Mr. Nong (left) is introducing a tissue culture model for high-quality forest planting.

Following a local official, we visited Mr. Nong's family - nicknamed "king of the forest" in Tan My village, Phong My commune. The entrance to his house is a long concrete road connecting from the main road through a green, straight forest that is about to be harvested. Mr. Nong's "property" is no different from a farm, planned according to the VACR model, with a forest tree nursery area and bustling visitors... "My husband and I have spent a lot of effort and money to get this "farm". This is also the "blessing" of the mountains and hills that helps my family escape poverty" - Ms. Nguyen Thi Gai, Mr. Nong's wife, shared.

More than 20 years ago, Mr. Nong's family, like many people in Tan My village, lived in poverty. The reason was that Tan My's terrain was mountainous, with difficult transportation, barren land and many bombs left over from the war. In 1994, with many new policies from the State focusing on forest development, Mr. Nong was one of the pioneers in planting forests in the locality under the Government's Program 327. Thanks to learning and understanding the new policy, along with the desire to overcome difficulties and escape poverty, Mr. Nong boldly registered to plant forests. Since then, the barren and wild land along the mountains and hillsides has never been without Mr. Nong and his wife. Gradually, those bare forest lands were covered with the green of forest trees and rubber trees. “Back then, planting forests was not like it is now. My husband and I did all the work ourselves, from soil improvement, digging holes, and weeding, because we didn’t have money to hire workers or machines…” - Ms. Gai said.

After years of hard work, Mr. Nong and his wife now own nearly 30 hectares of acacia forest and more than 15 hectares of rubber trees, not to mention fish ponds and fruit gardens next to their house. The planted forests, along with rubber trees, have helped his family earn billions of dong each year, especially since 2016, when he participated in planting nearly 20 hectares of FSC-certified large timber forests. Since then, many locals have called Mr. Nong a "billionaire from the forest". "Overcoming poverty and difficulties is not much to discuss. What makes me happiest is that I have contributed my part to greening the barren hills, creating a greener natural environment in Phong My" - Mr. Nong confided.

Since Mr. Nong's family joined the FSC afforestation program, many local people have come to learn and follow, contributing to increasing the area of ​​FSC afforestation every year.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Chung, Chairman of Phong My Commune People's Committee, said: Mr. Nong's forest planting model is a typical example for people to learn from, apply and develop the economy. Mr. Nong used to be a commune official and village party cell secretary in the locality. He is enthusiastic and responsible in his work, and does not hesitate to share the experiences he has accumulated over many years. More commendably, when he learned that planting forests according to FSC creates a stable and sustainable source of income, he invested nearly 1 billion VND to build a nursery farm for growing seedlings (tissue-cultured seedlings) using new technology, with a capacity of 80,000 trees/year. This nursery has created jobs for many idle workers in the locality; the most effective of which is helping him and many families in Phong My participate in planting large timber forests, proactively obtaining good and effective tree seedlings.

Article and photos: Minh Van

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/kinh-te/nguoi-giau-len-tu-rung-152393.html