Investing in infrastructure to help Dak Long border commune escape poverty...

Thanks to exploiting natural advantages and appropriate policies, the Gie Trieng ethnic people in the border commune of Dak Long (Quang Ngai) are gradually escaping poverty by expanding the area of key crops and applying science and technology to production right on their homeland.

Located more than 330 km from the center of Quang Ngai province, the border commune of Dak Long has rugged terrain and difficult transportation. This is the ancient land of the Gie Trieng ethnic community with more than 6,800 people, accounting for more than 90% of the commune's population. Over the years, the ethnic minorities in Dak Long commune have promoted their traditional culture and unique economic potential to escape poverty sustainably.

Escape poverty through slash-and-burn farming

In the last days of September, many villages and hamlets in Dak Long commune were deserted. Motorbikes continuously transported cassava from the high mountains to gather at the porches and along the roadside, waiting for traders to come and buy. This year, the rainy season lasted longer, so the harvest of the crops was more difficult for the people. Duc Long village has 200 households of the Gie Trieng people who have lived for generations on this fertile land. Almost every household has coffee, rubber or cassava as their main source of income. Ms. Y Huong's family grows nearly 1,000 coffee and rubber trees. Every day, after finishing tapping rubber latex early in the morning, she continues to go to the fields to clear weeds and take care of the coffee garden. From a starting point as a poor household, after many years of trying to make a living, her family has a more stable life. “I don’t know how many hectares of land my family has because the villagers here only count by coffee or rubber trees. Every day, I get up at 3am to go tap rubber latex, then go to the coffee plantation. Thanks to growing these industrial crops, my family has an annual income of several tens of millions of dong, life is much less difficult than before,” said Ms. Y Huong.

Every day, the family of Mr. A Don and Mrs. Y Thuc, a typical good farmer in Dak Long commune, and their six children are busy taking care of their fields. Mr. A Don and his wife grow more than 1,000 coffee trees, 500 rubber trees and intercrop 50 durian trees that are more than three years old. Each year, his family harvests more than 4 tons of coffee, along with income from many other agricultural products, his family earns more than 600 million VND in revenue, after deducting expenses, the income is more than 300 million VND/year. Along with the garden and forest economy, the couple also supplies fertilizer to people in villages and hamlets inside and outside Dak Long commune. Every year, about 40 households in Dak Tu, Dak Pek, Duc Long, Peng Blong, Dak Ak and Dak Mon villages register to buy fertilizer for coffee, durian, macadamia... with a quantity of more than 20 tons, worth nearly 1 billion VND. This helps the couple have more capital to rotate and share the crop with the people in the commune. Mr. A Don proudly said that he and his wife have six children, each of whom has moved out and is given 5 sao of land to cultivate, each year harvesting nearly 10 tons of coffee, a fairly stable life. Although the economy is stable, Mr. A Don still worries about the newly invested durian garden: "My family's durian garden has only been planted for nearly three years, the investment capital is very large. I want to borrow an additional 200-300 million VND to both take good care of the garden at home and have capital to supply fertilizer to the people, helping everyone increase productivity."

Need a "push" to break through

Thanks to the advantage of large raw material areas and support policies of local authorities, ethnic minorities in Dak Long border commune are always aware of rising out of poverty and aiming for a better life. Up to now, the total area of crops in the whole commune is more than 2,700 hectares, of which coffee trees are more than 800 hectares, rubber trees are 482 hectares, fruit trees are 150 hectares, macadamia trees are 118 hectares and cassava is 800 hectares... To have capital for investment in economic development, the whole commune has 1,600 households, of which more than 1,000 households borrow capital for family economy, with outstanding debt of about 85 billion VND. Thanks to boldly borrowing capital and paying on time, the source of loan capital is increasing, people invest more.

Ms. Y Ly, owner of a large fertilizer store in Peng Blong village, said that each year her store supplies materials to about 30 households, with a total value of goods from 600-700 million VND. However, the profit is not much due to the high transportation costs. She said: “Because the roads are severely damaged, traffic is difficult, and costs are very high, making the price of fertilizer to the people more expensive than in neighboring communes. The biggest wish of our people is that the State soon invests in building a traffic system here to make travel convenient, contributing to promoting the economy and improving the lives of the people.”

Dak Long Commune, Quang Ngai Province is one of the mountainous communes with advantages in developing key raw material areas such as coffee, rubber, cassava and fruit trees. Determining a breakthrough in the agricultural sector towards commodities, Dak Long strives to increase the area of industrial and perennial crops to more than 1,600 hectares by 2030; of which, 100 hectares of coffee, 50 hectares of rubber and 80 hectares of macadamia and fruit trees will be newly planted, contributing to increasing people's income, aiming at sustainable poverty reduction.

Frankly acknowledging the weaknesses and shortcomings of the locality, Chairman of the People's Committee of Dak Long Commune Nguyen Van Dieu said: "Currently, the whole commune has only one cooperative with 12 members, not strong enough to "protect" farmers. As a result, the paradox of good harvest and low prices continues when farmers are constantly forced to lower prices by traders. In the new term, we have determined to completely resolve this problem with two synchronous solutions: Mobilizing the establishment of new-style cooperatives strong enough to consume products and guiding farmers to increase the value of agricultural products to end their dependence on traders."

According to Mr. Dieu, Dak Long has a solid foundation for effective economic development, including favorable land, mild nature and hard-working people. Based on this foundation, the commune will maintain stable rubber and coffee areas, while developing more high-value crops. The goal is to achieve a growth rate of 10%/year, collect more than 2.5 billion VND in budget revenue and reduce the poverty rate to below 7.2% by 2030, raising the average income per capita to over 54 million VND.

However, Mr. Dieu pointed out that the most important problem currently hindering these goals is infrastructure. He suggested: “Quang Ngai province needs to invest in a convenient traffic system soon. When this bottleneck is removed, the value of agricultural products will increase by 20-30% compared to present, helping Dak Long escape poverty soon.”

DONG HUYEN

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/dau-tu-ha-tang-de-xa-bien-gioi-dak-long-thoat-ngheo-ben-vung-394282.html