A new day in Xuan Thuong

Although we have visited Xuan Thuong (Bao Yen) many times, each time this place gives us a new feeling.

This time, too, during the administrative reorganization phase, we rode motorbikes with the Party Secretary of the commune, Co Van Chuong, along the gravel road from the commune's People's Committee headquarters to Thau 2 village. Along the way, Secretary Co Van Chuong told us a lot about the changes in this place.

Xuan Thuong is not far from the district center (Pho Rang town), only about 4 km away. The commune's natural conditions are much more favorable than some other localities in the district, such as fertile land, the Chay River, and a dense network of streams providing irrigation water for agricultural production… Yet, for a long time, Xuan Thuong has struggled with the problem of economic development, while neighboring localities have made breakthroughs. The fundamental reason is that the people are only accustomed to self-sufficiency, relying on and depending on government support, while the local Party committee and government have not truly done a good job of formulating policies and providing guidance and direction for their own locality.

A major turning point was created by the Party Congress of the commune for the 2015-2020 term, with very specific goals and solutions stemming from practical experience. Two of the key tasks set out were developing rural transportation and planting winter crops.

At that time, making these two issues the local government's top priority for the entire period seemed ridiculous to those unfamiliar with Xuan Thuong, especially the winter crop cultivation. Many believed that winter crop cultivation was "as old as the hills," something other places had been doing for a long time. Even over the years, many places had cultivated different winter crops, selecting those with high yields, quality, and wide market demand to achieve high economic efficiency. However, for the people of Xuan Thuong, winter crop cultivation remained a "luxury."

The "root cause" behind the resolution raising this issue stems from the idea that "to get rich, you need roads," and "the richer you want to get, the bigger the roads must be"; growing vegetables and crops aims to maximize the advantages of the soil, climate, and natural conditions of the commune, and more importantly, to strongly challenge the ingrained, conservative mindset deeply rooted in the people's thinking...

Party Secretary Co Van Chuong stopped his motorbike at the beginning of the combined spillway bridge in Thau 3 village. About 30 meters away was a pedestrian bridge made of iron bars belonging to Thau 2 village. Mr. Hoang Van Dieu, whose house is right at the beginning of the iron bridge, said: "This bridge was built in 2016 and from that year until 2023, it was almost the only way for people in Thau 2 and Thau villages to travel and transport goods, especially during the rainy season. Now the government has paid attention to building a combined spillway bridge right below, making it convenient and safe for people to travel, but some households with forests up there still transport forest products, especially timber from planted forests, across this iron bridge. The iron bridge is very sturdy; trees on the hill only need to be cut down, then dragged across the bridge to reach this side, it's very convenient," Mr. Dieu said.

The iron bridge in Thau 2 hamlet is one of 11 community bridges connecting villages and hamlets in Xuan Thuong commune. The project stemmed from the local reality of scattered population, inconvenient transportation, and roads to villages and hamlets being cut off by streams and small ravines, leading to limitations in trade, exchange of goods, access to school for children, and national defense and security. The most difficult situation was in Vanh hamlet, which required crossing streams seven times from National Highway 279. The commune has 11 villages and hamlets, requiring 11 community bridges. Following the Resolution of the Xuan Thuong Commune Party Congress for the 2015-2020 term, in early 2016, Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, then Chairman of the Xuan Thuong Commune People's Committee, proposed the idea of ​​mobilizing people to build 11 bridges. This was approved by the Standing Committee of the People's Committee and the Commune Party Committee, and agreed upon by the district.

To obtain the materials for the bridge, Mr. Dung personally went to the district to request the scrap iron and steel from the Coc Leu bridge that had been liquidated. Mr. Nguyen Van Dung recalled: "After obtaining the iron and steel, I rushed around mobilizing local people and asking some businesses for help with vehicles and machinery to transport the iron and steel and build the bridge across the stream. It was very difficult; iron and steel are hard to transport, while the terrain is complex, and not many people have experience in constructing bridges with iron and steel." Mr. Dung and his colleagues in the commune researched through various channels such as newspapers, radio, and the internet… asking friends with expertise in bridge construction, as well as professional contractors.

“My colleagues and I had to plan very carefully. Right at the storage yard in the district, we sorted the iron and steel, selecting the large bars for the bridge girders. The leftover, unusable parts were scrapped and sold to pay for transportation of the girders to the construction site. Then we mobilized support from organizations, officials, civil servants, and local people to contribute funds to buy a total of 2 tons of cement, and also contributed labor. We took advantage of the natural conditions near the Chay River to extract sand and gravel ourselves. We relied on support from businesses for machinery…” – Mr. Dung chuckled.

In 2016 alone, all 11 bridges (the longest 30m, the shortest 4m) were completed, connecting 11 villages to the commune center and National Highway 279, ensuring safe passage for trucks weighing 8 tons or less. Thanks to this, Xuan Thuong has undergone a fundamental transformation, breaking the vicious cycle of self-sufficient living, opening the way for people to develop their economy, improve their education, and build a new rural area. These 11 community bridges have accompanied the local area on its development path until 2023, when the government invested in a series of combined overflow bridges in Xuan Thuong commune, marking the end of their "mission"...

After a moment of reflection on a historical period in the locality where bridges played a crucial role, Mr. Co Van Chuong, Secretary of the Party Committee of the commune, suddenly remembered the winter crop cultivation. Pointing around, he said: "Look, wherever there is land suitable for growing vegetables, the people plant all kinds of vegetables and crops. Especially, the winter crop has become the main production season in Xuan Thuong, bringing high economic efficiency to the people and the locality." "The other afternoon, after the district meeting, I took a stroll around Pho Rang town market and counted nearly 40 people from Xuan Thuong selling various kinds of green vegetables. Upon inquiry, I learned that these were households directly selling their own family's produce," Mr. Co Van Chuong said.

According to the Party Secretary of the commune, the Resolution of the Commune Party Congress for the 2015-2020 term initiated the development of winter crop production in Xuan Thuong. From having absolutely no winter crops planted, by the 2024-2025 winter season, Xuan Thuong had more than 40 hectares, mainly planted with corn and various green vegetables.

Indeed, on the riverside and stream banks, and in home gardens, the villagers cultivate vegetables in rows and beds. Some types of vegetables and flowers are grown on trellises, clearly demonstrating the professionalism in commercial vegetable farming. Beside a 0.5-hectare plot of land by the Chay River in 3 La village, Mrs. Nong Thi Phai was tending her vegetables. Seeing us, she stopped and said: "My husband and I, along with our son's family of four, live off growing vegetables on this plot. We grow vegetables year-round, depending on the season, especially in winter. We take them to Pho Rang market ourselves or supply them to restaurants and hotels in the town according to orders."

After saying that, Mrs. Phai spoke to Secretary Co Van Chuong for a while in the Tay language, and then they both burst into laughter. Secretary Co Van Chuong said: "She boasted that thanks to growing vegetables for the past few years, her family has a savings account worth nearly 100 million dong…"

Xuan Thuong has resolved the concerns and anxieties about what livestock to raise and what crops to cultivate. This result is the culmination of a persistent and unwavering effort, especially during the 2015-2020 term, when seemingly ordinary goals were set that proved to be of decisive importance. Taking steady steps forward, Xuan Thuong is now ready to merge with several neighboring communes to expand its scale, stature, and potential, confidently entering a new phase of development…

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/ngay-moi-o-xuan-thuong-post401514.html