Green hope from rubber forests

(Baonghean) -After 2 years since the first rubber trees of the project "planting and developing rubber trees on land" Nghe An were planted on this land, visiting the mountainous areas of Anh Son, Thanh Chuong... has seen a green cover, the lives of people around the area have begun to change...

The changes...

In the scorching sun of May days, passing through a long stretch of rugged hills, suddenly came across a vast green stretch of rubber hills in Thanh Duc commune (Thanh Chuong). It has only been 2 years since Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan attended the first rubber tree planting ceremony of the rubber tree project, which has turned the bowl-shaped hills green.

Taking advantage of the time waiting for the summer sun to cool down to weed and take care of the rubber trees, young worker Nguyen Thi Nga (Team 1, Rubber Farm 19/5) excitedly said: Nga is from Thanh Nho commune, both of her parents are farmers. My family is poor, so after graduating from high school, I did not have the conditions to continue studying. Every season, I worked for the tea hill owners in the area, clearing the ground cover, burning the fields for the farms and forestry farms. The work was hard, but the income was not much. When there was a rubber planting project, Nga applied to work as a worker for Team 1 - Farm 12/9 (Nghe An Rubber Investment and Development Joint Stock Company) and was assigned to plant, care for and protect nearly 6 hectares of rubber trees. "I have been working for 2 years now. Although it was a bit hard at first, I earn 4-5 million VND per month, which helps my parents raise my younger siblings to study, sister."

Rubber nursery of Farm 12/9 (Nghe An Rubber Joint Stock Company). Photo: Van Doan

Mr. Nguyen Sy Tuan - Team leader of Farm 12/9 said: These mountainous areas used to belong to the Forestry Company, mainly growing acacia, with low economic value. Since the rubber planting and development project, the hills have all been converted to rubber planting. Team 1 has 40 workers, most of whom are locals, of whom 20 have been divided into plots, each household has an average of 5-6.5 hectares, with stable jobs and income. Some areas are currently being reclaimed, new plantings are being continued and plots are being divided into plots for the remaining people, creating conditions for workers to truly own the land. The rubber trees are growing very well, now over 3m high, and are starting to form a canopy. To increase income, many worker households have intercropped with aromatic roots under the rubber canopy, bringing in hundreds of millions of VND each year.

After a long journey to Anh Son district, in the approaching afternoon rain, we walked on a newly opened road leading to the rubber plantation of Mr. Ba Trong Bien and Ms. Le Thi Thuy (workers of Team 4 - Farm 19/5). Originally from Long Son commune, his family had nearly one hectare of rice fields but still could not make ends meet. Since March 2011, he applied to work as a worker and was hired to take care of and protect 5 hectares of rubber. With a stable income and steady work, he discussed with his wife about sending their children to their grandparents and then both of them went to the farm to build a shack to live in, receiving an additional 4 hectares of "share" from his wife. Every day, in addition to taking care of the 5 hectares of rubber trees that had turned green, he and his wife diligently dug holes, waiting for the rain to come to replant the remaining 4 hectares. With a stable initial income of nearly 4 million VND/person/month from growing and caring for rubber trees, Ms. Thuy also raises hundreds of chickens, geese, and ducks. Each time she sells chickens, she earns tens of millions of VND.

According to initial assessment, rubber trees are suitable for the soil and climate in the raw material areas in Nghe An. After 2 years of planting, the trees have grown better than some areas in the Southern provinces that have a long tradition of growing rubber. Although only 2 years old, the trees are now over 3 meters tall, with lush green leaves under the blazing summer sun. Deputy General Director of Nghe An Rubber Investment and Development Joint Stock Company, and Director of 19/5 Rubber Farm - Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tuan said: Most of the rubber growing area is contracted to local people in the two districts of Anh Son and Thanh Chuong. Workers are fully insured, supported by the company with food, gas and travel expenses, and gifts on holidays and Tet. On this occasion, the unit is planning to evaluate workers with outstanding achievements to send them on a tour of Thailand. It is worth mentioning that people are hired without having to contribute anything, the income is high and stable, so since the rubber planting project was born, many workers in Anh Son and Thanh Chuong have applied to work as rubber workers.

It is known that by May 2012, the total number of indefinite-term employees of Nghe An Rubber Investment and Development Joint Stock Company had reached 230 people and the number of seasonal employees was 300 people. The average income of direct labor households in the first 5 months of 2012 was over 4 million VND/person/month, the average income of contracted laborers was nearly 5 million VND/person/month.

And not a few difficulties

With over 13 thousand hectares of red basalt soil, Nghe An has great potential for developing rubber trees in the Phu Quy area and the surrounding areas of Tan Ky, Anh Son, Thanh Chuong.... According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, by 2007, the whole province had about 4,000 hectares of rubber trees. As a locality with rubber trees for a long time, it was not until Nghe An Rubber Development Investment Joint Stock Company, after 2 years of survey, was allowed by the province to complete procedures and documents to lease nearly 10,000 hectares of forestry land in Anh Son, Thanh Chuong and Que Phong districts to pilot a rubber tree planting project, that it can be said that this tree, considered "white gold", had a real chance to flourish.

On April 13, 2010, the Provincial People's Committee decided to reclaim the land area managed by Anh Son Forestry Company in Hoi Son, Phuc Son (Anh Son) and Thanh Duc (Thanh Chuong) communes with a total area of ​​5,354.9 hectares to implement a rubber tree planting project. Next, the province continued to decide to merge the 7th Youth Volunteer Team - Nghe An Construction and Development into Nghe An Rubber Investment Joint Stock Company, with a total area of ​​8,751.9 hectares in the two communes of Hanh Dich and Tien Phong (Que Phong).

In addition, the province has also agreed to expand the planning area of ​​rubber tree planting project at the Youth Union 2 - Nghe An Construction and Engineering and change the type of operation of this unit. Thus, according to the planning until 2015, taking into account 2020, the area of ​​rubber tree planting in the whole province will be 4,666.6 hectares.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nghe An Rubber Investment and Development Joint Stock Company - Mr. Pham Trung Thai said: Immediately after receiving the land fund to convert to rubber tree planting, the Company coordinated with the Land Acquisition Council of Anh Son, Thanh Chuong and Que Phong districts to count, measure, and prepare compensation records for trees, crops, and property architecture for the households that received the contract and invested on the contracted land. During the implementation process, the Company mobilized the collective and the households that received the contract to agree to hand over the land in advance with an area of ​​2,085.17 hectares.

In addition, 43 other households and a joint venture have voluntarily handed over land with an area of ​​1,041.39 hectares, forestry companies have handed over over 1,000 hectares. Up to this point, in difficult conditions, the unit has reclaimed and planted 216.41 hectares, of which 111.22 hectares were newly planted in 2010 and 104.2 hectares in 2011. Currently, a seedling production team has been established, and at the same time, good quality seedlings have been received from several other units such as Phu Rieng Rubber Company, Phuoc Hoa Company, Eahleo, Phu Rieng. According to the plan, in 2012, the Company will plant 1,000 hectares of new rubber. Currently, the unit is contracting with Division 324 to mobilize 800 soldiers to dig holes, handle land reclamation, and prepare enough seeds to plant 650 hectares in the spring crop of 2012...

However, after several years of implementation, the project still faces many difficulties in site clearance and land handover for rubber plantation. Mr. Thai said: According to the decision of the Provincial People's Committee, the area of ​​land recovered for rubber plantation managed by Anh Son Forestry Company in Anh Son and Thanh Chuong will be 5,354.8 hectares.

Up to now, the land area that Nghe An Rubber Investment and Development Joint Stock Company has received is only over 2,000 hectares. The remaining 3,000 hectares have not been resolved for final handover to serve rubber tree planting on schedule, although the Provincial People's Committee has had many meetings to resolve problems arising during the implementation process. Recently, at a meeting between the relevant parties, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee - Mr. Dinh Viet Hong affirmed: "The province will resolve the issue resolutely and thoroughly, ensuring the rights and obligations of the parties, but must soon hand over the land so that the Company can implement the rubber tree planting project on schedule!".

It is known that when receiving the project, Nghe An planned 25,000 hectares of rubber growing land, striving to increase the total newly planted rubber area to 5,000-7,000 hectares by 2015.

Phu Huong