Bu Gia Map took advantage to break away

Bu Gia Map Commune (Dong Nai Province) borders the Kingdom of Cambodia with a 45km long border, has 4 border posts stationed, playing a core role in managing and protecting national sovereignty and border security. However, currently, Bu Gia Map is one of the most difficult localities in Dong Nai Province with 75% of the population being ethnic minorities; poor households account for 7.15% of the population, the infrastructure is still lacking and weak, the commune has not yet completed 7/19 new rural criteria.

Officials of the Farmers' Association of Bu Gia Map commune visited the model of Pest and Disease Treatment on Cashew Trees of the people. Photo: Vu Thuyen

Recognizing the difficulties, challenges, potentials and intertwined strengths, the Party Committee of Bu Gia Map commune determined to focus resources on investing in building infrastructure and increasing people's income, taking advantage of all potentials and advantages to make the locality break through and develop sustainably.

Focus on increasing cashew productivity

Instead of having to liquidate old cashew gardens to plant new varieties with high productivity and quality, 4 hectares of cashew trees over 30 years old of Mr. Nong Thanh Thao's family (in Dak Con village, Bu Gia Map commune) are still green and productive.

Mr. Thao said: Plants are like humans, the older they get, the more pests and diseases appear. Therefore, to grow and develop healthily, we must regularly visit the cashew trees to see what diseases they have to "find a specific medicine". In addition to the guidance and support of agricultural extension officers and agricultural experts, after a long time of research, he has used traditional treatment techniques to treat pests and diseases. Along with that, he also cares about creating branches and pruning the canopy to ensure the garden is airy, allowing the trees to grow. In particular, at the beginning of the crop season, he uses iron drums to burn smoke in the direction of the wind, creating the double benefit of repelling insects and drying the frost. The solution seems simple but is very effective when his family's cashew yield reaches 2-2.5 tons/hectare every year.

“People often say water is the first, fertilizer is the second, diligence is the third, and variety is the fourth, but for the Bu Gia Map area in particular and the Southeast region in general, it is the opposite. It is the first variety, second diligence is the third fertilizer, and fourth water. That is, besides variety, the most important factor is the human factor. You have to be diligent in visiting the garden and taking good care of it, then “the tree will not disappoint you”. Thanks to diligence and hard work, my family has “lived well” for the past 30 years from just 4 hectares of cashew,” Mr. Thao shared.

Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the commune, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Bu Gia Map commune, Dieu Thuan, said: Cashew trees depend largely on the weather, while in recent years the weather has changed erratically, causing continuous crop failures. To limit this situation, in addition to implementing synchronous solutions, the Farmers' Association of the commune will replicate good models and effective methods, including the folk pest control model of Mr. Thao's family.

More than 90% of households in Bu Gia Map commune are engaged in agricultural economy with an area of ​​nearly 4 thousand hectares of various crops, of which nearly 2.4 thousand hectares are cashew trees, accounting for 60%. Cashew has long been considered a local poverty reduction crop, but for many years now, it has been directly affected by climate change, with unseasonal rains and continuous attacks by stink bugs, causing the cashew crop to continuously fail, only reaching 7-8 quintals/hectare, making farmers fall into a difficult situation. That is one of the reasons why it is difficult to increase people's income, currently the average income per capita is only 28.5 million VND/year. How to increase people's income in this remote commune is a difficult problem, a concern of local Party Committees and authorities.

“75% of the population are ethnic minorities, so the application of science and technology in production is still limited, with farming practices being mostly spontaneous. Therefore, in addition to promoting propaganda and mobilizing people to apply science and technology in clean and sustainable production, in the immediate future, the Party Committee and the government will direct the Commune Agricultural Service Center to directly instruct on spraying pesticides and eliminating pests on cashew trees, creating a high-yield next crop” - Party Secretary and Chairman of the People's Council of Bu Gia Map Commune, Le Hoang Nam, shared.

Turn potential into development driving force

Along with the income criterion, Bu Gia Map still has 6/19 other new rural criteria that have not been met, many of which require large capital sources such as: transportation, schools, cultural facilities, etc.

According to the Party Secretary of the commune, Le Hoang Nam, in order to complete the set criteria, the commune will classify and identify key criteria to prioritize investment. In particular, the source of funding support from higher levels is considered a key factor, deciding the effectiveness of implementation.

Bu Gia Map Commune strives by 2030: Total product value in the area increases by an average of 7.8%/year; average income per capita reaches 57.85 million VND/year compared to 2025, an increase of 103%; the rate of poor households according to the national poverty standard decreases to below 5%; economic structure by 2030: agriculture - forestry and fishery reaches 80%, trade, services 15% and small-scale industry 5%; complete the National Target Program on new rural construction by 2029...

Notably, planning criteria are a major obstacle that needs to be addressed. The entire commune currently has 3,479 hectares of cultivated land, but most of the area is located in forestry land and forest land that has not been handed over to local management. Therefore, when implementing civil construction or granting land use right certificates to people, there are problems with planning, causing difficulties in the implementation process.

Mr. Le Hoang Nam said: Despite many difficulties, the Party Congress of the commune for the 2025-2030 term determined the goal of bringing the commune to the new rural finish line in the 2029-2030 period. To achieve that goal, the congress proposed 3 breakthrough programs. In which: promoting land advantages, especially the green space of Bu Gia Map National Park, to promote economic development associated with eco-tourism to create jobs, increase income, and at the same time promote the values ​​of national cultural identity in the area. Along with that is: developing agricultural economy associated with new rural construction; focusing on clean, organic agricultural production, applying science and technology, digital transformation in production; converting crop and livestock structures suitable to local conditions.

Bu Gia Map has a lot of potential, natural landscape of green forest to develop eco-tourism and is a place to preserve many unique cultural values ​​of ethnic minorities such as: rice wine, brocade weaving, gongs... These are golden opportunities for sustainable tourism development and creating unique tourism products, bearing its own mark for the development of the commune economy.

“To turn potentials into development motivation, the Party Committee of the commune has built an action plan, in which the first thing is to focus on implementing the Resolution of the Party Congress to all cadres, party members and people. Along with that, the leaders and the People's Committee of the commune concretize the key programs into specific plans for effective implementation" - Party Secretary, Chairman of the People's Council of Bu Gia Map commune Le Hoang Nam emphasized.

Vu Thuyen

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/kinh-te/202511/bu-gia-map-tan-dung-loi-the-de-but-pha-4c03445/