming because it requires low investment, is easy to care for, has a short growing season, and carries fewer risks. Each year, his family grows two corn crops, each yielding a profit of approximately 11-12 million VND after deducting expenses, totaling around 24-25 million VND per year.

Dare to experiment so you don't rely on "one basket."

If corn cultivation helped Luong Van Truong's family find a way to transition after the decline of the orange crop, it also sparked his broader vision of a sustainable production model. According to Truong, farming in mountainous areas cannot rely solely on one crop or livestock because the market is constantly fluctuating, the weather is increasingly unpredictable, and diseases can strike at any time. To succeed in the long run, one must utilize what they have to create a closed production cycle and minimize risks.

From that idea, he began to expand into livestock farming, using corn as the foundation for developing a diversified economy. After each harvest, the corn kernels were used as feed for pigs and poultry; the corn stalks were chopped up and fermented to feed cattle. The land around his house was also planned to grow vegetables and grass to support the livestock.

As we followed him down to the livestock area behind his house, the Thai ethnic man enthusiastically shared his methods while inspecting his pigs. The enclosures were neatly arranged, with separate sections for sows, fattening pigs, cattle, and poultry. It wasn't overly elaborate, but everything was carefully planned for convenient care and cost savings.

"Having corn as animal feed allows us to utilize many things effectively. We separate the breeding sows to raise pigs for meat, ensuring we have a steady supply of piglets and significantly reducing input costs. The corn stalks are composted to feed the cows, and the animal manure is used to fertilize crops. This way, almost nothing goes to waste," Mr. Truong said.

Starting with just a few animals raised to gain experience, the family's livestock farming gradually expanded. At its peak, the family maintained approximately 4 breeding sows, 35 fattening pigs, 4-5 cows, and hundreds of chickens and ducks. Each type of livestock was carefully managed according to the family's actual conditions to ensure both suitability in terms of labor and market demand.

What Mr. Truong appreciates most is not only the increased income but also the ability to proactively manage a large portion of production costs. Previously, animal feed was almost entirely dependent on the market, with fluctuating prices making profits uncertain. Now, however, many feed sources are utilized directly from his family's farming model. As a result, after deducting expenses, the integrated farming model generates hundreds of millions of dong in revenue each year.

But for Mr. Truong, doing business isn't about stopping just because you see results. After witnessing how orange trees, once a local strength, deteriorated and lost their value, he became even more convinced that one shouldn't place all their hopes on a single crop or livestock.

In 2023, he continued to dedicate a portion of his land to planting tea plants. This decision stemmed from recognizing the stable demand for raw materials for processing in the local area, which is suitable for the soil and climate conditions of the hilly region. While these young tea plants may not yet generate significant income, for him, it's a necessary experiment to expand his long-term development. Furthermore, he plans to experiment with planting pineapples on about half of the land in the near future.

Speaking about the reasons for constantly changing and exploring new models, Mr. Truong smiled kindly: "Farming these days can't rely on just one thing forever. If you lose one thing, you can gain another. If the price of pork goes down, you still have cows and chickens; if one crop fails, you still have another. Having multiple sources of income helps reduce risks."

This way of thinking, while seemingly simple, is something that not every household in mountainous areas dares to implement. Because to change a familiar production model, farmers must accept experimentation, invest time and effort, and even face the risk of failure.

According to Mr. Le Manh Hung, Head of the Farmers' Association in Pha village, Mr. Truong is one of the most dynamic farmers in the village, always eager to learn and unafraid to try new things. When orange trees were no longer profitable, and many households were still unsure what to do next, Mr. Truong boldly switched to corn, then developed livestock farming and tea cultivation. Seeing his success, many villagers also began to learn from his methods.

From his humble beginnings as a migrant worker for many years, Luong Van Truong is now steadily forging his own path in his village. He has not only built a stable economy for his family, but what is even more valuable about this farmer is his spirit of daring to think and experiment, avoiding dependence on just one source, thereby opening new avenues for the highland people in their journey to find sustainable livelihoods.