"As skilled in business as Moong Pho Ngoc"

(Baonghean) - While serving as a highly respected key official in Nam Can commune (Ky Son district), Moong Pho Ngoc also develops his family's economy through commercial cattle farming, hybrid corn cultivation, and banana farming... Through these successful models, he has led and encouraged his fellow villagers to follow suit.

Moong Pho Ngoc and his wife take care of the herd of cows.

After climbing the Noọng Dẻ slope, we visited the cattle and chicken farm of Mr. Moong Phò Ngọc, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Nậm Cắn commune. The farm is located deep within the forest, at the foot of the Cắn stream, so it took us nearly two hours to reach it through the forest. It's called a farm, but it's just a temporary shed built on flat land to store feed for livestock and poultry, and to provide shelter from the sun and rain for hundreds of birds. Despite the rudimentary facilities, Moong Phò Ngọc's farm is large, with nearly 60 cows and hundreds of chickens and ducks.

His story of building a farm began quite early when his family received 24 hectares of protected forest land for cultivation and conservation. He was deeply concerned about what to do under the forest canopy to maximize its effectiveness, so he started raising goats and chickens. Initially, the scale was small and not very effective, so he switched to raising cattle using natural breeding methods. He lost his entire herd several times due to widespread disease outbreaks, but he learned from experience. To protect the entire herd, he regularly invited veterinary officers to the farm to vaccinate the buffaloes, cows, and poultry according to regulations, and also prepared everything to protect the cattle from the cold each winter. Therefore, Mr. Ngoc's farm has ensured that the entire herd remains free from disease. At its peak, the farm had over 80 cows and calves; currently, it maintains between 60 and 70.

Besides developing a comprehensive farm combining forestry and livestock farming, Moong Pho Ngoc also pioneered the cultivation of hybrid corn in Nam Can. Hybrid corn began appearing in this highland area in 2008 with his first 2 hectares, yielding over 12 tons in the first harvest. After several seasons, Moong Pho Ngoc continued to expand his cultivation to nearly 10 hectares, achieving a yield of over 60 tons. Seeing that Mr. Ngoc's hybrid corn provided a much higher and more stable income than upland rice, not only did the Khmu households (in Khanh Thanh village) follow suit, but Thai and Mong households in other villages such as Tien Tieu and Truong Son, who had ample land, also started planting hybrid corn instead of upland rice. As a result, the hybrid corn cultivation movement in Nam Can developed strongly, making it the commune with the largest corn acreage in Ky Son district, with over 280 hectares. Hybrid corn has become the main crop, bringing in a large income for Nam Can commune.

After numerous trial plantings showed that the VN10 corn variety was the most suitable, yielding high productivity and ensuring the quality of the corn kernels in the Nam Can area, many families in the villages visited Mr. Ngoc's model farm to learn from him. Families like Mr. Nhung Pho Toan, Cut Pho Lieu, and Ven Pho Dong have been raising cattle and growing hybrid corn, which has initially proven effective. Currently, Mr. Ngoc is considering introducing the cultivation of Cavendish and plantain bananas in this area, as he believes bananas are easy to grow and sell, making them relatively suitable for the Nam Can region. Therefore, two years ago, he proactively planted 120 banana trees, further solidifying this potential. Moong Pho Ngoc stated that this year he plans to encourage 30 more households to participate in banana cultivation by providing them with seeds, fertilizers, and funding to focus on planting. He believes that a large area and scale are necessary to ensure sufficient product for consumption.

As the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Nam Can commune in charge of economic affairs, Moong Pho Ngoc has become a model of a "walking the talk" official, respected by the Party Committee, government, and people of the border commune of Nam Can. His leadership and guidance in production through concrete models have facilitated his role in directing economic development, and the people have trusted and followed his example. The people of Nam Can always remind each other, "Let's be as successful in economic development as Moong Pho Ngoc."

Huu Nghia