Soldiers of Uncle Ho's army plant OCOP oranges.

Proud to participate in the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign.

Veteran Nguyen Xuan Te was born in 1949 in Ca village, Hoa Trach commune (Bo Trach district). Recalling his glorious and heroic youth, Mr. Te shared: “At 19, answering the sacred call of the Fatherland, I enlisted in the army and went to the B battlefield in Quang Tri province. In 1970, I transferred to Regiment 19, Division 968 of the Southern Laos Volunteer Army.”

After serving in Laos for a period, in 1974, Mr. Te and his comrades from the 968th Division returned to Vietnam to participate in the liberation of South Vietnam. In a conversation with us, Mr. Te explained that at that time, his 968th Division replaced the 320th Division in the Central Highlands. The division's main task there was to hold back enemy forces and carry out diversionary tactics during the Central Highlands Campaign in Kon Tum and Gia Lai. After diverting enemy attention, our forces concentrated and achieved victory at Buon Ma Thuot on March 10, 1975.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Te (on the right) proudly recounts his experiences participating in the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign.

In April 1975, Mr. Te participated in the Ho Chi Minh Campaign. This was a decisive, lightning-fast campaign in the Spring 1975 General Offensive and Uprising. In just 5 days (from April 26-30, 1975), with a large force and resources, and through multiple offensives, our army annihilated enemy forces, completely liberating the South and unifying the country.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Te emotionally shared: “From 1968 to 1975, I myself participated in battles on many different battlefields. After each victory, we rejoiced, hoping for the day when the country would be unified and peace would be restored. In particular, I am always proud to have participated in the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign. I will always remember the happy moment of victory on the momentous historical day of the nation, April 30, 1975. Now, I am fortunate to still be sitting here, remembering the beautiful and heroic memories of a bygone era, remembering the generations of my fathers and comrades who sacrificed themselves for the peace and independence of the Fatherland.”

Building the OCOP orange brand.

After the liberation of South Vietnam and the reunification of the country, veteran Nguyen Xuan Te continued his work at the 968th Division. In 1976, he was discharged from the army and returned to his hometown. There, Mr. Te successively served as Deputy Chairman of the Cooperative, Head of the Veterans Association Branch, and Head of the Elderly Association Branch in Ca village (from 2015 to the present).

Veteran Nguyen Xuan Te stands beside his family's 3-star OCOP orange orchard.

Upholding the fine qualities of a soldier of Uncle Ho's army, and fulfilling his responsibilities as a village official, Mr. Te and his wife developed their economy and improved their family's living standards. Thanks to the policy of allocating land and forests to households, and refusing to accept poverty, Mr. Te and his wife reclaimed 5 hectares of barren land to invest in rubber tree cultivation. On the rubber plantation, he intercropped peanuts, chili peppers, corn, melons, etc., following the principle of "using short-term gains to support long-term growth." When the rubber trees reached maturity and began yielding latex, Mr. Te's family earned between 70 and 90 million VND per year.

However, fate seemed to test their resilience. The storms of 2013 and 2017 severely affected Mr. Te's family's rubber plantation. He recalled: "Seeing the fruits of our labor over the years destroyed by the storms, my wife and I were heartbroken. Even so, we didn't lose heart. We decided to cut down the rubber trees and switch to a VAC (Vietnamese acronym for garden, pond, and livestock) model, with orange trees as the main crop."

With his achievements, veteran Nguyen Xuan Te has received many commendations from the People's Committee of the commune and district; he is worthy of being a model veteran with qualities of loyalty, solidarity, exemplary conduct, and many innovations and creativity in labor and production.

When he first implemented the VAC model (integrated farming system), Mr. Te planted over 2 hectares of watermelons, 1.5 hectares of oranges, 0.5 hectares of chili peppers, raised 10 commercial beef cattle, 300 chickens, and dug a 3,000 square meter fish pond, and kept 7 beehives for honey production… Thanks to this, his average annual income reached 600-700 million VND. However, as he got older, he no longer had the strength to take care of the entire farm, so he handed over a portion to his children to continue production.

Currently, Mr. Te mainly focuses on cultivating 2.5 hectares of V2 and Canh oranges. With the desire to put customers' interests first, he has said no to chemical pesticides in his orange cultivation, ensuring the quality of the oranges from his farm is always clean, fragrant, and delicious. In 2020, his orange orchard received VietGAP certification, and by 2024 he aims to successfully build a 3-star OCOP orange brand.

Thanks to tireless efforts in production, Mr. Te's family's OCOP orange model has now become well-known and trusted by many customers. The orange orchard brings in a profit of about 300-500 million VND/year; providing regular employment for 4-6 workers…

“Despite his advanced age, veteran Nguyen Xuan Te is always active and exemplary in all activities and movements in the locality. In production, veteran Nguyen Xuan Te has creatively applied many suitable methods to effectively implement the VAC model, especially successfully developing a 3-star OCOP orange product. He is also very enthusiastic in supporting the people with techniques, seedlings… to develop the economy together…,” said Hoang Van Thai, Chairman of the Veterans Association of Hoa Trach commune.

Le Mai

Source: https://baoquangbinh.vn/kinh-te/202504/bo-doi-cu-ho-trong-cam-ocop-2225881/