Uncle Ho's soldiers grow 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). Recalling his glorious and heroic youth, Mr. Te shared: “At the age of 19, following the sacred call of the Fatherland, I joined the army, entering battlefield B in Quang Tri province. In 1970, I transferred to Regiment 19, Division 968 of the Southern Laos Volunteer Army.”

 

After a period of service in Laos, in 1974, Mr. Te and his comrades of the 968th Division returned to Vietnam to participate in the liberation of the South. Talking to us, Mr. Te said that at this time, his 968th Division replaced the 320th Division in the Central Highlands. Here, the division's main task was to hold back enemy troops and carry out diversions in the Central Highlands Campaign in Kon Tum and Gia Lai. After distracting the enemy, our army concentrated its forces and won Buon Ma Thuot on March 10, 1975.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Te (right) proudly tells about the days 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 1975 Spring General Offensive and Uprising. Within just 5 days (from April 26 to 30, 1975), with a large force and means participating, through many general offensives, our army destroyed the enemy's wings, completely liberated the South, and unified the country.

 

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

 

Building OCOP orange brand

 

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

Veteran Nguyen Xuan Te next to his family's 3-star OCOP orange garden.

Promoting the good qualities of Uncle Ho's soldiers, along with fulfilling the responsibilities of village cadres, Mr. Te and his wife developed the economy and improved their family's life. Thanks to the policy of allocating land and forests to households, not accepting poverty, Mr. Te and his wife reclaimed 5 hectares of vacant land and bare hills to invest in rubber trees. On the rubber land, he intercropped peanuts, chili, corn, melons, etc. with the motto "taking short-term to support long-term". When the rubber trees closed their canopy and were exploited for latex, Mr. Te's family's income reached 70-90 million VND/year.

 

However, the weather seemed to test human strength, the storms in 2013 and 2017 severely affected Mr. Te's family's rubber plantation. He recalled: "Seeing the fruits of our labor for many years being destroyed by storms, my wife and I could not help but feel heartbroken. However, we were not discouraged, decided to destroy the rubber trees, and switch to the VAC model, in which the main focus is growing orange trees."

 

With his achievements, CCB Nguyen Xuan Te has received many certificates of merit from the People's Committee of the commune and district; deserving to be a typical CCB with the qualities of loyalty, solidarity, exemplary, with many innovations and creativity in labor and production.

When he first implemented the VAC model, Mr. Te planted more than 2 hectares of watermelon, 1.5 hectares of oranges, 0.5 hectares of chili, raised 10 commercial beef cattle, 300 chickens, dug a 3,000m2 fish pond, 7 bee colonies for honey... Thanks to that, the average annual income reached 600-700 million VND. However, as he got older, he was no longer strong enough to take care of the whole farm, so he handed over a part to his children to continue production.

 

Currently, Mr. Te mainly focuses on taking care of 2.5 hectares of V2 oranges and Canh oranges. With the desire to put the interests of customers first, he has said no to chemical pesticides in taking care of oranges, so the quality of oranges on the farm is always guaranteed to be clean and delicious. In 2020, his orange garden was certified by VietGAP, and by 2024, he will successfully build a 3-star OCOP orange brand.

 

Thanks to the tireless efforts in production, up to now, the OCOP orange model of Mr. Te's family has been known and trusted by many customers. The orange garden brings in a profit of about 300-500 million VND/year; creating regular jobs 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 been creative and applied many suitable methods to effectively implement the VAC model, especially successfully building 3-star OCOP orange products. He is also very enthusiastic in supporting people with techniques, tree varieties... to develop the economy together...”, said Chairman of the Association of Veterans of Hoa Trach Commune, Hoang Van Thai.

Le Mai

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