Actively plant raw material forests

(Baonghean) -The area of ​​nearly 700 hectares of raw material forest has affirmed the efforts of afforestation in Hung Son commune thanks to solidarity and the combination of many positive factors...

More than 8 years ago, the most difficult thing for Mr. Nguyen Van Gia (Hamlet 1, Hung Son) was that the 6 hectares of forest land he received in the hills of Ong Dao were covered with tangled vines, steep hills, and no roads. The labor cost to clear the land was large but there was no support from the State. According to Mr. Gia's calculation, for every 1 hectare of about 1,700 planting holes, the labor cost to clear the land was 1.4 million, the labor cost to dig the holes was nearly 4.8 million (200 - 300 VND/hole), plus the cost of seeds of about 400 VND/1 pot, the cost was 6.8 million VND/ha. Thus, the total cost was up to over 10 million VND/ha of clearing the land. This is not a small amount of money for any citizen. With the commune's support for loans from the Agricultural Bank, security support, fire prevention and control work, and 50% support for seeds and fertilizer costs, he bought 120,000 seedlings, completing 4.5 hectares of raw material forest. Thanks to his diligence, adherence to the land and the forest, his acacia hill yielded its first harvest in 2009, with acacia prices of 960,000 VND/ton, earning a net profit of 80 million VND within 5 years. This second forest planting season (planted since 2009), thanks to his experience, he planted up to 20,000 seedlings. According to calculations, if the acacia price is stable at 960,000 VND/ton, he can earn nearly 150 million VND in profit. Mr. Gia confided: "Many difficulties have passed, now the hills are about to enter the second harvest season. Looking up at the healthy, straight hills, I feel very secure and excited".

Purchasing acacia wood materials in Hung Son (Anh Son)

The nearly 4-hectare acacia forest of Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen (Hamlet 6, Hung Son) is located nearly 5 km from her house and is currently preparing for the second harvest. According to her, the problem is finding a market for herself. She calculated: The cost of transporting 1 ton of acacia to the paper factory in Nam Cam Industrial Park is nearly 4 million VND for gasoline, 2 million for transportation costs, vehicle fares... the total cost accounts for nearly 50% of the total income for the trip. "On this hill of forest land, acacia trees are the most prominent strength. My family has proactively spent nearly 20 million VND to fill in the soil, open the road, and facilitate the vehicles to bring goods to the harvest site," Ms. Huyen said.

Hung Son is a commune located on the left bank of Lam River in Anh Son district. The whole commune currently has over 1,200 hectares of natural land, of which nearly 500 hectares are planned for industrial tea cultivation, the rest is for production forests. Mr. Hoang Van Hong - a cadastral officer of Hung Son commune said: The most difficult thing about implementing forest planting for people is that at first, people do not know the benefits, the labor is divided, the land reclamation is not supported, the transportation of raw materials depends on National Highway 7B, but this route is full of obstacles because of slow construction. Especially in the rainy season, the harvesting of acacia can be delayed for months. Up to now, there have been nearly 2 seasons of harvesting raw acacia, but most of the output is still based on people's own agreement, the form of signing contracts in purchasing and stable prices has not been implemented.

In these difficult conditions, the Party Committee and people of Hung Son commune are still determined to maintain and promote their strengths... starting in 2000 when the foreign non-governmental project on natural disaster prevention CRS sponsored 25 hectares of forest including costs for seeds, fertilizers, and acacia trees began to take root on Hung Son hills. By 2004, based on the planning to launch a large-scale forest planting movement of the district and province, Hung Son issued a closed resolution on planting raw material forests, implementing the planning to each household and each hamlet, mobilizing people to share and propagate to people about the benefits of planting forests. The commune mobilized militia to support the opening of sub-regional traffic routes to facilitate people in production. As a result, in 2004, the commune mobilized over 40 households to plant nearly 60 hectares of raw material forests. Seeing the trees grow quickly and well, suitable for the soil and terrain of the hilly forest area, the commune continued to mobilize people to overcome difficulties to divide and plant forests, each year after that reaching nearly 60 hectares/year. Then, in the 3 years from 2009-2011, according to the State's support mechanism 147 in the Target Program of 5 million hectares of forest, people were supported 100% in seeds, 90 kg of nitrogen/1 hectare. During these 3 years, the area of ​​planted forests in the area continuously increased, reaching over 260 hectares, concentrated in some key areas such as Khe Rong, Khe Mon... In early 2012, the province invested in a 14km long gravel road to serve well the harvesting and care of about 300/700 hectares of forest in the area.

Up to now, Hung Son has completed the closure of nearly 700 hectares of raw material forests on the contracted land, an average of 3 hectares/household. Every year, the raw material forest planting targets assigned by the province and district have been met and exceeded. Many households such as Mr. Tran Duc Chau and Tran Duc Thom in Hamlet 1 have nearly 10 hectares of forest. In many key areas, most people accept to live far from home, build camps and stay with the forest such as Khe Gat and Khe Han with nearly 200 hectares of forest. According to the people's calculations, thanks to the development of the forest planting movement, in the past 5 years, Hung Son people have earned a profit of nearly 9 billion VND after deducting expenses; in which many households have earned hundreds of millions of VND. The forest planting movement in Hung Son has closed all the bare hills, preventing erosion, protecting the environment, and creating jobs for hundreds of local workers.

Luong Mai