Tay farmer turns wasteland into billion-dollar business

A thousand-year-old family business built on difficult land

Despite being honored nationally twice, the farmer still quietly sticks to the land and the forest, continuing to sow the seeds of change in the difficult land. Without a big house in the city, Mr. Hoang Van Liem's journey to get rich started from an empty land on the hillside of Yen Thanh commune, Lao Cai province. Returning after years of working far away from home, the man born in 1986 decided to choose the difficult path, starting a business right on the poor land of his hometown.

Mr. Hoang Van Liem, Director of Thien An General Service Cooperative (standing in the middle in white shirt) develops livestock farming on a scale of more than 1,500 buffaloes and cows. Photo: Thanh Nga.

“The plants lack water, the people lack food, but we cannot remain poor forever,” Hoang Van Liem recalls his determination in the early days of starting his business. Realizing that his homeland has vast grasslands and a favorable climate for raising large livestock, he decided to establish Thien An General Service Cooperative, focusing on developing a model of raising breeding cattle and fattening cattle.

At first, he only dared to raise a few dozen cattle, taking care of each meal of grass and each vaccination himself. But step by step, his herd of cattle grew, overcoming disease and poverty.

Currently, Thien An General Service Cooperative, with Mr. Hoang Van Liem as Director, has developed to a scale of more than 1,500 buffaloes and cows. No longer a small-scale livestock farm as in the beginning, the cooperative has now become a professional, methodical and scientific operating system. From the stage of selecting breeds, quarantine, full vaccination to the selling process, all are closely monitored and controlled, ensuring efficiency and safety in livestock farming.

Yen Thanh commune is a land of vast grasslands and a climate favorable for raising large livestock. Photo: Thanh Nga.

Yen Thanh commune is an area with vast grasslands and a climate favorable for raising large livestock. Photo: Thanh Nga.

Mr. Liem shared: “We pay special attention to the import of breeding animals. First, we must select healthy animals that eat well. After bringing them in, we fully vaccinate them with three doses of vaccine. The breeding animals are divided into separate cages and kept in quarantine for 21 days for monitoring. When we ensure that they meet all conditions and show no signs of disease, we will supply them to national target programs and projects.”

It is the "heart" of the livestock breeders, combined with the "vision" of the leaders that has helped Thien An General Service Cooperative to continuously expand. The products of the cooperative are not only consumed strongly in the province but also expanded to many neighboring provinces. Each year, the cooperative achieves a revenue of about 25 billion VND, with a profit maintained at 2.5 billion VND - an impressive number in the difficult land of Lao Cai province.

Help many households escape poverty

More important than revenue and profit figures is the stable livelihood that the livestock model brings to local people. Currently, Thien An General Service Cooperative is creating regular jobs for more than 30 local workers, with an average income of 8.5 million VND/month. This is considered a significant change for a rural area that used to face difficulties in livelihood all year round.

Ms. Do Thi Anh, a member of Thien An General Service Cooperative, shared: “In the past, my family was a poor household. Since joining the cooperative run by Mr. Liem, we have been supported with breeding animals and animal feed. Thanks to that, our family's economy has gradually stabilized and we have escaped poverty."

The cooperative has created jobs for many local workers to escape poverty. Photo: Thanh Nga.

The cooperative has created jobs for many local workers to escape poverty. Photo: Thanh Nga.

Not only taking care of livestock, Mr. Hoang Van Liem also devoted himself to planting 10 hectares of forest. The forests he built not only help preserve the land and green the hills, but also provide a sustainable source of assets for the future. His farming mindset is not limited to immediate benefits, but aims at sustainable development, harmonizing economic goals and protecting the natural environment.

Mr. Vu Quoc Hieu, Chairman of Yen Thanh Commune People's Committee, Lao Cai Province, said: Thien An General Service Cooperative is currently the largest livestock model in the commune. Not only outstanding for its economic development achievements, Mr. Hoang Van Liem, Director of the cooperative, also actively supports poor households, creates stable jobs for many local workers, and makes an important contribution to the construction of new rural areas. Thanks to the effective model, methodical economic thinking and community engagement, many working delegations inside and outside the province have come to the cooperative to visit and learn from its experiences.

The success of Thien An General Service Cooperative is not only measured by revenue or the increasing number of buffalo and cow herds, but also reflected in the way ethnic minority farmers from a land where it is difficult to build and operate a systematic and scientific economic model.

From nothing, Mr. Hoang Van Liem not only rose up to enrich himself legitimately, but also inspired and empowered many households to overcome difficulties, gradually changing the economic face of the whole community. That is the sustainable value that this model brings, an economic model associated with the spirit of sharing and the aspiration to rise from the barefoot farmers themselves.