Changing economic development thinking

We returned to Yen Chau (Son La), a land known as the land of "sweet bananas, fragrant mangoes", the land of Thai, Kinh, Mong, etc. living together in harmony. In recent years, thanks to the effective implementation of national target programs on new rural construction, economic development of ethnic minority areas, etc., ethnic minorities in the highland communes of Yen Chau district have competed to develop the economy, apply scientific advances to agricultural cultivation, and strive to become rich on their homeland.

As scheduled, we visited the buffalo and cow farming model of Mr. Quang Van Chien's family, Thai ethnic group, Luong Me village, Chieng Dong commune, Yen Chau district (Son La). Instead of grazing freely in the fields, Mr. Chien's family invested in building a closed barn to control diseases, as well as provide adequate nutrition for the buffalo and cows. Mr. Chien's family's farming model was built far from the house. The farming areas are arranged systematically, with separate farming areas and food processing areas.

Mr. Chien shared: Because we live in a rural area, like many households in the village, my family only depends on short-term crops on the fields such as corn, cassava, etc., the income is not much, the family's life is difficult. Not giving in to difficulties, determined to find a new direction, I realized that the model of raising buffaloes and cows is highly economically efficient. Along with that, the locality is implementing the New Rural Development Program, which is being promoted by the Party Committee, the government as well as the Farmers' Association at all levels; with the small capital of my family, I boldly developed the fattening of buffaloes and cows.

Mr. Quang Van Chien, Luong Me village, Chieng Dong commune, Yen Chau district (Son La) feeds his cows. Photo: Van Ngoc

Currently, Mr. Chien's family's livestock model maintains 15-20 fattened buffaloes and cows. To ensure the amount of food for his family's buffaloes and cows, Mr. Chien has converted a small part of the ineffective farmland to grow elephant grass, banana trees, and sweet potatoes. In addition to fresh, green food, to ensure nutrition for the livestock, his family has supplemented starchy foods such as corn bran and rice bran. In addition, to ensure that the livestock grow healthily and quickly, his family strictly follows disease prevention measures and fully vaccinates as recommended by agricultural officials.

"My family has been raising cows for more than 7 years now, and currently the family maintains 15 to 20 commercial buffaloes and cows. I feed the cows 3 times a day, morning, noon and evening; I regularly clean the barns, feeding troughs, and the surrounding environment, and the cows' bodies must always be clean. Last year, I sold my family's buffaloes and cows and earned a profit of more than 100 million VND," said Mr. Chien.

Buffalo and cow farming model of Mr. Quang Van Chien's family, Luong Me village, Chieng Dong commune, Yen Chau district (Son La). Photo: Van Ngoc

In Yen Chau, the ethnic minorities here not only promote livestock development but also have high incomes from promoting fruit tree development on sloping land, replacing short-term crops with low economic efficiency. The longan garden of Mrs. Lo Thi Tam's family, Huon village, Chieng Dong commune, Yen Chau district (Son La) is located on a hillside. This longan garden area was previously cultivated by her family with a single crop of corn, with low economic efficiency.

In 2014, with her family's savings and money borrowed from relatives, Ms. Tam bought 500 longan trees to expand the area and develop the economy. Ms. Tam was the first person to bring Hung Yen longan variety to grow in Chieng Dong commune.

Longan garden of Mrs. Lo Thi Tam's family, Huon village, Chieng Dong commune, Yen Chau district (Son La) is located on a hillside. Photo: Van Ngoc

According to Ms. Tam, compared to other longan varieties such as pulp longan, the time from planting to fruiting of Hung Yen longan trees is shorter, only about 3 years. During the care process, I found that Hung Yen longan trees are quite suitable for the weather and climate of the place. One of the factors that helped Ms. Tam's family succeed is that she was instructed by agricultural extension officers on planting and care techniques and learned from the experiences of previous longan growers.

"After each longan harvest, my family focuses on pruning branches, shaping the canopy, and fertilizing. Thanks to fully implementing technical factors, creating clean products, ensuring quality, the longan fruit produced by our family is purchased by traders right in the garden, my family does not have to worry about output. Each longan crop, my family earns more than 10 tons, selling for 20 - 30 thousand VND/kg, after deducting expenses, earning more than 150 million VND," said Ms. Tam.

Thanks to growing fruit trees, the family of Ms. Lo Thi Tam, Huon village, Chieng Dong commune, Yen Chau district (Son La) has a stable income. Photo: Van Ngoc

Sustainable agricultural economic development

Mr. Lo Chung Thuy, Secretary of the Party Committee of Chieng Dong Commune, Yen Chau District, Son La Province, said: Chieng Dong is a commune in Region III of Yen Chau District, the commune's economy is mainly agricultural production, and people's lives still face many difficulties. The whole commune has over 1,800 households, of which over 90% are ethnic minority households. In recent years, the commune has actively coordinated with the district's Ethnic Affairs Department to fully and promptly implement policies for ethnic minorities in accordance with regulations.

Farmers in Chieng Dong commune promote livestock development to increase income. Photo: Van Ngoc

Implementing the content of breakthrough agricultural production development towards commodity, the Party Committee has issued many resolutions to lead economic development with tasks and solutions suitable to actual conditions. Promoting the replication of effective economic models, such as: Renovating mixed gardens to grow late-ripening longan and grafted mango in Chai village; raising fish in Nam Un village; growing garlic in Dong Tau village; growing melons and asparagus in Luong Me village; raising free-range chickens in Then Luong village...

Ethnic minorities in Chieng Dong commune promote mechanization in agricultural production. Photo: Van Ngoc

In particular, party members are the active pioneers in supporting and guiding people to apply science and technology to production, structure suitable crop and livestock varieties, produce in a safe direction, and increase income. Currently, the whole commune has over 630 hectares of fruit trees, 60 hectares of vegetables, 80 hectares of garlic; maintains over 6,680 cattle, 34,000 poultry, and 25 hectares of water surface for aquaculture.

It can be seen that economic development models have changed people's thinking and working methods, applied scientific and technical advances, improved production efficiency; contributed to job creation, promoted economic and social development in the district's ethnic minority areas.

Van Ngoc