Connecting three regions – Spreading highland policies

Effectiveness from flexible working

Under the direct and comprehensive guidance of the Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religions (formerly the Ethnic Minorities Committee of Binh Thuan province), the Mountainous Service Center has become a bridge to help bring State policies closer to ethnic minorities.

*Mr. Nguyen Van Chi, Director of the Mountain Service Center, shared with people at the field workshop about hybrid corn varieties.*

During the period 2021 - 2025, the Center effectively implemented the advance investment policy for thousands of households in the highlands. Every year, based on the implementation results, the Center advises the Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religions to guide the registration of investment needs for production development at the commune, village and individual household levels. Center staff directly visit the area, visit each household to grasp the needs, review conditions, provide guidance and sign advance investment contracts.

*Over the years, the Mountain Service Center has provided people with many high-yielding hybrid corn varieties.*

This approach has helped State capital reach the right people at the right time, especially during periods of natural disasters, droughts or epidemics that disrupt production.

Households that still owe investment debts are still considered for further support so that they have the opportunity to overcome difficulties, restore production and repay debts with their own labor. Thanks to that, many households have escaped poverty, become well-off, contributing to stabilizing the lives of ethnic minority areas.

The Mountain Service Center currently has 11 stores and 5 agents operating in ethnic minority, mountainous, remote and isolated areas. Over the years, the Center has effectively implemented investment support policies for production development, coordinating with local authorities to organize for households to register to receive investment support for hybrid corn and wet rice.

Along with investment, the Center pays special attention to propaganda, training, and transfer of technical advances. Every year, the Center coordinates with units such as CP Vietnam Seed Company Limited, Syngenta Vietnam Company, and the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center to organize dozens of training courses on planting and caring for corn and rice with the participation of thousands of households.

Many demonstration models of new hybrid corn varieties yield from 8 to 10 tons/ha, in some places reaching 13 tons/ha, opening up the direction of large-scale commodity production right in ethnic minority areas.

28 (4) — *Cham ethnic people harvest rice*

Mr. Hoang Van Dien, Ham Thuan Bac commune, shared that before, his family could only grow a few acres of corn, with unstable yields, and sometimes had to borrow money due to crop failures. Since receiving investment support from the Investment Support Center and technical guidance, productivity has increased and income has become much more stable. "Someone from the Center came to the commune to organize technical training, showing me how to plant and fertilize, so the corn is very good and gets a subsidy, now I don't have to worry like before," Mr. Dien said happily.

*With the support of the Mountain Service Center, the lives of ethnic minority people have changed day by day.*

These results come not only from material support but also from the spirit of companionship and responsibility of the Center's staff. Over the past 5 years, the unit has invested in 4,840 households with a total value of more than 62 billion VND, purchased over 23,000 tons of commercial hybrid corn, achieved an average turnover of 48 billion VND/year, and a debt recovery rate of more than 95%.

At the same time, the Center has implemented many programs linking production and consumption of hybrid corn according to the value chain for more than 500 households with a total cultivated area of more than 600 hectares, with a total support value of nearly 6 billion VND. These figures clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of a sustainable socio -economic model, both supporting people's livelihoods and generating revenue for the State budget.

From support policies to development momentum

Not only a place to supply materials or plant varieties, the Mountain Service Center has become an extension of the local government, helping to prevent usury and "selling unripe rice" which used to be common in ethnic minority areas in the past.

People have access to safe capital sources and are guided to produce according to the correct process, thereby gradually escaping backward farming practices and moving towards proactive, modern, and effective production.

The Center's activities also contribute to strengthening trust between the government and the people, creating close ties between local authorities, organizations, prestigious people, village elders, and religious dignitaries in the region.

*Mr. Nguyen Van Chi, Director of the Mountain Service Center, checks the quality of hybrid corn varieties.*

Mr. Nguyen Van Chi, Director of the Mountain Service Center, shared that the most valuable thing is not the revenue or area figures but the change in people's awareness.

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“People no longer expect or rely on us. They see the Center as a companion, sharing risks and overcoming difficulties together.”
Mr. Nguyen Van Chi, Director of Mountainous Service Center

From 2021 to present, the Center has paid the State budget more than 1.5 billion VND in taxes and fees, affirming the transparency, sustainability and effectiveness of the model.

The dynamism in investment in advance, product purchasing and technical guidance has helped people master the production process, gradually participating in the province's agricultural supply chain. Many localities that were previously difficult areas have now formed stable commodity production points, and people's lives have improved significantly.

*The Mountain Service Center's stores provide people with many necessary items for production.*

Towards a new phase – expanding service range

After the merger of the three provinces of Lam Dong, Binh Thuan and Dak Nong , the Mountain Service Center is expected to further promote its connecting role, becoming a focal point for linking policies, techniques, resources and markets of the entire region.

With many years of experience working closely with the grassroots and understanding the characteristics of ethnic minority areas, the Center will not only stop at supporting production but also aim for the larger goal of developing mountainous areas in a green, sustainable and autonomous direction.

*Mountain Service Center purchases hybrid corn from households in ethnic minority areas.*

In the coming period, the Center plans to expand its operations to communes in the west and north of the province, continue to advise the Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religions to develop a new resolution to replace Resolution 18, expand the list of pre-paid investment items, and diversify crops suitable to the soil conditions of each region.

In the new phase, the Center sets a target of annually organizing investment in advance of over 2,000 hectares of hybrid corn and 500 hectares of rice, purchasing 7,000 tons of commercial hybrid corn and 15 tons of rubber latex, maintaining an investment debt recovery rate of over 95% and an average revenue of about 45 billion VND/year.

28 (3) — *Many ethnic minority households have built decent houses with the support of the Mountain Service Center.*

Those goals are not just dry numbers in the plan but a commitment to a long-term journey, where every highland resident has the opportunity to rise up by their own strength.

That is also the way the Center continues to affirm its mission, spreading the policies of the Party and State widely, helping people in the highlands confidently enter a new stage of development.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/ket-noi-ba-vung-lan-toa-chinh-sach-vung-cao-395154.html