Quang Ngai: Bo To promotes potential from "green gold mine"

Ba To is the largest mountainous district in Quang Ngai province (accounting for 1/5 of the province's total area), with 85% of the area being forest land. In addition to the natural and special-use forest areas that must be preserved, the remaining area is one of the great advantages to exploit the available potential and increase the value of forest products.

From reforestation!

Before the new multidimensional poverty standard was applied, there was a time when the poverty rate in Ba To had dropped to 13.7%. After the new multidimensional poverty standard was applied, the poverty rate increased to 29.55%. But this is still a very impressive number compared to the remaining 5 mountainous districts of Quang Ngai province in terms of poverty rate. So what is the reason for Ba To to achieve these results?

First of all, perhaps we should talk about the natural geographical location of Ba To district, which is surrounded by forests. In recent years, the forests in Ba To have been converted to a model of concentrated acacia plantation. Ba To is also the district with the largest acacia plantation area in Quang Ngai province. It is from acacia trees that Ba To has made great economic breakthroughs, changing the face of people's lives a lot.

Mr. Pham Xuan Vinh - Chairman of Ba To District People's Committee said: "In recent years, Ba To has realized many socio-economic development programs through specific resolutions and projects. In which, focusing on economic development from forests. Because forests play a leading role, are the economic spearhead, not only bringing high economic efficiency but also contributing to accelerating the process of sustainable poverty reduction".

“However, in the long term, to increase the economic value of the forest, the district has proactively called for investment, from the stages of forest planting, processing, and large-scale exploitation, and applied science and technology to this process to gradually build a brand for forest products in Ba To. If in the past, forests planted in Ba To were exploited after only 5 years, now the story is different. The district has proactively connected with businesses investing in the district, coordinated with farmers, signed contracts to supply seedlings, fertilizers, and production costs to increase the life cycle of acacia trees to 8-9 years. Committed to consuming products for farmers at market prices at the time of exploitation. If acacia trees are exploited from 8-9 years old, the commercial value is very high. Products produced from acacia trees at this age will have good competitive value for export,” Mr. Pham Xuan Vinh concluded.

It is known that currently, in addition to the Ba Dong Industrial Cluster which has attracted a number of enterprises operating in many fields, solving a good number of laborers in the district, the Ba Dinh Industrial Cluster which is about to be formed on an area of 18 hectares with an investment capital of over 250 billion VND is expected to be the nucleus, creating leverage for the development of the forest economy in Ba To. "Currently, there are 2 enterprises registered to invest in the Ba Dinh Industrial Cluster, the main one is Hop Nghia Investment and Construction Joint Stock Company. These enterprises will build factories to produce pellets and export furniture products with the main material being acacia wood from Ba To forest. In addition to applying scientific and technical advances, minimizing environmental pollution, these enterprises also commit to creating jobs for 300-500 local workers in the first phase", Mr. Pham Xuan Vinh added.

To labor export

While poverty reduction in recent years in Ba To has achieved very encouraging results from the locality's existing potential, vocational training, job creation and sending workers to work abroad for a limited period of time have also had positive changes.

The story of young man Pham Van Khuong in Truong An village, Ba Thanh commune is an example. He researched, learned and then registered for the entrance exam to study in Japan. For Khuong, the process of completing exit procedures was also very difficult, from borrowing capital, learning foreign languages, he did everything by himself, until the day he received the papers to leave the country to work, everyone in the village knew. After 3 years of studying and working in Japan, Khuong had a fair amount of capital "in his pocket" to support his family and stabilize his life. Ms. Pham Thi Minh Doi - Chairwoman of Ba Thanh Commune People's Committee shared: "Before going to work abroad, Khuong's family was poor, in the first month of working, he sent home 30 million VND. After about 6 months of working, from the money he sent home, Khuong's family invested in pig and duck farms. After 1 year, Khuong's family paid off the bank loan. After 3 years of working in Japan, Khuong built a spacious house for his parents, stabilized the family's economy, and continued to extend and go to Japan to work for another year. Currently, Khuong is building a farm for his family and plans to continue to register to go to Japan to work in 2024 depending on the conditions for extension".

Students from mountainous areas attend training courses on skills and Japanese language to participate in the Japanese technical intern program organized by the IHD union.

If in previous years, the introduction of overseas work programs was often through mass media channels and job exchanges, in the past few years, Ba To district has mobilized the entire political system to take part in reviving the program of sending workers to work abroad after the Covid 19 pandemic with the method of "going to every alley, knocking on every door". Ms. Pham Thi Minh Doi said: "All commune meetings are integrated with many contents, always emphasizing the mobilization and propaganda of vocational training policies, job creation and sending people to work abroad for the participation of associations and unions, especially party committees at all levels must play a core role".

Mr. Pham Van Tro - Secretary of the Party Cell of Truong An village is a witness to the role of Party committees at all levels in mobilizing and propagating to people about the program of working abroad for a limited period of time. From the times of mobilizing children in the village, Mr. Tro also "transformed himself" and decided to register to participate in the program of learning foreign languages and taking the exam to work in Japan. Not knowing whether it was because of the gratitude for Pham Van Khuong's determination to rise up or seeing the achievements that Khuong had built after many years of working abroad, Mr. Tro was determined to go to Japan despite having failed the exam twice.

Ba Thanh Commune - where key figures like Pham Van Khuong and Pham Van Tro live.

And the miracle happened when Mr. Masahiro Kobayashi - Chairman of the Japanese IHD Union personally interviewed Mr. Tro when he learned that he had failed the exam twice. After asking why he was a cadre in his hometown but still wanted to go to Japan to work, Mr. Tro replied that he was still young and still wanted to try his hand in different working environments. That was not only a way for him to escape poverty or get rich, but the most important thing was to create better habits in his work, learn better things to contribute to building his homeland in the future. And from the fateful meeting with the boss of the IHD Union, this October 2023, Mr. Tro will officially go to Japan to study and work.

Pham Van Tong, a resident of Ba Ngac commune, is one of the students studying a 6-month foreign language class at the Quang Ngai Provincial Employment Service Center. He shared: When I learned that the Japanese IHD Union was recruiting workers, I immediately registered because during the 6 months of studying Japanese, we are exempted from food, accommodation, tuition, and the fee to go to Japan to work for 5 years is only 60 million VND, half the price compared to before, and the average salary is from 30 million VND or more.

The task of poverty reduction and accelerated development in Ba To still has many difficulties and challenges ahead. However, with timely decisions, far-sighted vision and consensus from all levels of government. Hopefully, in the near future, Ba To will create highlights from its vast green forests.

EAST SEA

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