Creating sustainable poverty reduction momentum in Bac Kan

In the past, people in the highlands of Bac Kan province mainly raised buffaloes and cows and grew corn to make a living. In recent years, thanks to preferential capital from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP), especially loans for job creation, local ethnic minorities have built many large models worth billions of dong, creating jobs for people right on their homeland.

Staff of Bac Kan Social Policy Bank visited the vermicelli and pho production model of Quynh Nien Cooperative

We arrived at the right time when members of the Nghia Ta Agricultural and Forestry Cooperative, in Ban Bang village, Nghia Ta commune, Cho Don district, were busy working to prepare shipments for customers in Hanoi and neighboring provinces. From the yellow camellia tree - a high-value local crop today, the cooperative has made many products to serve the diverse needs of customers. In addition, the cooperative also has dried bamboo shoots and yellow camellia seedlings to serve people in expanding their acreage.

As the Director of the Cooperative and also a member who borrowed preferential loans, Ms. Duong Khanh Ly said: “Established in 2021, at first the cooperative worked while listening to the market, but later seeing that the products were well received by the market, in 2022 we applied for a loan of 100 million VND from the People's Credit Fund of Cho Don district to invest in seeds, expand raw material sources and buy more machinery. The cooperative's revenue in 2022 reached 500 million VND and created regular jobs for 5 workers and nearly 10 seasonal workers. With clean, quality products that have not been affected by technology, the golden flower tea product of Nghia Ta Cooperative has been recognized as a 3-star OCOP in 2022".

Social policy credit capital through the Bac Kan Social Policy Bank has been deployed to 100% of villages and residential groups in the province, ensuring that poor households and other policy beneficiaries with needs and conditions have access to the products and services deployed by the Social Policy Bank. From the beginning of 2022 to now, VND 1,297 billion has been lent, with 23,842 poor households, near-poor households and other policy beneficiaries receiving loans, of which: Loans to poor households to create livelihoods, develop production and business are VND 373 billion, lending to 6,287 households; loans to support poor households to build new houses, repair houses are VND 20.2 billion, lending to 506 households. Total outstanding policy credit capital as of March 31, 2023 reached VND 2,841 billion, with 43,546 poor households and policy beneficiaries having outstanding loans.

While Nghia Ta's golden tea flower model is newly emerging, Mr. Chu Quang Phuc's VAC farm in Na Co village, Dong Thang commune, Cho Don district has long been known to many people inside and outside Bac Kan province. In particular, his success has been accompanied by preferential credit sources since he was a poor household, with a loan of only 10 million VND. Up to now, Mr. Phuc's highest loan at the Social Policy Bank is 400 million VND from the job creation loan program in 2013 and from here, he has built a spacious facility of more than 20 hectares with a model of planting and raising livestock. To attract more people to participate and develop diverse products, Mr. Phuc stood up to establish the Quynh Trang cooperative with 16 members, with him as the director. While facing difficulties in capital, he was lent 100 million VND by the Social Policy Bank to expand his medicinal plant garden and buy seedlings. Currently, the products of hybrid wild boar, fish, wild chicken, and sand ginseng of Quynh Trang cooperative, directed by Mr. Chu Quang Phuc, have become famous brands and are exported to many provinces and cities across the country. Members of the cooperative have a stable income of 6-7 million VND per month.

Preferential capital has supported Nghia Ta Agricultural and Forestry Cooperative to develop the golden flower tea brand and create jobs for local workers.

Also with the loan capital to create jobs from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, Ms. Ly Thi Nien, Director of Quynh Nien Pho Cooperative, Na Phac town, Ngan Son district, chose a different direction but was also very successful. Ms. Nien said that before opening a pho production facility, she used to make rice rolls on a very small scale, serving the needs of people in the commune. Then she saw that the locality had a type of delicious, fragrant, and sticky rice, so she wanted products made from this type of rice to expand to the market.

Ms. Nien’s pho noodle production facility has been operating since 2009 with an increasing scale and has always received support from preferential capital from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies. Currently, she is borrowing 100 million VND from the job creation loan and 50 million VND from the production and business program for disadvantaged areas.

On average, each day, the facility uses 2 quintals of raw rice to produce vermicelli and pho products, which are consumed not only in Ngan Son district but also sold in neighboring districts. The facility's revenue in 2022 reached 1.7 billion VND, creating jobs for 5 workers, with an average income of 5-6 million VND/month. Currently, the 2 dry vermicelli and dry pho products of Quynh Nien Cooperative are evaluated, ranked, and recognized as OCOP products at the provincial level.

From the capital of the People's Credit Fund, Mr. Chu Quang Phuc has effectively developed the VAC model.

According to Mr. Hoang Dinh Nhuan, Deputy Director of the Bac Kan Social Policy Bank, the capital for job creation lent to cooperative production models as above has brought about clear results. This is a joy for those working in banking. However, the demand for loans for job creation of the people is very large while the capital of the program has not met the demand.

Mr. Nhuan also proposed to allocate more capital for job creation loans, and at the same time, transfer some capital that people no longer need to borrow from the loan program according to Resolution No. 11/NQ-CP of the Government on the Socio-Economic Recovery and Development Program, to provide loans for job creation, meeting people's loan needs.

Evaluating the lending programs of the VBSP, Mr. Pham Duy Hung - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Bac Kan province said that in recent years, Bac Kan has focused all resources on poverty reduction, especially in the poor districts of Ngan Son and Pac Nam: We focus on synchronizing 3 national target programs, including the socio-economic development program for ethnic minority areas, the poverty reduction program and the new rural construction program. To achieve the poverty reduction goal, the preferential lending capital of the VBSP plays a very important role. Along with preferential capital support, we are orienting to mobilize and propagate people to make efforts to mobilize themselves to escape poverty, eliminating the mentality of waiting and relying on others.

In Bac Kan province, traditional production is mainly farming and livestock raising, so in addition to the models of raising buffaloes, cows, pigs, chickens and planting forests with tallow and acacia trees, the province is also promoting the development of OCOP products.

According to Mr. Pham Duy Hung, on the basis of OCOP products, a production model linked to the value chain will be created for people to participate in production and business to create new products, improve the value of life, thereby escaping poverty sustainably.

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