Que Phong strives to achieve its goal of escaping poverty.

(Baonghean) - Striving to rise from a poor, particularly difficult border district of the province, in recent years, Que Phong district's socio-economic development has made many positive strides. In particular, the district has successfully implemented many projects and programs to support production and economic development, helping thousands of ethnic minority households find jobs, improve their income, and enhance their quality of life.

Visiting a model of clean vegetable farming in Don Cham village, Muong Ngoc commune, and stopping at a household's vegetable garden, Ms. Vi Thi Thanh (the household owner) shared: Starting from the winter of 2015, following the policy of Que Phong district, her family worked hard to transform their 2,000 m2 plot of land into a large garden specializing in growing clean vegetables, roots, and fruits. The first year of experimentation showed that the crops were suitable for the soil and climate conditions, so they grew well, were not affected by pests or diseases, and brought the family an income of nearly 20 million VND...

Harvesting vegetables in Don Cham village, Muong Ngoc commune. Photo: Thu Huong.

Don Cham is a Thai ethnic minority village. Previously, the land used for growing vegetables was used for rice cultivation, but the harvest was poor, so it was left fallow. After careful research into the climate and soil conditions, and following the general directives of the district, the village integrated funding from various programs and projects, primarily the New Rural Development program, to promote vegetable cultivation to alleviate poverty. Currently, 32 households in Don Cham village have registered with the district's agricultural production and service cooperative to participate in the clean vegetable farming model.

Initially, Que Phong district invested in seeds, techniques, built a 20m³ water tank system, irrigation pipes, a 1,000m electrical system, and fences to protect the vegetable gardens, ensuring that over 32,000m² of land could be used for growing clean vegetables, including kohlrabi, cabbage, leafy greens, mung beans, cucumbers, etc. As a result, after the first harvest, the new model was assessed as developing well, yielding economic benefits three times higher than rice cultivation. Currently, the district is taking responsibility for selling the clean vegetable products for the farmers through a display booth showcasing the district's typical products, supplying restaurants, boarding schools, and customers both within and outside the district.

In Chau Kim commune, there is a biosecure chicken farming model that is considered a model for ethnic minority people in Que Phong district to learn from and follow; with 5 participating households, a scale of 1,000 chickens, after 4 months of raising, the average weight of chickens at market reached 2kg/chicken (the old method achieved 1.5 - 1.7 kg/chicken); the survival rate reached 93%, higher than the traditional method (only 20 - 25%).

The new livestock farming model helps farmers achieve significantly higher incomes compared to traditional farming (reaching 33.7 million VND/1,000 pigs, while mass farming only yields 6.95 million VND/1,000 pigs). In Tien Phong commune, there is a bio-secure pig farming model with 5 households participating, raising 50 pigs using hybrid breeds (Mong Cai x Yorkshire x Landace). After 4 months of raising, the weight of pigs at slaughter reached 88 kg/pig (the old method achieved 70-75 kg/pig); the survival rate reached 100%...

The outstanding effectiveness of these livestock farming models, in addition to increasing people's income, providing safe products for consumers, changing people's awareness towards ensuring food safety and hygiene, and not causing environmental pollution, also creates opportunities for farmers to interact, learn, and share experiences to prosper together. After the model is completed, households can expand the scale and develop livestock farming towards meat production and breeding...

Sugarcane harvesting in Que Son commune. Photo: Thu Huong.

In particular, taking advantage of existing potential, two types of plants, namely the golden flower tea plant in Dong Van commune and the bon bo plant in Nam Nhoong and Chau Thon communes, are currently considered highly promising, helping people escape poverty sustainably; with prices ranging from 3-4 million VND/kg for dried golden flower tea or nearly 500,000 VND/kg for fresh flowers; and 20,000-30,000 VND/kg for dried bon bo seeds.

In particular, at the beginning of 2015, the People's Committee of Que Phong district, in coordination with the Nghe An Forestry Consulting Center, launched the project "Building a model for the conservation, development, and sustainable use of the bon bo tree species based on the community, contributing to biodiversity conservation." Currently, the model is implemented on an area of ​​54 hectares, including 14 hectares of new planting and 40 hectares of protection, nurturing, and supplementary planting of bon bo trees under the canopy of natural forests. According to calculations, with concentrated protection and nurturing areas, each year yields an income of 30-60 million VND/ha.

According to statistics, Que Phong district currently has 843 types of medicinal plants (out of a total of 962 types of medicinal plants found in Nghe An province). The goal of preserving and developing medicinal plants as a key economic development sector has been included in the Resolution of the 21st District Party Congress, term 2015-2020. Most recently, a project for the preservation and development of high-economic-value medicinal plants has been developed. Accordingly, the planting plan for medicinal plants is divided into three regions based on soil characteristics: The central region (Muong Ngoc, Chau Kim, Que Son, Tien Phong) focuses on developing cardamom; the southwestern region (Quang Phong, Cam Muon, Chau Thon, Nam Nhoong, Nam Giai and Tri Le) emphasizes the expansion of bon bo and Artemisia annua; and the northwestern region (Thong Thu, Dong Van and Hanh Dich) focuses on developing golden flower tea and Codonopsis pilosula. The district will coordinate with agricultural and forestry technical centers to research and breed seedlings from mother plants to ensure good adaptability to local natural and climatic conditions.

In Que Phong district, there are still many other economic models, programs, and projects that contribute to helping people increase their income, improve their lives, and strive to achieve poverty reduction targets. In 2016, regarding crop cultivation, on an area of ​​4,407 hectares planted with wet rice throughout the year, farmers in the district harvested 22,342 tons (yield of 50.7 quintals/hectare); upland rice reached 719 tons/360 hectares; vegetables reached 1,144 tons/209 hectares; and sugarcane reached 4,720 tons/70 hectares...

Regarding livestock farming, the total number of buffaloes and cattle reached 33,794, pigs 29,503, goats 3,479, poultry 316,830, aquaculture area 232 hectares, and cage fish farming 97... In terms of forestry development, the work of enclosing, protecting, caring for, and planting forests was well implemented; the area of ​​newly planted concentrated forests reached 1,100 hectares; the area of ​​scattered planted forests reached 35 hectares; 14,300 hectares of regenerated forest were enclosed and 98,558 hectares of forest were contracted for protection... The entire district has 21 comprehensive agricultural service cooperatives; 351 farms and family farms. The economy continues to develop, with an estimated growth rate of 7%; budget revenue in the district increased by 19.91% compared to the plan; average per capita income is estimated at 20.28 million VND. The poverty rate decreased by 4.43% (according to the multidimensional poverty standard)...

“Building on the achievements already made, entering 2017, Que Phong district has set forth directions and tasks including focusing on removing difficulties and creating favorable conditions for production and business development, striving for a higher growth rate than the previous year, based on promoting the restructuring of the economy; ensuring social security goals, improving people's lives, continuing to reduce the poverty rate by 4-5% compared to 2016; continuing to implement the goal of curbing inflation and stabilizing the socio-economic situation; increasing efficiency and sustainability in all fields, especially in the production sector, to ensure the solid improvement of people's quality of life; raising the average income for people to 21.3 million VND/year...", said Comrade Le Van Giap - Deputy Secretary of the District Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Committee of Que Phong district.

Thu Huong