Developing Western Nghe An: Whatever can be done, do it immediately and do it best.

The story of upland corn shared by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan at the seminar " Strategic orientation for socio-economic development in Western Nghe An" organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in coordination with Nghe An province recently in Hanoi conveyed many profound messages about new thinking and energy to develop Western Nghe An.

FROM GROUND CORN
TO SALES MINDSET

Opening the discussion at the seminar, Minister Le Minh Hoan shared the story of the corn from Ky Son district that the Minister brought back during his recent business trip. Many people in the Ministry ate it for the first time, including people from Nghe An, and everyone praised it as very delicious; the same goes for the pot of fish from Nghe An. “That means: sometimes when we see it around our house, it is ordinary, we see it as worthless, but we should remember that we are “selling” to others, not “selling” to ourselves”.

Overview of the seminar "Strategic orientation for socio-economic development in Western Nghe An". Photo: Thanh Duy

Minister Le Minh Hoan emphasized: Economic thinking, market thinking, if we are still "stuck around at home", we will never be rich. Market thinking needs to shift from production thinking to agricultural economic thinking; economic thinking is market thinking. There must be a sales thinking. Now, if Nghe An wants to sell products, how will they sell? Selling products with a story, emotions will make people decide to buy. This is not only for Nghe An but for our whole country.

Suggesting ways to "bring your name far", the Minister cited the titles of three books: "No peak is too high; No river is too long; No sea is too deep" to emphasize the "divide and go" mindset. The road is long, but if you divide it into short sections, the road is no longer long. For example, the 361 km length of Lam River through each locality, it is necessary to divide the route and tour into small sections so that tourists can stay for a week, a month to experience the diverse and rich heritage of Lam River. If you want to climb a mountain peak, you have to climb it in stages; each stage should have a stop for tourists to rest, stay, and then continue."

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan and Secretary of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee Thai Thanh Quy and delegates visited booths displaying OCOP products, typical products of Western Nghe An. Photo: Thanh Duy

NEED TO DO NOW
AND DO THE BEST YOU CAN

Talking about the development of Western Nghe An, Minister Le Minh Hoan affirmed: The important thing is to have the will, determination and see the value of one's potential and advantages. Nghe An has potential and advantages in terms of forests and seas. Therefore, it is necessary to see what can be done and do it right away and do it best. For things that are still of concern, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the province should sit down together, discuss deeply, and ensure that they are done effectively and safely. It is possible to attract businesses doing sea tourism to the West, creating a "Westward Advance" campaign; using the power of the sea to "nourish" the forest.

The West itself is not a unified area, but each locality in the region has its own terrain and characteristics. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to inter-commune and inter-district planning in the western region of the province. The larger the spatial planning, the larger the thinking; if the planning is only "contained" in that commune, how many resources there are, it will be "in a vicious circle". For example, in growing medicinal plants under the forest canopy, we should not think of growing to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty, but should think of this as a medicinal industry, with all production, processing, and consumption processes standardized for planning.

Medicinal herb nursery of Thien Minh Duc Group. Photo: Pham Bang

Minister Le Minh Hoan also suggested a new way of thinking: Ky Son district has only 1% flat land, the remaining 99% is mountainous. Therefore, farming today should not be based on area but on volume. That is one of the methods that the Ministry will soon implement in the Western region of Nghe An. Or the resettlement of ethnic minorities in mountainous areas, when flat land is extremely limited, it is necessary to plan and divide resettlement areas of 20-30 households, combine investment and guidance for people to form new tourist villages. For example, in Thai Hai village, Thai Nguyen province, there are only 30 Tay houses, from old to young, only more than 150 people. But every weekend, Thai Hai village can welcome 2,000 domestic and foreign tourists and has been honored by the World Tourism Organization for its tourism model that preserves community identity.

Minister Le Minh Hoan affirmed: The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will work with Nghe An to make efforts, first of all, to do what can be done, not depending on State resources but needing to attract resources from enterprises, especially Nghe An's children's enterprises that are oriented towards their homeland. It is necessary to avoid "drawing" "huge" projects, when capital is tight, they must be "abandoned". Market thinking, State thinking and social thinking must be closely linked together to promote resources.

Community tourism model in Con Cuong district. Photo: Thanh Cuong

The Minister also committed: “The Ministry and Nghe An will outline each point, what will Nghe An do? What will the Ministry do? How will the two sides coordinate? First, we must do each of those things, to demonstrate a different way of doing things, a new way of doing things to overcome institutional barriers when there is no immediate change.”

CALM DO IT WITH MIND
AND NEW ENERGY

Minister Le Minh Hoan has placed his trust in the "team" of cadres in the districts of Western Nghe An with a strong mindset and determination, wanting to escape the old and the present to develop. However, we should also avoid being hasty and subjective; instead, we need to be calm to do it with a new mindset and energy. We need to carefully study what can be done and do it best, such as with the area of ​​production forests; and when the mechanism is opened, we should consider exploiting, promoting, and developing in special-use forests and biosphere reserves. If we keep thinking that it cannot be done due to the system, we will never be able to do it. This is a "test" for local leaders, as the Prime Minister said: Regional linkage to go together but not eliminate the dynamism of localities. There must be a space for innovation, creativity, and dynamism of localities.

Minister Le Minh Hoan speaks at the forum. Photo: Thanh Duy

Minister Le Minh Hoan frankly said: Localities should not have the mindset of "begging" but must proactively build and propose a "set" of ideas and projects they want to do based on scientific arguments, practice and vision, to persuade and remove policies and attract investment enterprises. For example, if we keep asking to open the "forest door" to grow medicinal herbs, it will be difficult. When we prepare well the "set" of ideas and projects, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will also have a basis to "knock on the door" of agencies and enterprises. Because after all, the work of State management and investment of enterprises must start from efficiency and safety, avoiding "sitting and waiting" for institutional removal. When there is determination, new thinking, capacity and new energy, everything has a solution to solve and can be done.

Buffer zone of Pu Mat National Forest. Photo: Quang Dung

Source: https://baonghean.vn/phat-trien-mien-tay-nghe-an-cai-gi-co-the-lam-duoc-thi-lam-ngay-va-lam-tot-nhat-post280273.html