From a steep hill area far from residential areas with no electricity, no roads, no water sources, Ms. Le Thi Nga's family in Dong Toan village, Ha Long commune has gradually renovated and formed a prosperous production area. Not only has it revived the hill land fund, this is also one of the typical agricultural economic models of Ha Trung district, creating jobs for 5 to 12 local workers.
Many delegations came to visit and learn from the experience of the hill garden economic model of Ms. Le Thi Nga's family in Dong Toan village, Ha Long commune (Ha Trung).
After more than a kilometer of winding along the foothills and dense forests, we finally arrived at the production area of Mrs. Le Thi Nga's family. Hidden behind the hills and on the other side of the Duong Lang mountain range, this place used to be one of the most remote areas in Ha Long commune because nearly ten years ago there were only trails. From afar, you can see on the slopes endless rows of guava trees. Although the hill is steep, her family has poured concrete on the horizontal and vertical roads so that vehicles and machinery can easily move around the production area.
With a total area of 5 hectares of hilly land contracted for 50 years, her family previously only grew sugarcane and pineapple. About 7 to 10 years ago, the prices of these two main crops were unstable, so the family was determined to convert it into a fruit tree farm combined with livestock farming. 2015 was considered a new milestone, starting the family's elaborate and arduous journey of renovation.
From savings and loans, she opened a kilometer of trails into large roads, making it easy for trucks to enter and exit. The most important issue was the source of water for production. She had to hire workers to drill deep into the ground at 6 points, finding 3 locations with water to build pumping wells. Then the production power line and temporary housing areas gradually took shape. Along with that, 1,000 Taiwanese guava trees, 800 Vinh orange trees, nearly 1,000 green-skinned grapefruit and Dien grapefruit trees, and 500 jackfruit trees were planted to cover the hills. During the development process, the family still maintained pineapple trees in some vacant areas and intercropped them under fruit trees that had not yet closed their canopies to make short-term profits to support long-term ones.
Since 2016, her family has expanded the livestock sector with a scale of 1,500 broilers per batch, and by 2017, it had grown to 2,500 chickens per batch. Raising chickens successfully with a large income, the family continued to invest in 3 pig farms, which can raise 120 pigs at the same time. To proactively provide water for livestock and install a drip irrigation system to each tree, the owner built 6 large tanks on hilltops with an investment of hundreds of millions of dong.
In recent years, the farm has continued to expand its avocado, sapodilla and Hung Yen longan acreage, all of which have now produced fruit. With a variety of crops, each crop is in season, allowing the family to harvest year-round. This is also a solution to avoid the situation of “good harvest, low price” when depending too much on a single crop variety.
“My husband and I have traveled to many provinces such as Tuyen Quang, Hoa Binh, Phu Tho, Hung Yen, and even to Dak Lak to learn about growing fruit trees for high income. The lesson learned is to apply scientific and technical advances and safe production processes. Now we almost do not use chemical fertilizers, but use livestock waste, ground corn and crushed soybeans to soak and fertilize the plants. That is also the factor that makes the fruit delicious, fresh, and chosen by many traders,” Ms. Nga shared.
According to Ms. Nga, from 2020 to now, fruit prices have remained stable in the garden, such as oranges at about 18,000 VND/kg, green-skinned grapefruit at about 35,000 VND/kg, avocados and sapodilla at about 20,000 VND/kg... In recent years, her family has made a profit of 1 - 1.4 billion VND per year, creating jobs for 5 regular workers and 6 - 7 workers at peak harvest time with an income of 250,000 VND/workday/person.
An efficient production area, developing towards a green, environmentally friendly economy, has been built thanks to dynamism and diligence. Recently, many delegations from inside and outside the district have been regularly introduced to come here to learn and gain experience.
Article and photos: Linh Truong
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