Village Secretary sows hope for poverty alleviation in remote Northwest region

TPO - In the remote Northwest (Muong Coi commune, Son La province), people often tell stories about Mr. Nguyen Duc Cuong, Party cell secretary and head of Nghia Hung village, who made bold decisions, changed his mindset, and helped his family escape poverty and "sow" the belief in poverty escape for his hometown people.

Mr. Nguyen Van Cuong (5th from right) received the certificate honoring Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer in 2025.

Change your mindset , open a way out of poverty

Born in 1973, in the mountains and forests of Muong Coi, Mr. Cuong is a son of Nghia Hung village and was honored as an Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer in 2025. Mr. Nguyen Van Cuong's career is a story of courage and love for the village and neighborhood.

Mr. Cuong shared that when many people chose to leave the village to find work in the city, he decided to stay in his hometown. “I thought, if everyone left, my village would be desolate and poor forever. But to keep the villagers here, I had to think about how to give them jobs, and the forest land had to generate money so that they could have a comfortable life. Thinking about that, I was determined to change my thinking on agricultural production, helping me escape poverty and giving the people around me jobs and income,” he shared.

On the first day of his career, he opened a small motorbike repair shop on a dirt road. While working, he learned how to raise livestock and grow crops, then gradually shifted to agriculture . The beginning was difficult, but with perseverance, he turned his empty hands into a respectable career.

Mr. Nguyen Van Cuong led local farmers to visit his family's grapefruit garden.

In 2011, Mr. Cuong boldly encouraged people in the village to convert ineffective corn and cassava growing land to growing citrus fruits such as tangerines, green-skinned grapefruits, and Dien grapefruits. Not only that, in 2018, he pioneered the application of organic farming models, using microbial compost and biological pesticides to protect the soil and the health of consumers.

At first, many people were hesitant. But when they saw his fruit-laden garden with stable productivity, they gradually believed and followed. He did not hide his profession, was willing to share his experience, provide technical support, and instruct people on how to compost, care for plants, and prevent diseases. "Seeing that I could do it, people also boldly followed. The whole village must work together to make a change," said Mr. Cuong.

Thanks to his model, dozens of households in the village have escaped poverty. Nghia Hung sweet tangerine, a product he co-founded through the Nghia Hung Fruit Cooperative, has now achieved 3-star OCOP standards, becoming the pride of the people of Muong Coi.

Mr. Nguyen Van Cuong takes care of the grapefruit garden.

Currently, Mr. Cuong's family owns 2 hectares of fruit trees, harvesting 25-30 tons/ha each year; along with 7.5 hectares of exploited tallow and xoan forests. In addition, he has also invested in a 1,000m² livestock area, raising hundreds of breeding pigs and commercial pigs, supplying about 23 tons of live pigs and 1,500 breeding pigs to the market each year. His family's total income from production and business reaches over 1.3 billion VND/year.

Spreading faith and aspiration to rise up

People in Muong Coi respect him not only for his own enrichment, but also for the way he helps others escape poverty. He creates regular jobs for 8 workers, seasonal jobs for 8-10 people, with an average income of about 9 million VND/month.

He also provided capital, seeds, and agricultural materials worth more than 5 billion VND to farmer members in the village and neighboring communes. “Mr. Cuong is a person who always thinks of others. Thanks to his help, many poor households in the village now have houses, motorbikes, and fruit-bearing gardens,” said Mr. Ha Van Sinh, Muong Coi commune.

Fruit-laden orange garden of Excellent Vietnamese Farmer 2025.

Not only is he good at economics, Mr. Cuong is also a pioneer in building new rural areas. He and his family have repeatedly donated money and labor to build roads, cultural houses, medical stations, and schools. He also actively promotes and mobilizes people to preserve the environment and ensure security and order.

Thanks to dedicated people like him, Nghia Hung village has become the first village in the old Phu Yen district (Son La province) to meet the model new rural standards in 2023, contributing to helping Muong Coi commune firmly step on the journey of building an advanced new rural area by 2025.

As Secretary and Village Chief, Mr. Cuong has always been at the forefront of propagating and mobilizing people to change their business mindset and not rely on others. He has encouraged the diversification of production models, from raising livestock and poultry to small businesses and transportation, etc., to create more livelihoods.

He also focuses on environmental protection in livestock farming, advocating the construction of biogas tanks to treat waste, and utilizing biogas as fuel. For poor households, he guides them to reduce the size of their herds accordingly, both to protect the environment and to save costs.

“I think building our homeland doesn’t necessarily have to start with something big. Each person contributing a little effort, a little money, a few words of encouragement… is enough to make our village brighter, cleaner, and warmer. We do it first, then the people will follow,” said Mr. Cuong.

Now, Mr. Nguyen Duc Cuong is not only a good farmer, but also a typical nucleus in sustainable poverty reduction work in Muong Coi. From his model, dozens of households have escaped poverty, many people have become good farmers at district and provincial levels.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Giang, Vice President of the Farmers' Association of Muong Coi Commune, said that the village is lucky to have a person like Mr. Cuong. He not only knows how to do business, but also helps the whole village develop together. From nothing, Mr. Nguyen Duc Cuong has created an admirable journey, a journey of "sowing" faith, eliminating poverty, and legitimately enriching the people. "His story is not only the pride of the people of the highland village but also a living proof of the tenacity and determination of farmers in the great Northwest", Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Giang shared.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/bi-thu-ban-geo-niem-tin-thoat-ngheo-o-reo-cao-tay-bac-post1787555.tpo