Con Cuong: Effective economic models

(Baonghean) - When the peach blossoms are in full bloom, it is also the time when ethnic minorities in Con Cuong are busy welcoming spring. The wish for a prosperous Tet is within reach for many people as there are more and more effective economic development models that bring high incomes.

Visiting the farm of Mr. Quang Van Dinh's family in Thuy Khe village - Chi Khe commune when he was taking care of a herd of black pigs. He said: "Previously, raising black pigs was mainly to take advantage of surplus food in the family and improve daily meals. In recent years, black pork has been favored by the market, we have boldly zoned off investment in raising black pigs to serve the Tet market. The investment cost for raising is about 20 million VND to build barns and wire mesh to zone off the raising area. The family raises 2 sows to proactively source 40-50 pigs/year.

We feed the pigs with agricultural by-products such as corn bran, rice bran, wild bananas, sweet potato leaves, etc. without using industrial feed, so we save on inputs. Black pigs grow slowly, after 4-5 months they reach 15-20 kg and are sold, but the price is double that of regular pork. On average, each pig costs 1.4-1.6 million VND. My family has 40 black pigs to serve the market before Tet, and 20 have been sold, with a total revenue of nearly 60 million VND, after deducting expenses, the profit is 40 million VND/6 months. Realizing that the black pig farming model is effective, many groups of households raising black pigs have appeared in Chi Khe, with nearly 100 households in the villages raising black pigs on a small and medium scale, supporting each other with experience in raising pigs... From raising black pigs, many households have escaped poverty and even become rich.

Harvesting vegetables in Quyet Tien village, Chi Khe commune (Con Cuong).

Chi Khe people also take advantage of the land to raise goats effectively, such as Mr. Nguyen Xuan Vi's household in Lien Dinh village who raises over 40 goats and over 400 chickens on the hills. It is known that the above goats and chickens have all been "ordered" by customers to serve Tet. With an average price of 140,000 VND/kg, each goat costs from 2.5 to 2.8 million VND, after deducting the cost of raising 40 goats for 6 months, the profit is over 100 million VND.

In Quyet Tien village (Chi Khe) along National Highway 7, a concentrated vegetable area of ​​17 hectares has been built to meet the demand for green vegetables during Tet for all three districts of Anh Son, Con Cuong and Tuong Duong. At this time, people are harvesting vegetables, and traders are coming to buy quite busily. Thanks to vegetables, families have more money to cover expenses during Tet. It is known that Quyet Tien village has over 120 households, of which over 100 households specialize in growing vegetables. Currently, people are producing vegetables towards VietGap standards with a variety of vegetables such as kohlrabi, tomatoes, cabbage, herbs... with an income of over 150 million VND/ha/year.

In the spring sunshine, we returned to the tea "barn" of Yen Khe commune, the immense green of the tea hills mixed with the red of the tiled roofs created a peaceful scene in the buffer zone of Pu Mat National Park. On the occasion of Tet, the tea hills were bustling with harvest. Visiting the tea hills of Ms. Tran Thi Ly in Trung Chinh village - Yen Khe, her husband and neighbors were exchanging work to pick the winter tea crop. She said: Tea is the main crop of the family, each year the harvest from tea reaches over 30 million VND, just during the Tet month, picking tea buds to import to Bai Phu Tea Enterprise also brings in 4-6 million VND to buy things for Tet. Mr. Nguyen Van Quy said: "All shopping expenses during Tet depend on tea money, the family grows 7 sao of tea, this Tet month harvests about 5 million VND, that amount of money is very precious to us". It is known that Trung Chinh has nearly 100 households, 100% of which are engaged in tea growing. Thanks to the focus on intensive investment, tea productivity is increasingly high, previously only reaching 12-14 tons/ha/year, now reaching 20-22 tons/ha/year.

Tea trees are increasingly asserting their important role in the transformation of the rural agricultural economic structure in the highlands, helping people to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty, while also having the effect of preventing erosion, being a sustainable farming model on sloping land. Currently, Yen Khe commune has over 120 hectares of tea, each hectare of tea brings in an income of 50-60 million VND/year. The whole Con Cuong district has over 350 hectares of tea, the authorities of the communes regularly organize training, instructing people on techniques of caring for and harvesting tea, purchasing units create the best conditions for people in purchasing products.

In the bustling Tet atmosphere throughout the village, Ms. Vi Thi Ha in Xieng village, Mon Son commune, is actively weaving brocade with many colorful patterns. Ms. Ha said: "Since the beginning of the year, brocade products have been difficult to sell, so we have been producing sparingly. Before Tet, there was an order, so the sisters in the brocade weaving group of Mon Son Handicraft Cooperative have been working hard day and night for more than 2 weeks to deliver the goods and have money to spend during Tet." Mon Son Handicraft Cooperative currently has over 60 members participating in the brocade weaving profession. Although the salary is not high because it depends on orders, this is a job that takes advantage of the free time of the farming season with an income of 2.5-3 million VND/person/month (before Tet), which has brought in income for the sisters to shop for Tet. Ms. Ha Thi Hang - Head of Mon Son Handicraft Cooperative, shared with us: "The Cooperative always seeks and researches new designs to diversify products, improve product quality to find more orders, and create stable income all year round for women."

Mr. Vi Van Binh - Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Con Cuong district added: In 2013, Con Cuong district has built over 30 economic development models for crops, livestock, small-scale handicrafts, etc. The investment capital is about 1.2 billion VND, mainly combining capital from Program 135, New Rural Development Program, VE 08 Project. The local government has mobilized villagers to participate in training on technology transfer, many households have been aware of participating in poverty reduction, knowing how to reclaim and expand gardens and hills to develop production. Therefore, many production models have been successful and widely applied by many households, such as the black pig raising model that has spread to many households in Chi Khe, Bong Khe, Binh Chuan, Do Phuc communes. The model of intensive tea cultivation and orange cultivation in Yen Khe, Bong Khe. The success of these models will be a stepping stone for Con Cuong to continue expanding the area of ​​over 500 hectares of tea, and over 150 hectares of oranges in Yen Khe and Bong Khe communes, and to widely replicate the black pig farming models.

Article and photos:Van Truong