Good practice in Tan Thanh

Product packaging at Tan Thanh Agricultural Cooperative. (Photo: TUAN SON)

Although it is a village in a ward, many years ago, the lives of the Dao and Tay ethnic groups in Tan Thanh faced many difficulties and lacked sustainable livelihoods. Thanks to turmeric cultivation in association with Tan Thanh Agricultural Cooperative, hundreds of households here have had jobs and stable incomes, gradually escaping poverty and becoming rich.

According to Ms. Hoang Thi Diep, Tan Thanh village, her family used to only grow corn and rice, with unstable income and low prices. Now, by growing turmeric for the cooperative, her family's life has improved significantly.

Similarly, the family of Ms. Hoang Thi Mui and Mr. Trieu Huu Quan in the village previously had economic difficulties, but now thanks to growing turmeric, each crop can earn tens of millions of dong - something they never had before.

The journey of starting a business from turmeric Tan Thanh Agricultural Cooperative has become the pride of the people here, 90% of whom are ethnic minorities. The Cooperative has built a new collective economic model, connecting hundreds of households to work together for development.

Established in 2017 with only 10 members, Tan Thanh Agricultural Cooperative now has 428 members, of which more than 60% are poor, near-poor and newly escaped poverty households, most of whom are ethnic minorities.

From the initial area of several hectares, the Cooperative has built an organic turmeric material area of more than 135 hectares, with an annual output of 5,000 to 7,000 tons of fresh turmeric. Not only that, the Cooperative also purchased more than 50 hectares of turmeric growing area from spontaneous growers.

An area of turmeric grown according to organic standards, in association with households in Tan Thanh of the Cooperative. (Photo: TUAN SON)

This raw material is processed into more than 20 product lines: red glutinous rice turmeric starch, premium black glutinous rice turmeric starch, honey turmeric pills, dried turmeric slices, ginger powder, cinnamon, black plum, dried bamboo shoots...

In particular, the two high-quality red glutinous rice turmeric and black glutinous rice turmeric starch products of the Cooperative have achieved 4-star OCOP standards, becoming typical products, gradually conquering demanding markets and affirming the local agricultural product brand.

The Cooperative's products are currently not only consumed in Bac Kan province (old), but also distributed and consumed by over 40 distributors and partners in provinces such as Dak Lak, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Nghe An... along with a number of import-export companies, pharmaceutical companies and units.

The cooperative creates regular jobs for 72 local workers, with an average income of 7 million VND/person/month, a figure that is much higher than the average in rural and mountainous areas.

According to Director of the Cooperative Nguyen Thi Hong Minh, from the beginning, the unit's goal was not only to do business, but also to create sustainable livelihoods for the people. Today's achievements are thanks to the consensus of the collective and the support from the government and all levels of the industry.

The Cooperative is consolidating and maintaining the organic standard raw material area with an area of over 135 hectares. We will also aim to expand the domestic market from 16 provinces to at least 30 provinces and export to a number of markets, such as: China, India, Japan...

The practice in Tan Thanh village is a typical example of how, with consensus and systematic investment, familiar and easy-to-grow crops can still become valuable commodities. From there, a sustainable production chain will be formed, helping highland farmers have a stable livelihood, escape poverty and become rich.

TUAN SON

Source: https://nhandan.vn/cach-lam-hay-o-tan-thanh-post910194.html