Muong Khuong changes crop structure to make a breakthrough

Crop conversion - a new direction for economic breakthrough

Muong Khuong is known as a poor district of Lao Cai province with the majority of ethnic people living there. People here only grow corn and rice all year round, go to the forest and go to the fields to maintain their lives. Having a spacious house with meals of fish and meat has become a luxury.

However, in recent years, thanks to "Restructuring the agricultural sector associated with building new rural areas and sustainable poverty reduction", Muong Khuong has been actively shifting the crop structure towards converting inefficient crops to developing crops with high economic efficiency and stable output such as tea, pineapple, banana, etc. to serve export processing, in order to improve economic efficiency, help farmers increase income and improve their lives.

By converting ineffective crops to high-income crops, Muong Khuong district has gradually transformed itself into a developed district of Lao Cai province. Photo: Bich Hop.

Pineapple is a crop that has been associated with Muong Khuong land for many years. Ban Lau pineapple, Muong Khuong district has become a famous brand not only in Lao Cai province but also in other provinces. Mr. Lu Chan Cuong, one of the pineapple growers in Ban Lau, Muong Khuong, shared that growing pineapple instead of other crops is one of the wisest decisions of my family. This year's pineapple crop, my family is expected to harvest about 12 tons of fruit, selling at a price ranging from 5,000-7,000 VND/kg, my family will earn more than 80 million VND. Growing pineapple has brought a stable life to my family.

Meeting with the Party Secretary of Ban Lau Commune, Le Duc Hanh, Mr. Hanh happily informed that in 2024, the entire Ban Lau Commune will have 848 hectares of pineapples for harvest, with a yield of 26 tons/ha, a total output of more than 22,000 tons, sold to the fruit and vegetable processing factory for export in Muong Khuong and the provinces of Bac Giang, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, Quang Ninh... bringing in more than 132 billion VND for the people. Thanks to that, most of the houses have been solidly built, many have 2-3 floors, with full modern living facilities, the children have a full education, and there are no social evils. Pineapple is the crop that helps Ban Lau make economic breakthroughs and sustainably reduce poverty.

Pineapple trees in Ban Lau, Muong Khuong have gradually affirmed themselves as a crop with high economic value, helping Muong Khuong make a breakthrough in rural economic development. Photo : Bich Hop.

Not only pineapple trees have changed the villages in the highlands of Muong Khuong, banana trees, tangerine trees, tea trees... are also typical trees for the right direction, converting crops here. With an area of ​​5,840 hectares of tea, 1,869 hectares of pineapple, more than 1,011 hectares of bananas, and 870 hectares of tangerines... giving an average income of 36 million VND/person/year. The poor district of Khuong has changed its appearance with many houses sprouting up among the green hills of bananas, pineapples, and tea.

Promote economic development, protect the environment

The conversion of crop structure not only helps improve people's lives but also contributes to promoting the economy, protecting the environment, creating a foundation for sustainable development in Muong Khuong district.

In order to maximize the available potential and advantages, since 2021, Muong Khuong district has promoted crop conversion, focusing on developing key industries suitable to local conditions. Thanks to that, the conversion from rice, corn, potatoes, cassava to high-value crops such as tea, tangerines, and bananas has brought about many positive changes. Up to now, the 30a border district of Muong Khuong has had 5 communes meeting new rural standards, 80% of inter-village and inter-commune roads have been concreted. In particular, people's income has improved, the poverty rate has decreased gradually over the years.

Tangerine trees are also one of the crops that bring high economic value to people in Muong Khuong district. Photo: Bich Hop.

Specifically, in 2022, the poverty rate in Muong Khuong decreased by 7.66%, bringing the total number of poor households in the district down to 39.67%. By 2023, this number continued to decrease by 3%, in 2024 there were only 25.69% of poor households. Among the key industries selected for development by the district, the tea industry has proven to be clearly effective. Thanks to the participation of the Party Committee, the government and the positive response of the people, tea has become a sustainable direction to help people stabilize their income, escape poverty and become rich.

Previously, many households in Thanh Binh commune faced difficulties because their main source of income depended on slash-and-burn cultivation with crops such as corn, potatoes, and cassava. However, since 2015, the local government has promoted and encouraged the conversion of crop structures, and witnessing the success of households in neighboring communes such as Ban Sen and Lung Vai, many families in Thanh Binh have boldly converted ineffective hilly land to tea cultivation.

Thanks to that, many households have escaped poverty and have a better life. A typical example is the family of Ms. Giang Thi Sua (Thanh Binh commune) with more than 1 hectare of tea being harvested, bringing in an average income of 60 - 70 million VND/year. Similarly, the family of Mr. Ly Seo Din earns more than 100 million VND/year from tea trees. Thanks to the stable income, both families are no longer poor households but have risen to become well-off households in the commune.

The joy of people in Ban Lau commune, Muong Khuong district during the pineapple harvest. Photo: Bich Hop.

According to Mr. Le Thanh Hoa, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Muong Khuong district (Lao Cai province), in the coming time, the district will continue to promote the transformation of crop structure to develop key and potential industries in accordance with the direction in Resolution No. 10 dated August 26, 2021 of the Provincial Party Standing Committee. In which, priority will be given to developing key industries associated with production cooperation linkages along the value chain such as tea, pineapple, banana; at the same time, restructuring the production organization to improve productivity and product quality, meeting the requirements of the domestic and export markets to improve production efficiency for farmers.

In addition, Muong Khuong district will also focus on attracting strategic investors to build processing facilities and link up the consumption of key local agricultural products. The goal is to attract three more high-quality tea processing factories by the end of 2025.

Source: https://nongnghiep.vn/muong-khuong-chuyen-doi-co-cau-cay-trong-de-but-pha-d745249.html