Cà Pống strives to rise above

In early May, we had the opportunity to visit Ca Pong village, Muong Sai commune, and were impressed by the clean, beautiful concrete roads extending into every alley of the village, lined on both sides with spacious new houses; the hillsides were covered in the green of fruit trees and coffee seedlings. A prosperous and fulfilling life is evident in the highland village of Ca Pong.

The leaders of Muong Sai commune are guiding the people of Ca Pong village on how to care for orange trees.

Located nearly 10 km from the center of Muong Sai commune, Ca Pong village currently has 156 households with 748 inhabitants, mainly ethnic Thai people. Walking with us along the clean, concrete village road, Mr. Lo Van Thoai, Party Secretary and Village Head, shared: "Previously, the villagers mainly produced according to old customs, lacking capital and technology, resulting in low productivity and difficult living conditions. Since accessing preferential loans and receiving guidance from commune officials and specialized agencies on applying science and technology to production, the people have gradually changed their way of thinking and doing things, learning to choose suitable crops and livestock to develop their economy ."

Currently, the entire village has 16 hectares of various fruit trees, and many households also utilize their cultivated land to plant an additional 4 hectares of short-term crops to increase their income. Livestock farming is gradually developing towards commercial production, with a total herd of 68 buffaloes, 215 cows, 248 goats, 300 pigs, and over 5,000 poultry. Thanks to the restructuring of production, the lives of the people have gradually improved, and many households have achieved stable incomes.

The pig farming model of farmers in Ca Pong village, Muong Sai commune.

The family of Mr. Luong Van Vui is one of the exemplary households in economic development in Ca Pong. Leading us on a tour of his well-built orchard and livestock pens, Mr. Vui shared: In 2018, with preferential loans from the Social Policy Bank and savings, the family invested nearly 200 million VND in planting 1 hectare of V2 oranges and green pomelos, combined with integrated livestock farming. Thanks to actively learning techniques, participating in training courses, and persistent investment, the orchard yields nearly 10 tons of fruit annually; along with raising pigs, goats, cows, and deer, the family earns approximately 300 million VND per year.

Not only Vui's family, but more and more households in Ca Pong are boldly investing in developing their family economies. Currently, nearly 130 households in the village have received preferential loans with a total outstanding balance of over 12 billion VND to invest in production development. In addition, more than 100 laborers work outside the province with an average income of about 12 million VND/month, thanks to which the lives of the people of Ca Pong are gradually improving. Many households in the village now have an income of 300 to 500 million VND per year. The average per capita income has reached nearly 30 million VND/year, and the poverty rate has decreased to 2.56%.

A model of deer farming in Ca Pong village, Muong Sai commune.

With economic development, the people have the means to contribute to the construction of new rural areas, voluntarily donating land and contributing labor to build roads, cultural centers, and other public facilities. To date, 95% of households in the village have access to the national power grid; 100% of households have access to clean drinking water; all children of school age attend school; and over 85% of households have been awarded the title of "Culturally Advanced Family".

Mr. Lo Van Tam, Chairman of Muong Sai Commune, assessed: Ca Pong Village is one of the bright spots in the commune in developing household economies. The people have proactively transformed the structure of crops and livestock, building integrated economic models suitable to the actual conditions, bringing stable income. Based on the achieved results, the commune continues to promote and encourage other villages to learn from and replicate suitable models, contributing to increasing income and sustainably reducing poverty for the people in the area.

Focusing on increasing income, Ca Pong village continues to encourage people to expand the area of ​​coffee cultivation towards commercial production; encouraging the development of suitable livestock farming models, linked to environmental protection, building new rural areas, and making the village increasingly prosperous and beautiful.

Source: https://baosonla.vn/nong-thon-moi/ca-pong-no-luc-vuon-len-YmcRVM1vR.html