Diversifying occupations increases people's income.

To develop the economy and increase people's income, Thach Lap commune has focused on directing and encouraging people to actively transform the structure of crops and livestock, forming production linkage chains; at the same time, focusing on developing services - trade and rural industries.

The model of growing Four Seasons lemons on sloping hills helps Mr. Ha Thanh Hoa's family earn nearly 1 billion VND per year.

Visiting the model of growing four-season lemons at Mr. Ha Thanh Hoa's family in Minh Tien village, we witnessed firsthand the lemon trees laden with fruit, which the owner was busy harvesting and selling to traders. Mr. Hoa said: "Recognizing that growing four-season lemons on steep hills is very suitable because they can withstand strong winds and storms without breaking or falling, in 2019 I bought 4 hectares of sloping, unproductive land from households in the village, renovated it, and planted lemon trees."

For over six years, the family has been cultivating lemon trees, using only well-rotted organic fertilizer and controlling pests and diseases with biological preparations made from ginger, garlic, and chili peppers. As a result, their 4-hectare lemon orchard has thrived, producing abundant, beautiful, and juicy fruit, yielding 60 tons per year. All of this lemon is purchased by traders at prices ranging from 10,000 to 27,000 VND per kilogram. At this price, after deducting expenses, the 4 hectares of lemon trees bring the family a profit of nearly 1 billion VND per year.

According to Mr. Hoa, because his family cultivates organically, their lemons have been selected by the commune to be developed as an OCOP product. Currently, the four-season lemon product is in the process of completing its application for OCOP 3-star certification.

Encouraged and supported by the commune authorities to develop service and commercial businesses, and with their house already located on the main road, Ms. Pham Thi Tham and her husband in Ranh village decided to invest in opening a grocery store selling food and vegetables. Ms. Tham shared: "Since opening the grocery store, the life of our family of five has become more stable."

Thach Lap commune was established by merging the communes of Thach Lap, Quang Trung, and Dong Thinh. After stabilizing the new organizational structure, along with carrying out other political tasks, the locality focused on economic development and increasing people's income. In this spirit, the commune has propagated and encouraged people to actively change the crop structure and seasons, introducing high-yielding, high-quality, and efficient plant and animal varieties, and applying science and technology to production. To date, 1,246 hectares of rice have been planted by the people in the commune using hybrid and purebred rice varieties. Of this, the area of ​​purebred rice with commercial varieties accounts for up to 60%, with yields reaching 56-60 quintals/hectare/season, an increase of 5-6 quintals/hectare compared to before.

On over 1,000 hectares of arable land, people have planted crops such as corn, cassava, sugarcane, peanuts, vegetables, and beans. These crops are intercropped and rotated, thus increasing land utilization efficiency and boosting income per hectare of cultivated land. In particular, many households in the commune have boldly purchased unproductive hillside land and converted it to suitable crops that yield high incomes, contributing to the commune's current average income per hectare of cultivated land reaching 80 million VND/hectare/year.

Besides developing agricultural production, Thach Lap always prioritizes the development of industry, handicrafts, rural occupations, and businesses. Currently, the commune has 5 enterprises and hundreds of individual business households operating in fields such as carpentry, welding, mechanics, electrical work, transportation, construction, and commercial services, contributing to job creation and income generation for hundreds of local workers. Furthermore, the locality places special emphasis on labor export. Currently, Thach Lap has nearly 150 workers employed abroad on fixed-term contracts, earning an estimated income of 40-50 million VND per person per month.

Thanks to the focus on diversifying economic development, the average per capita income in the commune has now reached 58.3 million VND/year, and the poverty rate has decreased to 2.35%. The increased income of the people will create favorable conditions for Thach Lap to meet the criteria and ensure that the commune achieves the New Rural Area status by 2029 as planned.

Text and photos: Minh Ly

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/da-dang-hoa-nganh-nghe-nang-cao-thu-nhap-cho-nguoi-dan-287702.htm