Soldiers help Co Tu people grow clean vegetables

Soldiers of A Xan Border Guard Station and local people leveled hills, gardened and grew clean vegetables to supply a luxury resort in Da Nang - Photo: VX

A thousand square meter plot of land in A Banh 1 village, Tr'Hy commune, Tay Giang district ( Quang Nam ) is being gradually leveled. From the steep hillside in the production area, the flat land gradually appears thanks to the strength and sweat of the border guards.

Soon, a model vegetable garden will be built there to help the Co Tu people earn a living.

In our mission, we still want to build a model of agricultural and forestry development to replicate for people to do together, so we will definitely complete this project completely.

Captain LE HUU NAM (A Xan Border Guard Station)

Vegetable garden in the middle of the hills

On a scorching hot April afternoon, the green uniforms of border guards gathered at the edge of A Banh 1 village. The soldiers, with hoes and shovels, worked tirelessly under the sun from morning to afternoon, raking the soil and leveling the ground to quickly complete the vegetable garden.

Tr'Hy Commune Party Secretary Le Hoang Linh said that the border guards' plan to level the mountain and open a vegetable garden of nearly 7,000 square meters came from a cooperation project between a group of businesses from Hoi An and the commune.

During a survey and working trip with Tr'Hy commune, Bac My An Tourism Joint Stock Company (owner of Furama Resort Da Nang) and three enterprises Sun Food, Green Heart, Viet Farm decided to join hands with Co Tu farmers in the border area to grow clean vegetables for consumption at luxury accommodation areas. This idea was immediately supported by the leaders of Tay Giang district and Tr'Hy commune.

However, Mr. Linh said the project's goal is also to create a habit of mass production for people, increase income and improve livelihoods. The Co Tu people live around the mountains.

This is an area with rich medicinal herbs and natural wild vegetables with high nutrition, but because they are not familiar with trading, and have no one to guide or purchase the goods, people grow vegetables mainly for food.

In Tay Giang, there have been many farm models where businesses cooperate with farmers, but those projects have not been as effective as expected. "This time, large businesses have come to the border area, working together from planting, techniques to consuming agricultural output, so people are very happy," said Mr. Linh.

The army did it first, the people followed.

Memorandum of Understanding signed between the commune and the enterprises. Tr'Hy commune will select the land, choose 30 representative households to participate in the project of growing vegetables, squash, and fruits. Enterprises will coordinate techniques, provide seeds, and provide instructions. All agricultural products will be purchased and brought to serve at Furama Da Nang.

The only concern was how to have a land to change the mindset of small-scale farming to large-scale farming with systematic standards. And the border guards immediately accepted support. Working with the district and the business group, Captain Le Huu Nam - Deputy Head of A Xan Border Guard Station - affirmed that the border guards would make a model and then guide the people to do the same.

Captain Nam said that the border guards eat, live, and speak the same language as the local people for generations. Seeing that the commune leaders were still hesitant, the Quang Nam Border Guard Command chose A Xan Border Guard Station to participate in implementing this clean vegetable growing model right away, doing it first and then calculating how to replicate it for the Co Tu people to do the same, which would be very convenient.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Quynh - Director of Bac My An Tourist Area Joint Stock Company - said that agricultural products in Tay Giang are very clean, delicious, and pesticide-free, but for a long time, due to a lack of distribution channels, output has been unstable.

By doing large-scale, professional processes, the businesses that receive the contracts will have higher prices than usual. The agricultural products of the people of Tr'Hy commune, sold only to Furama, are not enough to meet the demand.

A Xan Border Guard Station was previously located in A Xan Commune, but due to landslides, it was moved to Tr'Hy Commune about four months ago.

Having just settled in their new place, the soldiers were tasked with leveling hills and instructing people on vegetable cultivation.

After a month of hard work, the large hill was now quite flat, surrounded by a fence. The wooden pillars and the organic vegetable garden planning lines were gradually taking shape. Seeing the soldiers working, the people couldn't help but join in the work, curious and excited, thinking that soon they would be shown by "Uncle Ho's soldiers" how to sow seeds and take care of the sprouts following the organic process of the lush green vegetable garden halfway up the hill to sell to the resort.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bo-doi-giup-nguoi-co-tu-trong-rau-sach-20240414094424901.htm