"Support" helps ethnic minorities escape poverty

Tea products of Hung Anh Agricultural Service Cooperative are popular with consumers. -Photo: LA

Established in 2023 from the association of livestock production, cultivation and civil construction of Mr. Do Van Anh and 6 friends who are Van Kieu people, Huong Hiep Agricultural Cooperative, Huong Hiep commune now has a herd of hundreds of animals, mainly native pigs and mountain goats. These are livestock breeds familiar with the local climate conditions.

In addition, the Cooperative is also a place that provides a relatively large source of indigenous medicinal herbs for processing facilities in the area. Director of Huong Hiep Cooperative Do Van Anh said that in order for the Cooperative to operate sustainably, in addition to production and business, the Cooperative always accompanies people in the process of raising livestock, providing breeding stock, supporting breeding techniques, veterinary care and guaranteeing output of products.

Accordingly, not only is the unit responsible for supplying plant and animal breeds to people, but through training activities and technology transfer, members of the Cooperative have gone to households, monitored livestock and instructed people on care techniques and disease prevention; instructed people on how to care for livestock according to the standards required by the enterprise so that they can sign contracts to purchase products at high and stable prices from the beginning to the end of the livestock cycle.

Overcoming initial difficulties, up to now, Huong Hiep Agricultural Cooperative has completed the product value chain from supply to companionship, and consumption of output products for local people. Notable among these are native pig products and mountain goats raised in a natural, organic, free-range manner with delicious meat quality, high product value, and very popular in the market.

As one of the cooperative's livestock farmers, Ms. Ho Thi Chai in Lang Cat village, Huong Hiep commune shared that since receiving technical guidance and support from the cooperative for pig breeding, the people have been very excited. Currently, people are focusing on clean, natural livestock farming, without using growth-enhancing powders.

During the raising process, if the pigs get sick or have any problems, just call and the cooperative staff will come to handle it immediately. Therefore, people are very confident because they not only have guaranteed breeds but also receive free veterinary care. Thanks to that, a family in the village has sold 20 pigs, bringing in an income of more than 20 million VND.

Mr. Ho Van Cong, in Lang Cat village, said that not only will he be supported with breeding pigs and technical guidance, but when the breeding pigs give birth, the cooperative will buy all of them at a price of 100,000-130,000 VND/kg. For poor families lacking capital, the cooperative will also lend them the cost of breeding pigs. After successful breeding, the capital will be returned to the cooperative, so people are very happy and secure.

The livestock area of Huong Hiep Agricultural Cooperative is built on a large scale. -Photo: QL

In 2020, Hung Anh Agricultural Service Cooperative was established with the goal of accompanying people, especially ethnic minorities, in planting, caring for, harvesting, producing, and processing rare local herbs into delicious, long-lasting, and highly commercial teas.

Director of the Cooperative Nguyen Van Hung said that currently, each year the unit purchases about 60 tons of raw materials from local people. Of which, about 50 tons are spices such as ginger, lemongrass and local medicinal plants; the remaining about 10 tons are grain crops such as peanuts, green beans, and black beans. From those raw materials, the Cooperative has processed, packaged and consumed them in accordance with regulations on product quality.

In particular, the Cooperative has 4 medicinal tea products certified as 3-star and 4-star OCOP products at the provincial level, such as: Agarwood tea, perilla tea, chasteberry tea, and coriander tea. "Currently, the Cooperative is promoting factory expansion, cooperating with people to expand raw material areas; at the same time, researching to bring new products to the market," Mr. Hung added.

Ethnic minority areas in particular and the mountainous areas of Quang Tri in general have many advantages in raising livestock and growing medicinal plants. However, due to the small and fragmented land area, large-scale development is not feasible.

Therefore, the cooperative and production group model is a suitable choice for collective economic development. However, in order for the cooperative and production group model to develop sustainably and become a "support" for people to escape poverty, localities need to define the development of cooperatives and production groups more clearly. In particular, priority should be given to the application and transfer of science and technology to people; and policies to support loan interest rates should be promoted to motivate cooperatives and production groups to develop sustainably.

Cooperatives need to be proactive, flexible, and grasp the actual needs of people and the market, thereby managing the unit to create quality products. Cooperatives and cooperative groups need to have plans to accompany and support members and people to create a complete supply chain, build trust and prestige for the unit. Thereby contributing to improving people's lives, while helping the unit operate effectively and sustainably.

Le An - Quach Long

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/be-do-giup-dong-bao-dan-toc-thieu-so-thoat-ngheo-195655.htm