Exploiting the strengths of suburban areas

(Baonghean) - Although the natural area is not large and the fields are low-lying, Hung Nguyen district has been and is having orientations to create new changes in the development of agricultural economy and services - trade.

Diversified agricultural products

Comrade Pham Quoc Viet, Standing Deputy Secretary of Hung Nguyen District Party Committee, shared: “With the concerns of the locality and some suggestions from the provincial leaders, the Party Committee and authorities from the district to the grassroots level have determined the direction to promote the exploitation of the potential and strengths of the suburban area; develop the agricultural economy in the direction of goods with a variety of high-yield, good-quality products, supplying the Vinh City market and reaching out beyond. From such determination, the district has planned into 3 economic zones: the inner zone includes 9 communes along the Lam River focusing on developing buffalo and cow breeding, industrial crops and growing vegetables; the middle zone includes 10 communes focusing on aquaculture and rice cultivation; the outer zone includes 4 communes of Hung Yen Bac, Hung Yen Nam, Hung Trung and Hung Tay focusing on developing garden and hill economy, forestry associated with livestock farming. Accordingly, the district has developed many projects, programs and models for agricultural economic development based on the advantages of each region associated with the application of scientific advances. techniques into production to form groups of high-quality agricultural products to serve the Vinh City market".

Chili growing linkage model in Hung Xa commune (Hung Nguyen). Photo: Cong Sang

For a purely agricultural commune like Hung Linh, with 95% of its labor force engaged in agricultural production, in recent years there has been a shift in the appropriate crop structure, gradually bringing about clear results. Chairman of the Commune People's Committee Le Van Phuong said: "In the past, if we only monocultured rice, we would "have a good harvest for 10 years and not be rich, and a bad harvest for 1 year and be in a precarious situation"; now we also do agriculture, but some households have an income of hundreds of millions of dong each year". A typical example is Mr. Duong Van Phuong, who, starting from scratch, boldly received 2.5 hectares of land on the Lam River bank to grow peanuts, corn, beans and raise crossbred Sind cows and commercial buffaloes. He always maintains 10-15 buffaloes and cows in his barn. Mr. Phuong confided: “My family’s way of raising buffaloes and cows for sale is to buy skinny buffaloes and cows to fatten and sell. Some buffaloes are raised for 10 days and when they meet a buyer, they sell them for a profit of 1-2 million VND, some are raised for the longest period of 3 months and make a profit of 7-10 million VND”. On the 2.5 hectares of alluvial land, Mr. Phuong’s family rotates peanuts and spring corn; green beans in the summer and autumn; and red corn in the late winter, earning an average income of 70-100 million VND/ha/year. In particular, they grow glutinous corn for sale to households in the third lunar month, each flower costs 2,000 VND, each day his family harvests about 8,000 flowers, bringing in a huge source of income. Not only Mr. Phuong’s family, in hamlet 4, the people considered to be the “initiators” of the profession of raising buffaloes and cows for sale are Mr. Nguyen Van Dung and Mr. Hoang Nghia Sy; From raising cattle for sale, the family of the two men not only escaped poverty but also became well-off households in the commune, with spacious houses. According to Mr. Nguyen Huu Cau - Head of the Farmers' Association of Hamlet 4, the whole hamlet has 175 households, 100% of which raise buffaloes and cows. Households raise at least 1 cow, most raise 4-5 cows, some raise 10-12 cows/batch. Along with raising cattle, people in the hamlet are also proactive in converting crops that bring high income value such as sticky corn, chili, vegetables, from which they transport and supply to the Nam Dan market and Vinh City... Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune, Le Van Phuong, said: Along with the district's general project on economic development of the Lam River coastal area, the locality has carried out land consolidation, plot exchange, block plots, block areas, on the basis of the district's investment support in electricity, irrigation systems, in the coming time the commune will focus on converting the entire area of ​​​​bank land of more than 80 hectares for commercial agricultural production. In addition to alluvial land, currently on the land in Hung Linh there are effective economic models such as the rice-fish model in hamlets 6, 7, 8, 9; the winter crop production model on 2-rice land with green squash and corn; commercial rice production with 3 main varieties BTE1, NA2, sticky rice 52...; contributing to increasing income, the value on the same unit area is 1.5 - 2 times higher than before. The average income reaches 70 - 80 million VND/ha/year, with some areas over 100 million VND/ha/year such as fish - rice, alluvial land.

In Hung Nhan commune, the focus is on developing breeding cows and growing short-term industrial crops and peanuts. According to Mr. Nguyen Cong Hoan - Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, there are currently a total herd of 2,350 breeding cows in the area, with each household raising 2-3 cows on average, earning 25-35 million VND per year from selling calves. Hung Nhan is also a locality with a fairly large area of ​​commercial vegetables (40 hectares), creating a vegetable area supplying the Vinh City market. The commune has also tested and successfully grown 20 hectares of sweet potatoes with yolks, this will be a model that will continue to be replicated in the coming time. Some areas of fish - rice; pig and free-range chicken farming are effective and continue to be maintained, contributing to raising the average income per capita to nearly 19 million VND/year.

According to Mr. Phan Van Truong, Head of the District's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in recent years, Hung Nguyen has succeeded in forming a number of effective agricultural production areas with many strong products. In particular, high-quality commercial rice is produced on over 3,000 hectares (accounting for nearly 40% of the total cultivated area of ​​the district), concentrated in the mid-region communes such as Hung Tan, Hung Thong, Hung Tien, Hung Phuc, Hung Khanh, Hung Dao, town... Initially forming the Hung Nguyen rice brand, which is favored by the market. In conjunction with rice, these mid-region communes are also focused on building an aquaculture system in the direction of specialized fish, fish - rice, specialty aquatic products such as eel, frog... The district has also been gradually investing in building a spice vegetable area in Hung Phu, Hung Khanh; food vegetables in Hung Nhan, Hung Loi... The farm economy, integrated livestock farms raising pigs, chickens, ducks, fish... are increasingly developed. The whole district currently has 50 farms, especially some farms with an income of billions of VND per year such as the organic chicken farm of Mr. Nguyen Huy Tien's family, hamlet 5, Hung Tien commune, with a scale of more than 13,000 chickens/batch; the average annual income of the farm is over 3 billion VND. Another product is that Hung Nguyen has created a breeding area for Sind crossbred cows and commercial cows along the Lam riverside communes in Hung Xa, Hung Thong, Hung Lam, Hung Xuan, Hung Linh communes... Thanks to that, the quality of the district's cow breed has been improved with a total herd of 17,000 cows, providing a food output of 24,000 tons/year.

Focus on service development

Along with agricultural production, services are also an economic focus of Hung Nguyen. With investment in construction, expansion and upgrading of many routes in recent years, creating conditions for connecting Hung Nguyen with Vinh City, Cua Lo Town, Nam Dan to the Ho Chi Minh Trail; the western route of Nghe An and Ha Tinh through National Highway 46 and National Highway 46 avoiding Vinh; National Highway 1 avoiding Vinh, Lam River road..., have been creating favorable conditions for Hung Nguyen to form a transportation service economy; petroleum business services; warehouse and transit services in some communes of Hung Thinh, Hung Loi, Hung Dao. In Hung Nguyen now, restaurant and food business at some locations have "attracted" customers from Vinh City such as restaurants processing products of blood worms and birds, eels... Some products with advantages of the district such as Hung Tay rice, Hung Chau wine, Hung Tan, rice paper, Hung Chau peanut candy... continue to be focused on consolidating and expanding their brands. The rural market system in the district has continued to be invested and upgraded in recent years, gradually meeting the needs of business and exchange of goods in the district. The total turnover of goods in 2014 reached 1,595 billion VND, up 12% over the same period, the production value of the service industry in 2014 in the district continued to have a good growth rate, reaching 781.8 billion VND, up 9.1% over the same period in 2013.

Looking at the picture of Hung Nguyen's service economy, it can be said that it has improved compared to before. However, it has not yet fully exploited its advantages. Hung Nguyen is a locality with a dense system of relics, with a total of 111 historical and cultural relics, of which the most typical are the September 12 Martyrs Memorial and the Soviet Square - Nghe Tinh; the memorial site of General Secretary Le Hong Phong; the Central Region Party Committee relic; the Lam Thanh Mountain historical and cultural relic; Ong Hoang Muoi temple, King Le temple... From there, it is possible to develop the spiritual tourism service economy. Besides, Hung Nguyen still has the conditions and foundations to find its own direction in developing accommodation services, house rentals or developing suburban food services more strongly...

MINH CHI