Muong Khuong transforms its crop structure to achieve breakthroughs.

Muong Khuong district in Lao Cai province has transformed itself through crop diversification, which has increased people's income and modernized rural agriculture.

Crop diversification - a new direction for economic breakthrough.

Muong Khuong is known as a poor district in Lao Cai province, with the majority of its population being ethnic minorities. The people here rely on corn and rice cultivation, as well as foraging in the forest and working in the fields to sustain their lives. Having a decent house and meals with fish and meat is a luxury they can only dream of.

However, in recent years, thanks to the "Restructuring of the agricultural sector associated with building new rural areas and sustainable poverty reduction," Muong Khuong has been actively implementing a shift in crop structure towards converting inefficient crops to developing high-economic-value crops with stable markets such as tea, pineapple, and bananas... for processing and export, aiming to improve economic efficiency, help farmers increase their income and improve their lives.

By shifting from low-yield crops to high-income crops, Muong Khuong district is gradually transforming into a developed district in Lao Cai province. Photo: Bich Hop.

Pineapple is a crop that has been closely associated with the Muong Khuong region for many years. Ban Lau pineapples from Muong Khuong district have become a famous brand not only in Lao Cai province but also in neighboring provinces. Mr. Lu Chan Cuong, one of the pineapple growers in Ban Lau, Muong Khuong, shared: "Planting pineapples instead of other crops was one of the wisest decisions my family has ever made. This year, my family expects to harvest about 12 tons of pineapples. Selling them at prices ranging from 5,000 to 7,000 VND/kg, we expect to earn over 80 million VND. Pineapple farming has brought stability to my family's life."

Meeting with Comrade Le Duc Hanh, Secretary of the Party Committee of Ban Lau commune, Mr. Hanh happily shared that in 2024, the entire Ban Lau commune had 848 hectares of pineapples in production, with a yield of 26 tons/ha, totaling over 22,000 tons. These pineapples were sold to fruit and vegetable processing factories for export in Muong Khuong and other provinces such as Bac Giang, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, and Quang Ninh, bringing in over 132 billion VND for the people. Thanks to this, most houses have been built solidly, many are 2-3 stories high, with modern amenities, children receive a full education, and there are no social problems. Pineapple cultivation is the crop that has helped Ban Lau achieve economic breakthroughs and sustainable poverty reduction.

Pineapple cultivation in Ban Lau, Muong Khuong has gradually established itself as a high-value economic crop, helping Muong Khuong achieve breakthroughs in rural economic development. Photo : Bich Hop.

It's not just pineapples that have transformed the highland villages of Muong Khuong; bananas, tangerines, tea, and other crops are also prime examples of the right direction for crop diversification in the area. With 5,840 hectares of tea, 1,869 hectares of pineapples, over 1,011 hectares of bananas, and 870 hectares of tangerines, the average income per person per year is 36 million VND. The impoverished district of Khuong has undergone a dramatic transformation, with many houses springing up amidst the lush green hillsides of bananas, pineapples, and tea.

Promoting economic development and protecting the environment.

The restructuring of crop patterns not only helps improve people's lives but also contributes to boosting the economy, protecting the environment, and creating a foundation for sustainable development in Muong Khuong district.

To maximize its potential and existing advantages, since 2021, Muong Khuong district has promoted crop diversification, focusing on developing key industries suitable to local conditions. As a result, the shift from growing rice, corn, potatoes, and cassava to high-value crops such as tea, tangerines, and bananas has brought about many positive changes. To date, the border district of Muong Khuong (classified as a 30a border district) has 5 communes meeting the new rural standards, and 80% of inter-village and inter-commune roads have been concreted. Significantly, people's incomes have improved, and the poverty rate has gradually decreased year by year.

Mandarin trees are also one of the crops that bring high economic value to the people of Muong Khuong district. Photo: Bich Hop.

Specifically, in 2022, the poverty rate in Muong Khuong decreased by 7.66%, bringing the total number of poor households in the district down to 39.67%. By 2023, this figure continued to decrease by another 3%, reaching only 25.69% in 2024. Among the key sectors selected for development by the district, the tea industry has proven remarkably effective. Thanks to the involvement of the Party committee and government, along with the positive response from the people, tea cultivation has become a sustainable path helping people stabilize their income, escape poverty, and rise to prosperity.

Previously, many households in Thanh Binh commune faced difficulties because their main source of income depended on slash-and-burn farming with crops such as corn, potatoes, and cassava. However, since 2015, the local government has promoted and encouraged crop restructuring, and witnessing the success of households in neighboring communes such as Ban Sen and Lung Vai, many families in Thanh Binh have boldly converted unproductive hillside land to tea cultivation.

Thanks to this, many families have escaped poverty and are now living more comfortably. For example, the family of Ms. Giang Thi Sua (Thanh Binh commune) has over 1 hectare of tea plantations currently being harvested, bringing in an average income of 60-70 million VND per year. Similarly, the family of Mr. Ly Seo Din earns over 100 million VND annually from tea cultivation. Thanks to this stable income, both families are no longer classified as poor households but have risen to become well-off households in the commune.

The joy of the people of Ban Lau commune, Muong Khuong district, during the pineapple harvest. Photo: Bich Hop.

According to Mr. Le Thanh Hoa, Head of the Agriculture and Environment Department of Muong Khuong District (Lao Cai Province), in the coming time, the district will continue to promote the transformation of crop structure and develop key and potential product lines in accordance with the directives in Resolution No. 10 dated August 26, 2021, of the Provincial Party Committee. Priority will be given to developing key product lines linked to cooperative production along the value chain, such as tea, pineapple, and banana; while restructuring production organization to improve productivity and product quality, meeting the requirements of the domestic and export markets to enhance production efficiency for farmers.

In addition, Muong Khuong district will focus on attracting strategic investors to build processing facilities and establish linkages for the consumption of the locality's key agricultural products. The goal is to attract three more high-quality tea processing factories by the end of 2025.

Source: https://nongnghiep.vn/muong-khuong-chuyen-doi-co-cau-cay-trong-de-but-pha-d745249.html