TH Group: Steps to turn wasteland into fertile land in the Far East

Awakening the wasteland

The Primorsky Sea Border Region of the Russian Federation has a diverse topography, with mountainous areas close to the sea and vast plains in the interior, where there are quite flat and fertile lands. But further in, the land is divided by rivers and lakes. Many areas are isolated and flooded during the snow-melt season.

The road to Nikolo-Mikhailovka seems to be part of the government’s efforts to improve regional transport. The highways are being upgraded, the inter-regional roads are being paved, but the further you go, the more bumpy the road becomes, and eventually it becomes just a long, dusty gravel road.

Mr. Konstantin Vasiliev - resident reporter of TASS news agency in Vladivostok, after going through a challenging 330km journey, immediately asked the question "Why did TH Group choose this land to build the largest dairy cow farming project in the Primorsky region and also the highlight of the super dairy cow farming project that TH is implementing in the Russian Federation?".

This is also the question that many agricultural experts asked the leaders of TH Group when starting the Project in Moscow and Kaluga provinces - where TH also has farms in remote areas. Remembering the days of surveying the project site, standing in front of the vast, desolate land in Moscow, the Project Director of TH worriedly reflected the extremely difficult situation when "the trees here have grown densely for 20 years" to the Group's Founder. At that time, Hero of Labor Thai Huong calmly replied: "Make an effort, with determination you have everything!".

The Group's founder also conveyed strong confidence to all officers and employees in Russia when reminding that TH is an enterprise with a lot of experience in successfully implementing agricultural projects in areas with unfavorable natural conditions such as Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Phu Yen... In particular, the success of the dairy cow farming project with a total investment of 1.2 billion USD, started in Nghe An, has made the name of the national brand TH true MILK and contributed to the successful implementation of the "clean fresh milk revolution" in the Vietnamese market.

Therefore, more than anyone else, Labor Hero Thai Huong and TH Group are confident in their experience and capacity to make the decision to concentrate all of TH's best resources to reclaim and awaken the land potential in difficult areas of the Russian Far East.

Mr. Ngo Minh Hai, Chairman of the Board of Directors of TH Group, answered reporters of TASS news agency about that determination. At the same time, he also emphasized: “From very early on, Ms. Thai Huong, with her outstanding thinking and ability to grasp the golden moment in business, considered the Far East region a priority in the TH Project in the Russian Federation - an investment project considered a noble gesture of gratitude to the country that spared no effort and resources to help Vietnam during the war.”

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I went to Russia during the embargo period with the natural morality of a decent person. Like the Vietnamese proverb “when eating the fruit, remember the person who planted the tree”, in my subconscious I always remember Russia, which spared no effort in human and material resources to stand side by side with my country’s national liberation. This wholehearted help has fostered in me and the Vietnamese people a deep love for Russia. And I always wish to visit Russia one day...

Labor Hero Thai Huong - Founder, Chairman of TH Group's Strategy Council

Nikolo-Mikhailovka village, Yakovlevsky district, in the bright spring days of May, suddenly became more bustling than ever. In this area, TH has reclaimed hundreds of hectares, creating quite large contiguous fields. Around the groundbreaking ceremony area, trucks, cranes, trailers... specialized in land reclamation and farm construction were waiting to start work.

Mr. Le Khac Cuong - Director of TH Agricultural Project Development in Russia, a leading expert of TH Group in the field of cultivation, recalled the first days of receiving land in this area. He and his colleagues traveled for many days to survey the new land. The length from the plots of land handed over as the crow flies from Arsenyev city to Krylovka village is about 90 km, lying along the two rivers Ussuri and Reca Arsenyevka. Most of the land area has been abandoned for many years and is in a state of flooding due to the lack of a drainage system, or the old Soviet-era canal system has been buried, needing to be reclaimed, and dams built to prevent river water from overflowing into the production area during the snow-melting season and the rainy season. Surrounding the land are small, sparsely populated residential areas, mainly the elderly and children.

According to the agreement, the regional government handed over to TH Group a total area of ​​more than 13,000 hectares, but there are plots of land that are surrounded by rivers and are often flooded in the rainy season after being planted. There are plots of land that are separated so that vehicles cannot enter to survey and check the geological condition. Besides, there are also small plots of land, 50-90 km from the place where the machinery is concentrated, making the travel distance long, leading to ineffective cultivation.

The company and the Far East and Arctic Development Corporation (KRDV) are working together to list unsuitable plots of land for farming in exchange for more suitable plots for TH Group's project and awaken those lands.

In addition to the milk project, TH Group will simultaneously develop the cultivation of crops such as alfalfa and soybeans for export to potential markets in the Asia-Pacific region, with Vladivostok seaport being the most convenient transit point. Since 2021, TH has reclaimed and planted soybeans. In 2024, the Group's plan is to plant soybeans on an area of ​​2,150 hectares and reclaim about 5,200 hectares of land. In 2025, it will reclaim more than 4,000 hectares of land, bringing the entire 13,000 hectares of land received into cultivation.

Even on the land where the farm was built, TH Group had to calculate the leveling options to have a flat surface and create fields.

This process can be said to be arduous and difficult, but looking at the fields gradually forming, the strong vitality of the plants growing in the golden midday sun, the birds chirping, everyone believes that a good land has formed here.

A simple thank you

At the groundbreaking ceremony of the TH Group's dairy farming and milk processing project, Mr. Korenchuk Alexey Alexandrovich - District Chief of Yakovlevsky District, Primorsky Region, emotionally shared: "After the process of researching, evaluating the documents and working directly with TH, I confidently affirm that TH is a very professional foreign investor. And I am sure that the project will be successful. At this time, I just want to, on behalf of the people of Yakovlevsky District and the Russian people, send my thanks to TH Group for investing in our homeland."

The reason why the head of Yakovlevsky district publicly shared his thanks directly to foreign investors from Vietnam in front of domestic and international press is because Yakovlevsky district still has many difficulties. People in the area mainly do agriculture. However, productivity is not high.

The first items of the dairy farm - a warm home for 6,000 milking cows in the near future will be quickly deployed. "To implement the herd development plan, we are committed to reclaiming the entire 13,000 hectares received from the Primorsky government to ensure food sources for the entire herd. By the end of 2027, when the dairy factory is put into operation, 100% of the input materials will be supplied from the farm cluster and officially form a closed production chain applying high technology "from pasture to table", contributing to the growth of the total regional product" - Mr. Ngo Minh Hai shared about the specific goals of the project.

With its investment solutions, methodical and professional production and business organization, TH is gradually realizing its vision - Primorsky is one of the most suitable provinces in the Far East for agricultural development with the aim of both enhancing food security for Russia and exporting products internationally thanks to the favorable geographical location of the Far East.

"So of course, the development of the dairy farming industry in particular and the agricultural industry of Yakovlevsky in general will certainly have many contributions from the project of TH Group" - Mr. Korenchuk Alexey Alexandrovich analyzed.

In addition to investing in the construction of dairy farm clusters, milk processing factories, etc., in the long term, TH Group also implements many measures to attract and recruit unskilled workers as well as high-quality workers in the locality and many neighboring areas. The goal of TH Rus Primorsky - a member company of TH Group in the Far East is always: "Inviting the best and most experienced experts in Russia to work on the project. The main workforce that the Group is targeting is the people of Primorsky. We will provide a professional and international working environment so that all workers have the opportunity to live, attach themselves to and develop with this land" - said the Chairman of the Board of Directors of TH Group.

The leader of Yakovlevsky district assessed: “A farm with 6,000 dairy cows and a milk processing plant will create a lot of jobs for workers in the area. In addition, this investor also synchronously implements items such as building housing for workers, building schools for children... It can be seen that in parallel with economic development, Yakovlevsky district in particular and Primorsky region in general will have many opportunities to develop all aspects of social life thanks to the large labor force that has been and is coming to TH's project”.

As for the people of Nikolo - Mikhailovka village, they acted immediately with the belief in the newly kindled reunion.

We had the opportunity to meet the old farmer couple Alex Mikhailovka - who have lived in this land for nearly a century, witnessed the ups and downs of the land, witnessed the unsuccessful livestock projects - including dairy farming - on this land, witnessed many generations of young people leaving the village, including his 3 children. When learning about the dairy farming and milk processing project of TH Group starting here, he and his wife sincerely wished the project success, bringing a new breath of life to this remote village.

A new dawn is shining on the frontier of the land of Aries. The formerly barren Far East will witness a journey of sustainable “land reclamation”. Under the sun, the quintessential agricultural products from the magical harmony of earth - water - wind and the deep and loyal love of people will flourish. The good karma, perseverance, determination, and extraordinary willpower of the leader and his colleagues are cultivating the belief in happiness and prosperity here.