A Catholic man earns billions of dong from his farm in the Khe Đẻn area.

(Baonghean) - The lush green hills of oranges and tea, stretching across the Khe Den hill area in Khai Son commune, annually yield billions of dong, are a testament to the willpower and determination of Mr. Nguyen Huu Kim - a parishioner of Tri Le parish in Khai Son commune (Anh Son district).

Childhood and aspirations

Born into a poor farming family with nine children, Nguyen Huu Kim was the youngest son, facing many disadvantages and only completing secondary school. In 1992, after completing his military service, he returned to his hometown and started a family. Returning with nothing, his and his wife's lives depended solely on a few plots of land, with no other source of income. Undeterred by their circumstances, in 1993, he boldly borrowed money from the bank to buy several plots of land along National Highway 7A, establishing a woodworking and furniture production service with eight workers.

From his humble beginnings, lacking capital, knowledge, and experience, he proactively sought out and learned from successful economic models both within and outside the province, as well as from newspapers and television, to improve his skills. Two years later, in addition to maintaining his carpentry business, he also developed livestock farming, raising over 100 chickens and ducks, and 7 buffaloes and cows, earning an annual income of 100-200 million VND. The success of this initial model provided him with additional income to cover living expenses and repay bank loans. From then on, his desire to become wealthy and create jobs for many rural workers grew stronger than ever.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Kim's integrated farm model, built in conjunction with ecotourism, is quite beautiful.

In 2004, the Anh Son District People's Committee initiated a plan to develop a farm-forest economy. Recognizing this as a good opportunity aligned with his vision, he applied to lease 32 hectares of forest land in the Khe Den area, located in Hamlet 4, Khai Son Commune. The pristine Khe Den hilly region, surrounded by hills and streams, with difficult access, seemed to be testing his resolve in his dream of a comprehensive farm model to achieve legitimate wealth.

Enrich

To strengthen his business model, Mr. Kim decided to invest in transportation and irrigation infrastructure as a foundation for investing in and caring for crops and livestock, as well as marketing his products.

To secure initial investment capital for the farm, he decided to sell two plots of land adjacent to National Highway 7A to buy a bulldozer and a tractor to level the ground, mobilizing hundreds of workers to complete the project within two weeks. He invested in 10 km of boundary roads and plot roads within the farm, and opened an 800m road connecting the farm to the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

In addition, he proactively built three new dams to retain water at the source, both to maintain moisture for the raw material crops and to create fish ponds. Thanks to this, on the 32 hectares of hilly forest land allocated to him, he has now established a closed-loop integrated VACR (Vegetable, Animal, and Fish) economic model, including planting 18 hectares of melaleuca trees, 5 hectares of high-yield cassava, 3.5 hectares of food tea, 2 hectares of industrial tea, 1 hectare of agarwood trees, 300 orange and tangerine trees, two livestock pens for raising dozens of buffaloes and cows, over 200 chickens and ducks, and 2 hectares of ponds for raising commercial fish.

He restored and expanded his industrial tea plantation, cultivating it according to proper procedures, resulting in an income of over 200 million VND per year. This model provides employment for 3-7 regular workers.

To make his economic model more effective, Mr. Kim applied new plant and animal breeds, focusing on applying scientific and technical methods in cultivation and creating a clean brand for his products. Specifically, he adopted grafted acacia from Phu Tho instead of traditional seed-grown acacia, shortening the harvesting time from 8 to 5 years, yielding a profit of 30-35 million VND/ha. He also used the new seedless V2 orange variety, which produces large, juicy fruits, and applied proper cultivation techniques and regular spraying. As a result, his orchard consistently yields 30-40 kg of fruit per tree, selling for 70,000 VND/kg, higher than other oranges on the market (50-55,000 VND/kg).

He also hired engineers with generous salaries to directly study agarwood cultivation techniques and research the market for agarwood trees in Quang Nam province. In addition, the pigs and chickens in Kim's farm are raised free-range, and traders from within and outside the district come directly to his farm to buy them at prices two or three times higher than the market price.

The orange trees are planned to number over 300, providing a regular and primary source of income for the economic model.

Thanks to his relentless efforts in finding markets, Mr. Kim's integrated farm model has achieved an economic efficiency of over 1 billion VND per year, with a net profit of 500-700 million VND per year. Based on this economic success, in 2011 he decided to sell another plot of land next to National Highway 7, and with accumulated capital, invested nearly 2 billion VND to buy 3 excavators and 2 3.5-ton trucks, taking on land leveling contracts for construction projects in the district.

The model is creating jobs for 20 seasonal workers and approximately 10-12 permanent workers, with salaries ranging from 3 to 4.5 million VND per person per month. Among them, 3 workers have risen out of poverty. He himself has built a spacious house near the Ho Chi Minh Trail, valued at over 2 billion VND.

He is constantly concerned about food tea cultivation, and every year he hires workers to invest in caring for and pruning the plants according to proper procedures. As a result, his 4 hectares of food tea yield an income of 200-250 million VND per year.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh, Chairwoman of the People's Committee of Khai Son Commune, emphasized: Besides being a successful businessman, Mr. Nguyen Huu Kim is a prime example in the movement to build a new way of life in the residential area. He himself has contributed tens of millions of dong in cash to help the commune build the gate of the commune office, level and expand the inter-village road from the Ho Chi Minh Trail to Village 2, and support the construction of large churches in the district. He was honored to be a model Catholic in the district, participating in reporting achievements in the emulation movement "All people unite to build a cultured life in residential areas, living a good life and upholding moral values," commending good people and good deeds among Catholic people in the province, during the period 2010-2015.

Mai Son