Que Phong is stepping up support for farmers to develop livelihood models.

Promote effectivenessfruittheprofessional associations

The family of Mr. Kim Van Dung in Huu Van village is a prime example of successful household economic development in Chau Kim commune, with a model of integrated farming (garden, pond, livestock, forest) generating an average income of 200-300 million VND per year. He is also a member of the professional association for goat farming in Huu Van village, raising over 100 goats.

Mr. Dung said: "Joining the professional association will help livestock farmers in the village share experiences in caring for animals, preventing diseases, accessing loan sources, and finding stable markets for their products."

The border commune of Nam Giai is one of the leading units in building and developing cooperative models; establishing branches and professional farmers' associations. A typical example is the Thanh Tam Agricultural and Service Cooperative with 17 member households, focusing on raising local chickens.

Mr. Ngan Van Lam from Puc village, Nam Giai commune (a member of Thanh Tam Agricultural and Service Cooperative) said: "My family's farm raises an average of 700-1,000 chickens in a semi-free-range system on the hillsides, mainly feeding them agricultural products (corn, rice, cassava, etc.), so the quality is guaranteed. The cooperative handles all inputs and outputs, and the main market is Kim Son town and surrounding areas."

Besides the cooperative model, Ms. Lu Kim Tien, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Nam Giai commune, added that there is currently a professional association for pig farming in the area with 16 members, an average scale of 300 pigs, and the household with the largest number raising 50 pigs. In addition, the Farmers' Association of the commune is also promoting the establishment of a professional association for black chicken farming, initially expected to have 10 participating households with a scale of 1,000 chickens…

In the border commune of Tri Le, there are 451 hectares of rice fields, with two harvests per year. In recent years, rice has become a commodity that brings a considerable income to farmers, especially the traditional glutinous rice variety Khau Cay Noi and Japonica rice with their superior aroma, taste, and stickiness.

According to Mr. Vi Hoi, Chairman of the Tri Le Commune Farmers' Association: To aim towards developing the product into an OCOP (One Commune One Product) product, in June 2024, the Tri Le Farmers' Association, in coordination with the Tri Le Commune People's Committee, launched the Tri Le fragrant rice specialty product, complete with packaging and labels containing necessary information. Accordingly, the supply points managed by the Farmers' Association and the commune's agricultural land management officials will purchase and guarantee the sale of the product from the farmers, and utilize social media to promote and introduce the product.

Thanks to this, Tri Le's fragrant rice specialty is gradually becoming more widely known, attracting large orders and achieving higher economic value compared to retail sales among the local population. Currently, Japonica rice prices range from 23,000 to 25,000 VND/kg; sticky rice (khau cay noi) is around 25,000 VND/kg. Besides rice production, the Tri Le Commune Farmers' Association also encourages people to invest in livestock development; establishing professional associations for buffalo and cattle farming. As a result, many successful models of overcoming difficulties and escaping poverty have emerged in the area, such as Mr. Ly No Po in Na Nieng village with over 80 buffalo and cattle.

Currently, Que Phong district has 13 branches and groups of professional farmers' associations (breeding and fattening buffalo and cattle; raising local grass-fed pigs; raising goats, developing local specialty fish species...).

Mr. Mac Van Tuat, Chairman of the Que Phong District Farmers' Association, said: The establishment and operation of professional branches and groups with the "5 Together" criteria (together in the field of labor and production; together in concern; together in sharing; together in responsibility; and together in benefiting) have contributed to improving the quality of activities, building a strong Association organization; creating close links and solidarity to help members get rich and reduce poverty sustainably within the same branch or group.

This is also a solution for forming commodity production chains, helping farmers improve the economic efficiency of agriculture.

Many "midwifery" activities

Aiming for sustainable poverty reduction, the Que Phong District Farmers' Association has implemented many "support" activities to encourage farmers to compete in excellent production and business; helping each other escape poverty through various forms such as exchanging business methods, production experience, capital, providing seedlings and livestock, creating local jobs, etc.

In 2024, the local associations registered to help 14 households escape poverty. For example, the family of Mr. Lo Thanh Luan - Khoanh Do village, Chau Kim commune - was selected by the District Farmers' Association to build a model of "Effective grassroots mobilization accompanying Party members in economic development". Accordingly, Mr. Luan received 5 million VND to buy livestock and guidance on scientific and technical methods for developing livestock farming.

Similarly, in Muong Ngoc commune, 10 households in Na Cong village were facilitated to borrow 300,000,000 VND from the Farmers' Support Fund to implement the "Breeding Cattle" project, which has yielded high efficiency.

Currently, the district's Farmers' Support Fund has a total of 2.447 billion VND, which has been invested in building 16 models such as raising free-range chickens and pigs, taro cultivation; growing vegetables; raising bamboo rats; cage fish farming; growing ginseng potatoes, etc.

In addition, the Farmers' Associations at all levels in Que Phong district have proactively coordinated with the Social Policy Bank to effectively implement entrusted lending to poor households, near-poor households, job creation capital, and other policy beneficiaries.

In the first six months of 2024, the total outstanding loan balance from the Social Policy Bank was VND 145,346 million for 2,555 farmer households in 73 groups, with a loan disbursement of VND 19,606 million. This created favorable conditions for households to invest in economic development, increase income, and contribute to reducing poverty and increasing the number of well-off households in the locality.

Vocational training, support for farmers in digital transformation in production, business, promotion, and consumption of agricultural products; and the building and registration of trademarks for typical agricultural products are also actively implemented by the District Farmers' Association in coordination with specialized departments. For example, they have collaborated with the Post Office to bring typical products of farmer members onto the Postmart e-commerce platform.

In addition, the District Farmers' Association also collaborates with the culture and tourism sector to promote and publicize community-based tourism models associated with ecotourism in the area, contributing to the promotion and development of local tourism.

“In the coming time, the district association will continue to direct and promote service activities to support farmers in developing household economic models; and establish professional associations suitable for each locality. Through this, members will have the opportunity to learn and exchange experiences in production and livestock farming, contributing to sustainable poverty reduction and promoting local socio-economic development,” emphasized Mr. Mac Van Tuat, Chairman of the Que Phong District Farmers' Association.