New vitality Tan Ky

(Baonghean) -This April in Tan Ky, everywhere is bustling with excitement to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the district's founding; flags, bright banners on all the roads of towns and townships, the roads are bustling with people and vehicles. Tan Ky - the land of steadfast heroes in the war, "the homeland of all homelands" is rising with new vitality with the immense green of spring rice, spring corn, young sugarcane all over the valleys, fields, on both banks of the Con River, at the foot of Roi hill, under Pu Loi mountain, along both sides of Ho Chi Minh road... New tiled roofs, high-rise buildings are springing up more and more in Lat, Nghia Hoan, Tan Phu, Nghia Dong, Ky Son... We asked for directions to Nghia Hanh, Tan Huong people who are producing acacia seedlings along Ho Chi Minh road happily and enthusiastically guided us. Tan Huong has long been known as a prestigious acacia seedling production area for forest planting in the whole province. Tan Huong people are boldly clearing bare hills and low mountains to grow sugarcane, acacia...

On the airy raw material road in Nghia Hanh worth nearly 14 billion VND, this road has just been completed, if we only calculate the compensation value for land clearance, it will cost more than 5 billion VND, but Nghia Hanh people have voluntarily donated more than 50,000 m2 of garden land for the State to open the raw material road, now the road is open, trucks carrying sugarcane and corn are running smoothly to the factory. Meeting Mr. Nguyen Quang Hai - the person who donated more than 500 m2 of land to make the road, he happily pointed to the young sugarcane fields that were growing green and excitedly said: "This year is the first year that sugarcane and corn have been harvested the most happily, thanks to the asphalt road, after harvesting sugarcane and corn, you only need to carry them a few dozen steps to the truck, "It's true that after living my whole life, I've only seen the roads so convenient now".

With roads, the commune also benefited from the concrete canal project, and Nghia Hanh people voluntarily donated rice fields to build 5.7km of canals with more than 1 hectare. With canals, Nghia Hanh carried out land consolidation and plot exchange to build new rural areas. Nghia Hanh has expanded 1 inter-commune road with a length of 5.3km, 10 inter-village roads with a total length of 8.5m, and expanded 5 intra-field roads with a length of 1.4km. Nghia Hanh farmers contributed 3,500 working days, 150 hours of machines digging drainage ditches, demolishing fences, and filling with soil and rocks.

Sugarcane harvest in Nghia Hanh.

Visiting the "super profitable" green squash production models in Hamlet 1, Nghia Hanh, it was already noon but the squash growers were still in the garden engrossed in "counting the fruits". But the squash garden was full of fruit and was being harvested to be shipped to Hanoi. Mr. Nguyen Van Trinh, born in 1976 in Hamlet 1, grew 5 sao of squash, just sold 3 tons of fruit for 21 million VND, there were still about 8 tons of squash left in the garden. He said: 5 sao of squash produces 3 crops a year, each crop yields about 10-12 tons of fruit, so he earns about 200 million VND a year.

From Mr. Trinh's success, many households now consider squash as a source of wealth in Nghia Hanh, such as Mr. Nguyen Dang Tam, Le Dinh Hong, Bui Duc Thiet, Nguyen Dang Kinh, Nguyen Van Hoi... The happiest thing for squash growers in Nghia Hanh is that customers from Hanoi drive all the way to buy squash. Ho Chi Minh Road has opened up trade for the people of Tan Ky mountainous area. Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune Nguyen Quoc Tuan said: Nghia Hanh has 20 hectares of squash, generating an income of more than 10 billion VND a year, with an average income of 1 hectare of 200 million VND. From a poor mountainous commune, Nghia Hanh is making a breakthrough with bold and effective business methods...

Green pumpkin garden of Mr. Nguyen Van Trinh, Hamlet 1, Nghia Hanh Commune.

Leaving Nghia Hanh to return to Ky Son, crossing the Roi bridge to Nghia Hoan, Tan Xuan, Giai Xuan... everywhere is vast green. Trucks carrying sugarcane and cassava materials are bustling to the factory. Tan Phu, Tan Xuan, Giai Xuan lean down to the Con River with vast expanses of young sugarcane, rubber... Mr. Truong Hai Ho - Ke Mui hamlet - Giai Xuan is harvesting sugarcane, excitedly saying: He has almost harvested all 10 hectares of sugarcane, this year the sugarcane harvest is slower, so the profit is not much, only over 100 million VND, last year it was 200 million VND, but here only sugarcane is the most effective.

Thanks to growing sugarcane, his family has built a new spacious house (more than 500 million VND). He also knows how to use a tractor to plow the land, knows about large-scale, concentrated production, knows how to hold millions and billions of dong. Tho people in Tan Ky like him have grasped science and technology in commodity production, forcing the mountains to "spit out money", no longer suffering from hunger and malaria like before because of the sacred forests and poisonous water. Giai Xuan farmers have also boldly changed the crop structure, converting rice land and ineffective colored land to grow sugarcane, earning 5 times higher income like Mr. Cao Dang Hung and Mr. Vu Dinh Tuyen in Bai Che hamlet. Up to now, Giai Xuan has nearly 700 hectares of sugarcane, with a yield of 55 tons/ha, Giai Xuan farmers have earned nearly 35 billion VND from sugarcane every year, accounting for 48% of the total agricultural production value of the commune...

Wealth does not only come to farmers in Nghia Hanh, Tan Huong, Giai Xuan, but also to those who are diligent and sharp. The people of Tan Ky, living in harsh nature, have steadfastly stuck to their land to get rich, not succumbing to poverty. They dig hills and mountains to grow rice, fill in gaps in the fields to make fields, and promote commercial cattle and goat farming. They are willing to spend 40-50 million VND to open roads to transport sugarcane, cassava... Tan Ky youth in Dong Van, Tien Ky, Giai Xuan... have endured hardships and suffering to get rich on their homeland, very few people go to work for hire in the South. Although over 80% of the area is hills and mountains, most of which are bare hills and rocky outcrops, despite drought, cracked fields, and unfavorable natural conditions for Tan Ky, and the roads are difficult to travel, "muddy rain, dusty sun"... Tan Ky still has hundreds of effective business models.

Head of Tan Ky Agriculture Department, Nguyen Ba Thuc, excitedly told us about many effective models in Tan Ky: fish breeding in Tan Huong, mulberry cultivation for silkworms in Nghia Dong, Mong Cai pig farming in Giai Xuan, Phu Son, pig farming in Nghia Dong, rubber plantation in Nghia Hoan, wild boar farming in the town, watermelon growing in rubber plantation in Tan Phu... We know that Cua tiles, sugar, Tan Ky honey, rubber, cows and now green squash, red tilapia, farm chickens, mulberry, acacia seeds... are the goods that Tan Ky farmers are selling widely throughout the country. That vitality, that will, that belief... will forever be the pride of a heroic land of hardship in both combat and production.

Article and photos: Chau Lan