Mong youth escape poverty through clean agriculture

TPO - Born into a poor family of 6 siblings in Muong Lam commune (Son La province), Vu Pat Ly's (28 years old) childhood was associated with farming, lacking in every way. His parents worked hard all year round as farmers but still tried to send Ly to university. It was that luck that made him more determined to study to escape poverty and build a happy life.

The will and struggle to escape poverty

In 2017, he passed the entrance exam to Hanoi University of Home Affairs. In the first years away from home, the high cost of studying forced Ly to do many jobs from serving in restaurants, washing dishes to being a construction worker. Student life was extremely difficult, but it was those experiences that fueled the will to rise up and the desire to be the master of his life in this Mong boy.

While struggling to make a living to pay for his studies, Ly noticed that many agricultural products from the highlands were being sold in Hanoi. He wondered: “Why can other people get rich from their ethnic products, but our people cannot do the same, always stuck in poverty?”. It was this concern that urged Ly to start a business while still a student.

He founded the Mong ethnic student start-up club in Hanoi, along with 12 young people from the mountainous region selling rice, honey, vegetables, hawthorn berries, etc. at the Agricultural Exhibition Center. Although the profit was not much, only a few million VND/month, those were the first steps on the journey to escape poverty with the products of his homeland.

Not stopping there, Ly participated in the contest to find startup ideas among ethnic minorities and won first prize with the project “Agricultural production according to customer requirements”. This success not only provided support capital but also affirmed that ethnic minority youth can completely build a sustainable career with their own hands and minds.

Products from Vu Pat Ly's organic farm.

From hardship to aspiration for sustainable development

In 2021, after graduating from university, while many friends chose stable administrative jobs, Vu Pat Ly returned to Son La to start a business. He rented 5,000 square meters of land in Van Ho commune (Son La province) to build a greenhouse, install a drip irrigation system, and start growing organic vegetables. At first, there were countless challenges: no output, many crops were unprofitable, even lost completely due to hail...

But with perseverance, he gradually overcame the difficulties. After nearly four years, the production area expanded to 30 hectares, forming the Van Ho Retreat Cooperative and the Hang Trung Organic Vegetable Production Cooperative. More than 20 local workers have regular jobs with an income of 7-10 million VND/month.

Vu Pat Ly checks carrots before selling.

Each year, the cooperative supplies about 100 tons of organic vegetables to supermarkets and clean agricultural stores in Hanoi. Step by step, the “Pat Ly Organics” brand affirms its position in the market, becoming clear evidence that ethnic minority youth can completely escape poverty sustainably through clean agriculture.

Not only producing, Mr. Ly also turned the farm into a green space for visitors, spreading the model of "farming combined with experience and education". He took advantage of digital platforms such as YouTube and TikTok to introduce products, share startup stories, and promote the beautiful image of the Mong people.

From a poor boy in the highlands, Vu Pat Ly has proven that with only will, determination and creativity, young people can rise up and get rich right on their homeland, contributing to building sustainable organic agriculture for Son La.

At the conference summarizing the National Target Program for Socio-Economic Development of Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas for the 2021-2025 period, Mong youth Vu Pat Ly, representing Son La province, was honored to speak. He expressed his pride in not only representing Mong youth, but also representing the voice and aspirations of the young generation of ethnic minorities to change their lives. "We do not want to be policy beneficiaries forever, but want to become the main force in economic development and preserving the identity of our homeland," Ly shared.

Vu Pat Ly presented Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh with his organic vegetable products.

Meeting the Prime Minister, he was moved to express his thanks for always caring, listening, and creating opportunities for ethnic youth to confidently start a business and escape poverty. He affirmed that the National Target Program is the driving force and "leverage" to help young people boldly start a business right in their homeland.

Vu Pat Ly overcame difficulties to fulfill his dream. His success inspires ethnic minority youth to start businesses to escape poverty sustainably.

After presenting the Prime Minister and delegates with bunches of organic vegetables - products of the Cooperative he founded, Pat Ly said: "It is a simple gift but contains the passion and aspiration of young people in the highlands to build their homeland."

Source: https://tienphong.vn/thanh-nien-nguoi-mong-thoat-ngheo-tu-nong-nghiep-sach-post1774215.tpo