Nghe An Farmers Support Fund helps many farming households get rich

(Baonghean) - Over the years, the Farmers Support Fund has helped thousands of farming households in the province borrow capital to invest in economic development, especially from the loan capital, a group of households has been formed to link production to create greater value of goods, striving to become rich.

Born into a poor rural family, Tran Minh Ty in Hong Phong hamlet, Luu Son commune (Do Luong) had a difficult life as a construction worker. After the land consolidation, he took on 0.6 hectares of fallow land to build a garden, pond, and barn model. In addition to the accumulated capital, he borrowed more money from the bank to invest in building barns and buying breeding animals.

Investing in goat farming development from the Farmers Support Fund of Mr. Nguyen Doan Sau's family in Nhan Son commune (Do Luong). Photo: Quynh Lan

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In the first year, he raised 3 breeding cows, then received a loan of 40 million VND from the Farmers' Support Fund, Mr. Ty bought more breeding cows and gradually increased the number to 9-12 breeding cows. In addition, his family also planted 3 sao of milkweed, 2 sao of corn, 6 sao of rice, peanuts... to have a local food source for the cows. On average, each year the cows give birth to 6 more calves, bringing in a net income of over 70 million VND/year.

Mr. Ty shared: "Although the loan amount is not much, thanks to the capital from the Farmers Support Fund, my family has more funds to invest in increasing the total livestock herd, which has resulted in increasingly higher efficiency."

Mr. Nguyen Hong Xuan - Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Do Luong district said: After 5 years of implementation, up to now, the Farmers' Support Fund has lent to more than 100 member households in 6 communes including Thuan Son, Hien Son, Van Son, Tan Son, Lam Son and Nhan Son with a total capital of more than 3 billion VND. People who borrow capital mainly invest in breeding cows, carpentry production, making vermicelli... with an average loan of 30 - 40 million VND/household, loan term of 3 years, very convenient for farmers to effectively rotate capital, 100% of households borrowing capital have strictly complied with repayment of debts on time, no bad debts arise; thereby contributing to hunger eradication and poverty reduction, stabilizing the lives of farmer members.

In Anh Son district, in 2013, with capital from the Central Farmers' Support Fund, Nghe An Farmers' Association implemented the project "Growing oranges for sale" in Dinh Son commune with a scale of nearly 10 hectares, including 20 participating households, with a total investment capital of nearly 1.3 billion VND, of which the loan capital from the Provincial Farmers' Support Fund was 600 million VND, with a loan period of 3 years. Up to now, after nearly 5 years of implementation, the project has brought great economic efficiency to orange growers, with each household having a net profit of 400 - 500 million VND every year after deducting expenses. From the effectiveness of the orange growing model in Dinh Son commune (Anh Son), the Provincial Farmers' Association has surveyed, evaluated and replicated the model in Yen Thanh, Quy Hop, Nghia Dan and Con Cuong districts.

In Nghia Dong commune (Tan Ky), there are advantages and potentials for developing breeding buffalo and cows, but households lack investment capital. Understanding the needs of members, the Provincial Farmers' Association has organized a survey, appraisal and submitted to the Central Association for capital investment to build a breeding model of buffalo and cows in Nghia Dong commune with an investment scale of 575 million VND, of which 400 million VND is borrowed from the Farmers' Support Fund, and deployed to 20 households to borrow to buy 20 mother buffaloes. After 5 years of implementation, the project has developed the buffalo herd from 20 to nearly 90, with each buffalo calf selling for 15 - 20 million VND.

The farmers' emulation movement in production developed strongly when they had access to preferential capital. Photo: Document

The effectiveness of the buffalo breeding project has a great influence, has been replicated throughout the district and many other districts, especially mountainous districts such as Nghia Dan, Quy Hop, Quy Chau, Que Phong, Tuong Duong, Ky Son... By the end of 2016, there were 133 breeding projects, accounting for 81% of the total investment projects, creating jobs for thousands of rural workers, on average each household (after 3 years of borrowing capital) earned a profit of 30 - 40 million VND/household from breeding buffaloes and cows.

It can be said that developing livestock with priority on large cattle is the right direction, suitable for the climate, food, and experience of Nghe An farmers. Therefore, cattle breeding projects, especially cattle breeding in localities in the province, have been very effective, contributing to increasing income and sustainable poverty reduction for farmers.

Most of the projects managed by the Provincial Farmers Support Fund are implemented in concentrated residential areas, jointly investing in the production of wooden products, or cultivating the same type of plants and animals, in the same industry and field, so they use the same seeds, raw materials and technical applications. In addition to the convenience of sharing experiences and methods, members in the project area have known how to assign production stages to each group of households to support each other to reduce costs and increase production efficiency.

In the broom models of Hoa Hoi, Nghia Hoi commune (Nghia Dan), Tay Ho civil carpentry (Nam Dan district town), mushroom growing in Son Thanh commune (Yen Thanh), ... and many other fund-loan models, groups of households specializing in finding raw materials and finding output for products have been gradually formed. Many project models using fund capital have contributed to forming agricultural commodity production areas suitable for the socio-economic development goals and new rural construction of each locality. Typical examples include the seafood processing model in Nghi Hai ward (Cua Lo), Dien Ngoc commune (Dien Chau); civil carpentry village in Thai Son commune (Do Luong); mushroom growing model in Khanh Thanh commune, Son Thanh (Yen Thanh), egg-laying chicken model in Dien Trung commune (Dien Chau) ...

In the period 2012 - 2016, Nghe An province had 272,491 farmer households registered to strive to become good farmer households in production and business at all levels. Through the evaluation and honor of the Association at all levels, 146,147 households were recognized as good producers and business. Of which, 556 households achieved the title of good producers and business at the central level; 4,072 households in production and business at the provincial level; 16,359 households in production and business at the district level. Photo: Hoang Minh

Mr. Tran Van Huong - Vice Chairman of the Provincial Farmers' Association said: "From the practical results, it can be seen that the capital of the Farmers' Support Fund has helped thousands of farming households expand their production scale, increase their income, contribute significantly to the economic restructuring and develop collective economic forms in rural areas, and at the same time promote the application of technical advances and new technologies in agricultural production."

Not only creating conditions for farmer members to build and replicate economic models, helping each other to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty, the Farmer Support Fund also contributes to the transformation of the rural economic structure. The Fund's loan projects are to build and develop effective economic models, increase income, improve the lives of farmers, contribute to ensuring security and order in rural areas and towards the successful implementation of the National Target Program on New Rural Construction.

After 5 years of lending, up to now, the total outstanding loan capital of the Farmers Support Fund in Nghe An province has reached more than 32.2 billion VND, of which the outstanding capital source entrusted by the Central Association is 13.3 billion VND, the capital source of the province is nearly 19 billion VND. Currently, the whole province is implementing 84 projects for 1,161 households to borrow to invest in livestock models, industry services, cultivation, seafood processing, civil wood production and handicrafts, etc.

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