Minister Le Minh Hoan with emotions at "The top of the sky in Ha Giang"

09:42, May 16, 2023

Coming to Ha Giang is coming to a land of emotions, captivating people's hearts. Coming to Ha Giang to live once in the full emotions of every Vietnamese person, to better understand the sacred meaning of the "fence" of the country. "The sky is high above Ha Giang" is here, the land of the Fatherland's headland!

Ha Giang opens up its uniqueness and difference on every step of the journey, on every winding road. From the mountainous districts in the space of the "Global Geopark" , on the Tay Con Linh range - the roof of the Northeast, to the low mountains along the Lo River and Gam River, Ha Giang is always rich and diverse, with many unique cultural features, historical traditions, people, traditional farming methods for generations...

Dong Van ancient town is warmer and more affectionate, with the image of a 90-year-old man still personally making coffee for visitors from afar to enjoy. The peaceful Nho Que River and Lung Cu flagpole - a symbol of national sovereignty , evoke national pride.

And the heroic historical site of Hill 468, Vietnamese people all hope to visit once to pay their gratitude, to better understand the historical values with the brave sacrifice of more than 4,000 heroic martyrs on the steep cliffs, in the caves on the high hill.

Overcoming the flames of war, the people of Ha Giang, with their aspirations, have created new values for this land. Coming to Ha Giang, each person not only visits and learns, but can also do something meaningful, to express gratitude to the generations of Ha Giang people during the period of building the country and keeping the border peaceful, willing to contribute and sacrifice for a peaceful life today and tomorrow.

Ha Giang, "the land of flowers blooming on rocks" , "living on rocks, dying buried in rocks" , "living clinging to rocks to fight the enemy, dying to become immortal in rocks" . Ha Giang people are expanding their thinking together, searching for new development space for the agricultural ecosystem, integrating multi-layered values. Integrating and expanding physical space and resonating with emotional space to create many times higher value.

Physical space is land, soil, climate, natural ecosystem with high layers, low sediment values. Emotional space is cultural identity, historical traditions, indigenous knowledge, customs, folk beliefs, the solidarity of the ethnic communities living in symbiosis with the land and sky of Ha Giang for many generations.

Truly amazed and appreciative of the things Ha Giang has laid the foundation for development in the tourism sector. Dong Van Ancient Town, Meo Vac Cultural Village, H'Mong Village Tourist Area, Nam Dac Community Tourist Village of the H'Mong people, Lo Lo Tourist Village, and many other places that have not been to yet and wish to visit once, must visit.

Too many emotions before the flow of foreign tourists going up and down the winding mountain roads. The image of Ha Giang will spread to all four directions from these tourists. At the same time, I also sympathize with the remaining concerns of each Ha Giang person, facing the difficulties and challenges due to geographical distance and objective conditions.

In UNESCO documents, scientists have pointed out the great values of biodiversity in Dong Van Karst Plateau Global Geopark, with more than 300 species of vertebrates, 53 species of mammals, 161 species of gibbons, 33 species of reptiles, 39 species of frogs... Besides, there are many rare plant species listed in the Red Book such as Dinh Tung tree. That value is not only from nature but also created by humans.

The indigenous knowledge of the H'Mong people has shown how to stack stones to make walls, use soil to build houses, and choose and preserve corn and bean varieties in the kitchen loft for the next crop. Indigenous knowledge also helps the ethnic people preserve many valuable remedies to treat many diseases. That is why the leaders of Ha Giang are always concerned and have focused on developing the medicinal industry and herbs from deep forests and high mountains.

From "promoting agricultural development" to "creating a multi-value agricultural ecosystem" is a journey of changing thinking, from "agricultural production" to "agricultural economics" , from "single-value growth" to "multi-value growth" .

Multi-level value only comes when we overcome the barrier of specialized management towards multi-sector and multi-field integration. Multi-level value only comes when the production space is no longer divided by administrative boundaries at commune, district and provincial levels.

Multi-level value only comes when management agencies, institutes, business communities, and people sit together to find comprehensive solutions across the three local ecological zones: lowland, highland, and rocky.

The sectoral approach is a limitation and barrier to development. It is necessary to approach irrigation and soil to establish space for livestock, crop cultivation, forestry and aquaculture. Perhaps the agricultural experience passed down through generations about "the best in the country" is something that Ha Giang always cares about, not just a story in Meo Vac.

Ha Giang's thinking about water is not only about creating water sources and storing water, but also about solutions to reduce water loss and save water in production and daily life. The lesson of using a drop of water three times in the desert of Israel is an issue that water scientists need to focus on researching in the coming time.

An integrated approach between agriculture, culture and tourism will be a strategic direction, contributing to sketching the image of Ha Giang in the future. Ecotourism, experiential tourism, adventure tourism, cultural discovery tourism, health care tourism, are linked into itineraries, based on the creativity and dynamism of the startup community in the province and attracting investment from outside.

Agricultural and rural tourism can be understood as taking agriculture and rural areas, nurturing them into tourism products, and tourism will promote, market, and connect agricultural and agricultural products. Ha Giang people need to establish the motto "Developing tourism is not only for economic benefits, but also a responsibility and pride for the homeland of Ha Giang, the land of flowers blooming on rocks".

The fragmented land characteristics of Ha Giang require a different approach and suitable solutions. Small production spaces will create great value if the limitations of individual household approaches and sectoral divisions can be overcome.

Community cooperation from the grassroots level such as Vinh Tien village, Quyet Tien commune, Quan Ba district with effective organic vegetable growing models, if reorganized and connected to the market thanks to digital technology, will create a different image, attract media attention, thereby creating higher added value.

Integrated thinking according to each industry group: agriculture, medicinal herbs, spices... throughout from varieties, production processes, harvesting and post-harvest technology, product diversification.

The single segment approach is limiting the space for developing each industry and connecting industries. Scientists from institutes and universities are still separate. Enterprises and industry associations are still separate. Specialized management agencies are still separate. Now it is time to go together, transfer value to each other, integrate value exponentially. Going together will go far, minimize costs, maximize profits, standardize production processes, optimize value.

The San Tuyet tea tree at an altitude of 1,300m, where Tay Con Linh peak is covered with fog all year round, will create many times more value if it integrates stories that have been passed down for hundreds of years. The vivid images of ethnic people throughout the process of caring, harvesting, drying, and processing many creative quality products combining traditional knowledge and modern knowledge, will create a variety of product lines. The industry ecosystem will lead the San Tuyet Tea brand - Ha Giang to reach new heights.

Development space only expands when thinking expands, connecting the forest ecosystem, plateau, river and stream with neighboring localities of Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Tuyen Quang... An ecosystem connecting Bac Me - Na Hang - Ba Be is an idea that escapes the limits of administrative space. Each province, district, and commune has its own administrative space, but the natural ecosystem and economic space are not separated or delimited by administrative boundaries.

Beliefs create behavior, behavior creates results. Ha Giang people persistently cultivate, cultivate, and cherish each achievement, to continue to create new, higher values. Like the sincere, steadfast belief of a provincial leader: From now on, Ha Giang people will not only "live on rocks, escape poverty on rocks" , but will "live on rocks, get rich on rocks" !

And the flowers will continue to bloom and bloom more in the beloved Ha Giang region. And still remember the memorable color of the Buckwheat flowers!